Bernstein, Shur, Sawyer & Nelson Selected to Join New National Employment Law Alliance

Powerful global resource now available to firm's clients

The statewide law firm of Bernstein, Shur, Sawyer & Nelson has been selected to join the Employment Law Alliance (ELA), a powerful, new global network of independent law firms formed to provide employers with innovative solutions to employment and labor law issues.

Bernstein, Shur is the ELA's designated representative in Maine. With lawyers in every state and an expanding group of affiliates around the globe, the ELA provides clients with access to the most comprehensive network of employment and labor law attorneys in the world.

The aim of the ELA is to help multi-state and global employers effectively deal with the far-reaching, highly complex and rapidly changing world of employment law and labor relations.

"Being part of this alliance allows us to collaborate with the other firms throughout the U.S. to provide the highest quality, most cost efficient representation to clients," said Glenn Israel, an employment law attorney and shareholder at Bernstein, Shur. "We're proud to be a member of this select network of firms that have distinguished themselves in the law, but particularly in the critical areas of employment and labor law."

Bernstein, Shur was asked to join the ELA because of the outstanding reputation of its Employment Law Practice Group and its experience in assisting a variety of companies in employment issues, said Stephen J. Hirschfeld, CEO of the ELA and a partner in the California-based firm of Curiale, Dellaverson, Hirschfeld, Kelly & Kraemer.

"We are honored to have Bernstein, Shur as a member," Hirschfeld said. "Their local knowledge of all the relevant issues, regulations, statutes and the courts, is unsurpassed. They will provide an invaluable legal resource to the other member firms whose clients have interests in Maine as well as an intellectual resource to the entire network."

He said the ELA, using firms such as Bernstein, Shur, can help employers who are trying to avoid being overpowered as they confront difficult issues impacting the work place. Those issues range from union organizing campaigns in health care and high tech to complex class-action suits and compliance with a host of new government regulations.

ELA members can instantly mobilize a worldwide response on behalf of a client in any given matter. The client could be a business with 50 employees in five U.S. cities, or 500,000 around the globe.

Israel said Bernstein, Shur's affiliation with the ELA will benefit its clients in a number of specific ways, including:

* Immediate availability of a credible local advocate in areas outside Maine.

* Convenient, cost-effective access to the combined labor and employment law expertise of 50 of the nation's top law firms.

* A cohesive, comprehensive team approach to handling matters that require simultaneous attention in several states such as union contract negotiations or class-action suits.

* A complete package of on-site compliance and training services to help employers enhance employer-employee relations, and also to help reduce potential legal exposure and expense.

"We already are seeing the benefit of the ELA," said Israel. "We are able to save our colleagues time and their clients money. Having lawyers in every state who know the local rules and the local players is a huge advantage."

ELA members will communicate regularly via www.employmentlawalliance.com, as well as face-to-face in seminars and training sessions for members and their clients. The organization also is the exclusive sponsor of "America At Work," a new series of public opinion surveys to gauge American attitudes toward critical workplace and employment issues.

Bernstein, Shur, Sawyer & Nelson is one of northern New England's largest law firms with more than 65 attorneys in offices in Portland and Augusta. The firm practices in a number of areas, including corporate and commercial law, litigation and trials, municipal and governmental affairs, tax and estate planning, international and immigration matters, health law, employment and labor law, legislative representation and intellectual property, construction law, high technology and e-commerce practice.

Its web site at www.mainelaw.com was the first of its kind when launched in 1995, and is now available in six languages for the convenience of its many foreign clients. Bernstein, Shur also is the only Maine law firm that is a member of Lex Mundi, an international association of 151 law firms located in all major economic centers in the world.

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