Fox Rothschild LLP congratulates Kirsten B. White on her selection as a Northeast Trailblazer by The American Lawyer, an annual feature highlighting agents of change in the legal industry.
Sensing a shift in the organized labor landscape in two industries, White is recognized for developing legal strategies that position the firm’s private education and legalized cannabis sector clients ahead of growing unionization pressures, allowing them to forge productive labor-management relationships that advance their business goals.
“The novel issues arising from applying federal labor law to cannabis and private school education workforces aren’t only new to the leaders in these fields, they’re also new to judges and the National Labor Relations Board,” said White in an interview with The American Lawyer. “Not only are we zealously advocating for our clients’ interests; we are helping ensure the NLRB understands the realities of our clients’ workplaces as it applies the law in new ways.”
Working alongside colleagues in Fox’s Cannabis Law Practice, White provides extensive labor relations counseling for one of the country’s largest retailers of legal cannabis, which operates in six states and employs hundreds of workers represented by different local affiliates of one of the industry’s largest and most influential international unions. Her work for the client has included leading collective bargaining negotiations toward successor contracts governing the employer’s union-represented workforce across California, culminating in favorable settlements anticipated to save the company millions in operating costs. She has also advised the company on labor peace agreements, helping it open the door to key state markets while protecting its financial interests.
White’s work for educational institutions comes as K-12 independent schools increasingly face unionization efforts. It’s a delicate issue for schools seeking to maintain their culture and values-driven identities while preserving their financial well-being and managerial flexibility. She negotiated an initial collective bargaining agreement for one prestigious private school whose teachers voted for representation by the United Auto Workers, navigating the parties to an agreement that was overwhelmingly ratified by the workforce and established the foundation for long term labor-management stability. White also counsels higher education institutions in matters arising under the National Labor Relations Act – including with respect to employer bargaining obligations related to COVID-19 protocols and other pandemic-related labor-management issues.
She earned her J.D. from University of Pennsylvania Law School and B.A. from Middlebury College.
Original source can be found here.