Robert H. Lavitt is a partner with the firm. He practices labor and employment law, advising and representing labor unions in all aspects of litigation, organizing and collective bargaining, and representing individuals in employment matters. He has extensive experience in the healthcare, maritime, warehouse and transportation areas, including public sector and union regulatory issues. He is a member of the AFL-CIO Lawyers Coordinating Committee, the Labor and Employment Law Sections of the American, Washington State and King County Bar Associations, as well as the Trial Lawyers Associations in Washington and Oregon. He currently serves as the Program Co-Chair for the ABA Section of Labor and Employment Law's Seattle NLRA Basics Program (2004). He also serves as the chair of the Labor Law Subcommittee for the 2005 Pacific Coast Labor & Employment Law Conference. He was a Contributing Editor to the BNA's The Developing Labor Law from 2000 through 2004.

Mr. Lavitt is a graduate of Duke University and Northeastern University School of Law. During law school Mr. Lavitt clerked for the AFL-CIO's Office of the General Counsel in Washington, D.C. He served as a Judicial Extern for the late U.S. District Judge William L. Dwyer in Seattle, WA. Before law school Mr. Lavitt worked from 1992-1994 as an organizer for Southern Echo, Inc. in Greenville and Jackson, MS, on voting rights, environmental justice and education issues.

Notable Opinions & Decisions

• Teamsters 117 v. Associated Grocers (Carlton Snow, 2001) 01-2 ARB (CCH)
• SEIU 775 v. Home Care of Washington, Inc.
• District No. 1, Marine Engineer’s Beneficial Association v. Washington State Ferries
• State of Washington v. Service Employees International Union Local 925