Robert Schofield is a partner in Whiteman Osterman & Hanna’s Labor and Employment Law, Education, and Litigation, Arbitration and Mediation Practice Groups. His areas of expertise include public and private sector labor and employment issues, education law, and general litigation, as well as State Court practice. Mr. Schofield has been with Whiteman Osterman & Hanna LLP since 2000 and currently serves as the Firm's Managing Partner.
Background/Education
Prior to joining the Firm, Mr. Schofield was the law clerk to the Hon. Justices Bernard J. Malone, Jr. and Joseph Harris of the New York Supreme Court, and previously served as an Appellate Court Attorney for the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Third Department. Mr. Schofield graduated, magna cum laude, from Syracuse University College of Law, where he was an editor of the Syracuse Law Review. He holds a Master of Public Administration degree from Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, as well as a Bachelor of Arts degree from Plattsburgh State University. He is admitted to practice in New York and in the United States District Courts for the Northern and Southern Districts of New York, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and the United States Supreme Court. He is a member of the Appellate Division, 3rd Department’s Committee on Character and Fitness, which governs the admission of attorneys. He is listed in the upstate editions of Best Lawyers in America and New York Super Lawyers. He is the Best Lawyers in America 2021 Lawyer of the Year in the practice area of Employment Law - Management, in Albany.
Representative Accomplishments
•Negotiation and administration of public and private sector collective bargaining agreements.
•Representation of public, private, and corporate clients in labor, employment, and commercial lawsuits and arbitrations.
•Advise clients regarding daily employment decisions such as hiring, discipline, and termination of employees; draft employment contracts, personnel policy manuals and other employment related documents; and work with employers to ensure compliance with federal and State statutes such as the Americans with Disabilities Act, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, and others.
•Representation of municipalities on a full range of labor and employment matters.
•Representation of employers on all manner of employment law and disciplinary matters.
•Representation of public libraries and library systems in full range of legal issues, including funding litigation, construction projects, employment matters, governance issues, and creation of new library districts.
•Representation of multiple FORTUNE 500 companies in discrimination cases and commercial disputes.
•Representation of a FORTUNE 100 manufacturing company in a nuisance action against a neighboring industry.
•Representation of a medical manufacturing company in a lengthy commercial lawsuit to preserve the business’s right to the benefit of long-standing real property covenants from adjoining landowners.
