Jim focuses his practice exclusively on representing public and private employers in employment litigation cases and labor negotiations.  He has counseled, defended and negotiated on behalf of public universities, public authorities and commissions, corporations, financial institutions, health care entities, the construction industry, hotels, retail and manufacturing companies.  He is a Director at Cohen & Grigsby and a member of the Employment Litigation and Labor and Employment Groups and the former Chair of the Employment Litigation and Labor and Employment Law Groups.

Experience

Jim has devoted more than 37 years to representing public, private, union and non-union clients in federal and state courts regarding employment litigation cases involving race, age, disability, sexual harassment, wrongful discharge and other matters.  He has also counseled employers on ways to minimize discrimination liability, represented clients in all phases of EEOC and PHRC matters, and negotiated collective bargaining agreements.  He has also counseled clients on how to diminish the likelihood of litigation arising from re-engineering at both the staff and executive levels.

Select Recent Representative Transactions

Jim obtained a summary judgment in 2007 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania in a reverse discrimination, gender and age discrimination case, Good v. Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland.  He also obtained a summary judgment in District Court for a similar reverse discrimination case, Black v. Werner Company.

In Pivirotto v. ISI, he obtained a defense jury verdict in a sex discrimination case in U.S. District Court.  He successfully argued against the appeal filed by the plaintiff and the defense verdict was affirmed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

Additional Roles

• Panelist, American Arbitration Association Panel of Employment Dispute Arbitrators and Mediators
• Panelist, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania's Panel of Mediators and Early Neutral Evaluators
• Member, NASD Dispute Resolution Board of Arbitrators
• Member, Federal Bar Association
• Member, American Bar Association
• Member, International Association of Defense Counsel

Throughout his career, Jim has devoted a significant amount of time to pro bono activities for the Pennsylvania Bar Institute.  He was also a member of the Third Circuit Bench-Bar Relations Discussion Group for the Western District of Pennsylvania and helped develop the program for the 2001 Judicial Conference.

His community service includes being a board member for the Jewish Association on Aging and a past commissioner for the Port of Pittsburgh Commission.

Honors and Achievements

• Super Lawyers, Corporate Counsel Edition, 2009
  
• The Best Lawyers in America
  
• Chambers USA America's Leading Business Lawyers
• Sources in USA Chambers describe Jim as “a great educator” and he is ranked among the most highly rated labor and employment lawyers in Pennsylvania
• Pennsylvania Super Lawyers
• Who's Who in American Law
• Who's Who in America

Jim has received recognition from the Board of Judges of the U.S. District Court for his role as an arbitrator in the Court's Arbitration Program.

He conceptualized and developed a program, “The Trial of a Sexual Harassment Case,” for the Pennsylvania Bar Institute.  The program was recognized by the Association for Continuing Legal Education with the Award of Outstanding Achievement in Best Program category.

Jim is a frequent speaker and course planner for the Pennsylvania Bar Institute, and has also given numerous presentations for Indiana University, the Academy of Trial Lawyers of Allegheny County, the National Academy of Arbitrators, the Allegheny County Bar Association and the University of Pittsburgh.  He has traveled to New Jersey, Oregon, Colorado and throughout Pennsylvania to present discussions on topics related to employment law, mediation and sexual harassment.

He is often quoted in national publications such as USA Today and Education Week and has co-authored numerous articles.

Education

• J.D., Duquesne University School of Law, 1971 
• B.A., University of Louisville, 1967

Bar/Court Admissions

• Pennsylvania
• U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania 
• Pennsylvania Supreme Court 
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit 
• U.S. Supreme Court