Jack Gallagher is a partner in the Paul Hastings Employment Law Department.  His practice has included a wide variety of litigation, negotiations, and counseling on behalf of large employers in virtually all aspects of the employment relationship, with particular focus on collective bargaining and federal court litigation on labor and employment issues and on labor law issues in bankruptcy. Mr. Gallagher has extensive experience in employment discrimination litigation, strategic planning for the labor and employment aspects of mergers, acquisitions and bankruptcy. His clients have included railroads, airlines, manufacturers, service providers and retail businesses.

Labor and Employment Litigation – Trial and Appellate

Mr. Gallagher has been attorney-in-charge and lead trial counsel in more than 100 litigation matters in the federal courts throughout the United States, including complex and multidistrict litigation. He has argued more than 30 appellate cases in federal circuit courts of appeals. Mr. Gallagher’s litigation experience is split almost evenly between labor law issues and other employment law issues. His experience on labor issues includes injunctions against unlawful strike and slowdown activities, defense of claims of bad faith bargaining, and unlawful interference with union activities.

Arbitration

Mr. Gallagher has represented employers in numerous arbitration proceedings, including interest arbitration cases and Presidential Emergency Boards in addition to conventional "rights" arbitration under collective bargaining agreements.  Among his more significant recent cases were a series of "force majeure" cases on behalf of Delta Air Lines, Inc. and Northwest Airlines, Inc. in which unions challenged the employer's invocation of force majeure clauses following September 11, 2001; the employers prevailed.  Most recently, Mr. Gallagher has successfully defended Northwest in a series of cases brought by three major unions under the "me too" clauses of their agreements, with each union claiming that another received more favorable treatment. 

Bankruptcy Proceedings

Mr. Gallagher has served as Special Labor Counsel on behalf of the debtor in Delta Air Lines (S.D.N.Y. 2005); Northwest Airlines (S.D.N.Y. 2005); and Comair Airlines (S.D.N.Y. 2005); ATA Airlines (D. Ind. 2004); United Airlines (N.D. Ill. 2002); Continental Airlines II (D. Del. 1991); Eastern Airlines (Ionosphere) (S.D.N.Y. 1991); and Continental Airlines I (S.D. Tex.1983).  He has also represented other major air carriers in preparing for bankruptcy proceedings which were avoided by settlement with the unions involved.

Negotiations

He has participated in both planning and direct bargaining on a wide variety of labor contract issues, including initial contracts, concession bargaining, merger agreements, strike settlement and back-to-work agreements. He has served in some cases as chief negotiator and spokesman for the employer; in other cases he has served as counsel to, or a member of, the employer’s negotiating committee.

Counseling and Strategic Planning

Mr. Gallagher has served as lead labor counsel in a variety of corporate restructurings, including multiple mergers and acquisitions, and major bankruptcy cases, including labor contract rejection, strikes and strike settlements, and bankruptcy claims.

He received his B.S. degree from the University of Scranton in 1969 and his J.D. degree, With Distinction, from Cornell University in 1972, where he was a member of the Order of the Coif and served on the board of editors of the Cornell Law Review. He served as law clerk to U.S. District Judge Aubrey E. Robinson, Jr. (D.D.C. 1972-74). Mr. Gallagher also served as a Teaching Fellow at Boston College Law School (1974-75); Assistant Professor at the Indiana University School of Law-Indianapolis (1975-76); and Adjunct Professor at the Columbus School of Law, Catholic University of America (1976-77).  He is the co-author of Chapter 1113 (labor contract rejection) of the treatise, Colliers on Bankruptcy.

Mr. Gallagher is a Fellow of The College of Labor and Employment Lawyers and is a former Employer Co-Chair of the Committee on Railroad and Airline Labor Law of the Section of Labor and Employment Law of the American Bar Association.  He is a regular faculty member of the ALI-ABA seminar on Airline and Railroad Labor Law.  He is listed among Chambers' "Best Lawyers In America" (since 2003); Super Lawyers Corporate Counsel Edition and Super Lawyers Washington, D.C. Edition.