Willis J. Goldsmith

Partner

Willis Goldsmith represents management in labor and employment law matters including practice before state and federal trial and appellate courts in matters arising under the NLRA, Section 301 of Taft-Hartley, ERISA, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, and OSHA; in injunction, breach of contract, and employment cases; and in collective bargaining and labor contract administration.

In 2008, Willis argued Chamber of Commerce, et al. v. Brown before the U.S. Supreme Court. The Court, reversing an en banc decision of the Ninth Circuit, held that a California statute that prevented employers from using state funds to lawfully deter union organizing was preempted by the NLRA, noting federal labor policy favoring employer speech regarding union organizing efforts.

Willis is Partner-in-Charge in New York; from 1991 to 2006, he chaired the Firm's Labor & Employment Practice. He has authored numerous articles and participated in many conferences focusing on labor and employment law issues. Willis is a Fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers, member of the Labor Law Advisory Committee of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, United States Council for International Business (Executive Committee), the advisory board of the NYU School of Law Center for Labor and Employment Law, the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, and the Labor and Employment Law sections of the ABA and the New York State Bar Association (Co-Chair, Committee on Labor Arbitration). He is a member of the board of directors of the Legal Aid Society of New York City and of Appleseed.