Working mainly between New York and Chicago, the deep bench at Jones Day is according to one client ‘the strongest management-side rail labor team in the country’ and practitioners have a deep knowledge of the rail industry and the Railway Labor Act. The team also handles collective bargaining, union representation, and labor arbitration, and is also praised for its flexibility, namely ‘an ability to quickly and effectively staff matters with the resources that are necessary for any particular project.’ Matthew Lampe and Elizabeth McRee head up the team from New York and Chicago respectively and are well supported by David Birnbaum in Chicago who often acts as the lead labor lawyer in significant bankruptcy cases and M&A. Allyson Werntz, also in Chicago, and Brian West Easley in Minneapolis are also key team members.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

  • 'The Jones Day team is the strongest management-side rail labor team in the country. They have a deep bench of talent at both partner and associate levels, a strong understanding of the rail industry and labor issues, and an ability to quickly and effectively staff matters with the resources that are necessary for any particular project.'
  • 'Don Munro is a critical business partner for our organisation. His decades of experience position him to advise on almost any question of significance for our industry.'

Key clients

  • McDonald's Corporation
  • CSX Corporation
  • Pactiv Evergreen
  • CITGO Petroleum Corporation
  • The Kraft Heinz Company
  • General Electric Co.
  • American Steamship Company
  • BNSF Railway Company
  • American Airlines Group
  • The City of Minneapolis
  • Stanford University
  • Saputo
  • Wabtec Corporation
  • Wynnchurch Capital Partners
  • National Railway Labor Conference
  • ITT, Inc.

Work highlights

  • Representing Wabtec Corp in a broad spectrum of labor and employment issues.
  • Acting as McDonald’s Corp.’s lead counsel in all National Labor Relations Board unfair labor practice matters filed against the company nation-wide.
  • Assisting Stanford Health Care and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospitals with its most significant labor contract negotiations.

Lawyers

Leading associates
Leading associates with regular involvement in their team's key work, and recognition from peers or clients as being ones to watch.
Leading lawyers
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.

Practice head

The lawyer(s) leading their teams.

Matthew W. Lampe, Elizabeth B. McRee

Other key lawyers

David S. Birnbaum, Brian West Easley, Allyson Werntz, Don Munro