Gladstein, Reif & Meginniss, LLP has specialized in labor, employment and civil rights law since it was founded in 1976. The firm is organized around the principle that workers and their organizations deserve top-quality legal representation just as much as corporations and large institutions that can pay top dollar for their lawyers.

Gladstein, Reif & Meginniss ranks Tier 1 among Employment & Labor firms in the Metropolitan region. Rankings are based on reputational data as well as client profiles, the firm’s commitment to pro bono service, the diversity of its legal staff and the significance of legal matters undertaken by the firm.

In 2020 both Amy Gladstein and Walter Meginniss received awards for best lawyer from U.S. News and World Report.

Kent Hirozawa was nominated by President Barack Obama and confirmed by the Senate for a term as Member of the National Labor Relations Board that expired in 2016. Prior to his service as a Board member, he was Chief Counsel to former NLRB Chairman Mark Gaston Pearce. During his seven years at the Board, Kent participated in numerous decisions that have had a significant impact on labor law, including major decisions concerning bannering, picketing, union organizing, independent contractors, joint employers, mandatory collective-action waivers, employee use of e-mail and social media, and the right of student assistants at private universities to form unions. He also participated in the modernization and streamlining of the Board’s procedural rules in election cases. After his term as a Board member expired, Kent was a visiting scholar at New York University School of Law and taught labor law at the City University of New York School of Law.

Before his service at the Board, Kent was a partner in Gladstein, Reif & Meginniss for more than twenty years. He served as counsel to many unions and employee benefit funds, and represented them in proceedings in federal and state court and before the NLRB, the New York Public Employment Relations Board, and other federal and state agencies. He also represented many individuals and groups of workers in wage-and-hour, civil rights, professional discipline, and other litigation.

Through all of his endeavors, Kent has been known for his judgment, the breadth and depth of his knowledge of the law, and his commitment to the interests of workers. We welcome him back to the firm, and look forward to providing the benefit of his experience and expertise to our clients.