BrianStolzenbach

Partner

Brian is a creative yet practical counselor, litigator, and negotiator. Capable of designing and executing different strategies and tactics for different situations, he seeks first and foremost to understand his client’s objectives before charting a path forward.


More About Brian

Consistent with his adaptable approach, Brian has significant experience representing and counseling employers in many different industries, including construction, health care, higher education, hospitality, energy, financial services, manufacturing, print and broadcast media, professional sports, retail, telecommunications, transportation, distribution, and logistics, utilities, and waste management.

For more than 20 years, Brian’s practice has been focused on the field of labor relations law. Within this realm, he represents clients in:

  • Collective bargaining

  • Grievance and interest arbitrations

  • Representation proceedings

  • Unfair labor practice litigation

  • Labor relations litigation in the courts

In addition to representing employers in labor relations litigation and collective bargaining, Brian also provides his clients with positive employee relations training and legal and practical advice on a wide spectrum of labor relations issues, including lockouts and strikes, card-check and neutrality agreements, corporate campaigns, traditional organizing campaigns, withdrawal liability and other employee benefits matters, successorship and other subjects related to mergers and acquisitions, leased employees, employee committees, and labor-related bankruptcy issues. Over the years, Brian has represented or counseled employers in labor relations matters involving virtually every major private sector labor union in the country.

Brian also defends employers in employment litigation. Equally comfortable pursuing victory on a motion or at trial, at ease before a jury, private arbitrator, trial judge, or appellate panel, he has defended employers throughout the country against virtually every kind of legal claim employees and former employees can imagine. He has defended statutory claims of discrimination and retaliation, various claims under ERISA, and common law claims for breach of contract, fraud and misrepresentation, promissory estoppel, defamation, breach of fiduciary duty, and more. Even so, he also works proactively with his clients to mitigate legal risk by training and counseling them on employment law and sound employee relations.

Finally, although his practice is focused almost entirely on labor and employment law, Brian has experience defending lawsuits filed by students against educational institutions, and he has represented clients in litigation involving municipal contracting and the 14th Amendment, the separation of powers within local government, and the alleged intimidation of witnesses. During law school, he also served as a Felony Trial Division Intern in the Office of the Prosecuting Attorney for Washtenaw County, Michigan, where he tried and won several cases and provided substantial assistance in the successful prosecution of murderers and sex offenders. He also served as a judicial intern for the Honorable Patrick J. Duggan of the US District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.

  • AB, University of Missouri
    History

    Cum laude with honors
    Phi Beta Kappa
    Curators Scholar

  • JD, University of Michigan Law School

    Cum laude
    ABA-BNA Labor Law Award
    Book Award in Law & Bioethics

  • Illinois
  • US Supreme Court
  • US Court of Appeals, Third Circuit
  • US Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit
  • US Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit
  • US Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
  • US Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit
  • US Court of Appeals, DC Circuit
  • US District Court, Northern District of Illinois (Trial Bar)
  • US District Court, Central District of Illinois
  • US District Court, Northern District of Indiana
  • US District Court, Southern District of Indiana
  • US District Court, Eastern District of Michigan
  • US District Court, Western District of Tennessee