FordHarrison LLP, one of the country’s largest management-side labor and employment law firms, is proud to announce that four of the firm’s attorneys were selected as 2019 Lawyer of the Year by Best Lawyers, the oldest and most respected peer-review publication in the legal profession. Allen J. McKenna, partner in the firm’s Orlando office, was named Lawyer of the Year for Labor Law – Management for the Orlando area. Andrew S. Hament, partner in the firm’s Melbourne office, was named Lawyer of the Year for Litigation – Management for the Orlando area. Herbert E. Gerson, of counsel in the firm’s Memphis office, was named Lawyer of the Year for Labor Law – Management for the Memphis area. Thomas H. Keim, Jr., partner in the firm’s Spartanburg office, was named Lawyer of the Year for Employment Law – Management for the Greenville area. Their honors will be published in a special edition of Best Lawyers.
Only a single lawyer in each specialty in each community is being honored as the "Lawyer of the Year,” making this accolade particularly significant. Best Lawyers compiles its list of outstanding attorneys by conducting exhaustive peer-review surveys in which thousands of leading lawyers confidentially evaluated their professional peers. The lawyers being honored as "Lawyer of the Year" have received particularly high ratings in the surveys by earning a high level of respect among their peers for the abilities, professionalism, and integrity.
Al McKenna, Board Certified as a Specialist in Labor and Employment Law by the Florida Bar, has represented management in all aspects of employment and labor law since 1983. In 2018, Al was elected to serve as the FordHarrison's Managing Partner, overseeing the firm's strategy and operations for all of its offices. Al is a traditional labor lawyer with extensive experience advising clients on the legal issues related to union campaigns, collective bargaining, arbitrations, and hearings and trials before the National Labor Relations Board. Al represents a broad array of employers in a variety of industries all across America, but focuses his practice on the healthcare industry and government contractors. Al is the leader of FordHarrison's Healthcare Practice Group and is also a member of the firm's Management Committee.
Andy Hament is certified by the Florida Bar as a Specialist in Labor and Employment Law. He regularly advises private and public sector employers in discipline and discharge, reductions-in–force, collective bargaining, union grievance/arbitrations, discrimination issues, sexual harassment investigations, executive employment and severance agreements, trade secret and non-compete issues, drug abuse and drug testing, the Family and Medical Leave Act and violence in the workplace. Andy regularly represents employers in state and federal courts and in investigations and charges before the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Florida Commission on Human Relations, the U.S. Department of Labor, the National Labor Relations Board and the Florida Public Employees Relations Commission. Andy currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Brevard Health Alliance.
Herb Gerson chairs the firm's Global Legal Services Practice Group. He devotes much of his practice to counseling clients on avoiding employment discrimination claims and developing a positive work environment. Herb is a graduate of Leadership Memphis and a member of the Advisory Board to the Memphis Area Chamber of Commerce. He is a member of the Labor and Employment Subcommittees of the American, Tennessee and Memphis Bar Associations. He is also a member of the ABA International Labour and Employment Law Committee. Herb is a Fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers and a Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America. He serves on the Executive Committee of Ius Laboris and chairs the American Oversight Committee. He is also the firm's representative to the United States Council for International Business (USCIB).
Tom Keim has practiced exclusively in the areas of management labor and employment law since 1987. He represents clients in federal and state courts in many jurisdictions throughout the United States. His experience ranges from the representation of clients in employment litigation to advising clients on the legal issues related to union campaigns, strikes, and other employment-related matters. He also advises clients on the full spectrum of workplace issues. Tom is a South Carolina Supreme Court Certified Specialist in Employment and Labor Law. Tom is a former member of the Employment and Labor Law Specialty Advisory Board. Tom is also a member of the bar of the Supreme Court of the United States.
About Best Lawyers
Since it was first published in 1983, Best Lawyers has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence. Because Best Lawyers is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey in which more than 52,000 leading attorneys cast over 5.5 million votes on the legal abilities of other lawyers in their practice areas, and because lawyers are not required or allowed to pay a fee to be listed, inclusion in Best Lawyers is considered a singular honor. Corporate Counsel magazine called Best Lawyers “the most respected referral list of attorneys in practice.”