Tony W. Torain, II

• Prepared and filed an amicus brief in the Supreme Court of the United States on behalf of Human Rights for Kids, arguing that the rule against convictions based on non-unanimous jury verdicts in Ramos v. Louisiana should apply collaterally and retroactively in Edwards v. Vannoy.
• Member of a team that represented a major auto manufacturer in a successful campaign against the organizing of over 2,000 employees.
• Represent a major grocery store chain in the majority of their labor arbitrations with four unions in D.C., Maryland and Virginia.
• Defended a major civil rights organization in an unfair labor practice trial before the National Labor Relations Board.
• Defended a major grocery store chain against hybrid claims brought under Section 301 of the Labor Management Relations Act.
• Represented a car dealership in contempt proceedings filed by the National Labor Relations Board’s Contempt, Compliance, and Special Litigation Branch in the D.C. Circuit.
• Represented a security company in a National Labor Relations Board representation case involving joint employer allegations.
• Represented a private equity firm in a gender pay discrimination case before a Maryland Fair Employment Practices Agency.
• Obtained a favorable decision from the US Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, vacating the National Labor Relations Board and concluding that high school lacrosse referees were independent contractors and not employees subject to the National Labor Relations Act.

Employers, whether large or small, face an ever-growing web of workplace regulations and potential entanglements with employees. At Polsinelli, we have more than 50 full-time Labor and Employment attorneys who understand the complexity and sensitivity of employee relations and workplace issues.

As exclusively management counsel, our attorneys have extensive experience providing employers with cost-efficient advice and aggressive defenses on employment and labor law matters.

With employment litigation and advocacy experience as our strength, preventing legal problems from arising is our goal. We can provide you counsel on an isolated incident or be involved on a regular basis. We assist our clients across a spectrum of employment questions. We provide seminars and workshops for supervisors and managers on effective employment practices.

We assist a broad spectrum of employers, ranging from small family owned businesses to multi-national corporations, in establishing policies, writing handbooks, resolving employee disputes, handling terminations and successfully defending against legal claims. By providing practical advice, based upon review and analysis of a client’s employment policies and practices, the law and the human experience our attorneys can often anticipate potential problems and assist clients in minimizing future claims and litigation.

We routinely provide management training in the areas of sexual harassment, workplace diversity, employee retention, hiring practices, wrongful discharge, and numerous other areas intended to educate and motivate supervisory personnel in the proper handling of workplace issues.

Whether your business is union or non-union, we have the depth of knowledge to guide you through your labor related legal challenges to reach practical and sound solutions. We represent clients in all stages of the grievance process and during arbitration proceedings. Slowdowns, strikes and secondary boycotts are areas we can maneuver with our extensive legal team. We have an enviable track record representing employers faced with labor union issues. We provide preventative labor relations training for our clients to assist them in avoiding union campaigns.

Polsinelli is an Am Law 100 firm with 900 attorneys in 21 offices nationwide. Recognized by legal research firm BTI Consulting as one of the top firms for excellent client service and client relationships, the firm’s attorneys provide value through practical legal counsel infused with business insight, and focus on health care, financial services, real estate, intellectual property, middle-market corporate, labor and employment and business litigation.

In 1972 Jim Polsinelli and colleagues formed the firm to serve business and real estate clients in a small office in the historic Country Club Plaza District in Kansas City, Missouri. The firm has continued to see impressive growth over its 45+ year history with expanding practice areas and office additions, most recently in Miami. The addition of these offices is part of our strategic plan to better serve the increasing needs of our clients.

We strive to align our services to our clients’ business goals. Doing so has allowed us to attract experienced attorneys across the country seeking a platform best suited to their clients’ priorities. With our firm’s concentration of presence in lower-overhead markets, we are able to offer more comprehensive services than local or regional firms and more competitive overall cost than national firms concentrated in higher cost markets.