SAN FRANCISCO, CA (October 23, 2013) – Littler Mendelson, P.C. (Littler), the world’s largest employment and labor law firm representing management, has announced the formation of the Robotics Practice Group, creating an innovative resource for employers as they increasingly acquire and deploy robotics and artificial intelligence systems as an integral part of the workplace. The Practice Group will also represent robotics industry employers who are developing these brilliant new machines and software. Garry Mathiason, a visionary and legal industry pioneer and Littler’s chairman of the board, will lead the group with Boston shareholder Adam Forman.
This new practice group will include Littler attorneys from all practice areas and focus on representing employers who are reengineering the workplace through robotic technology. The group will counsel employers on a broad range of employment and labor law issues most impacted by the robotics revolution and the growth of artificial intelligence, including legislative and regulatory obstacles at the federal, state and local levels. Littler attorneys also will help employers in the robotics industry develop products that take into account legal workplace law requirements. This focus on robotics will contribute to products that are more acceptable to employers seeking to implement the new technology.
“Robotics and artificial intelligence systems constitute one of the fastest growing industries in the world and are set to become the largest in the next decade,” said Mathiason, an innovator in the robotics employment arena. “As employers incorporate robotics technology into the workplace, they must also adapt their compliance systems to prepare for the legislative and regulatory challenges that could impact how they do business in the U.S. and abroad. Littler is equipped to navigate the complex and evolving terrain of employment and labor law and will help employers stay abreast of the potential liabilities a robotics program can incur as laws and regulations evolve.”
By 2025, half of the jobs currently performed in the U.S. are projected to be assumed by intricate machines and software, according to a study referenced in a HuffPost Business article. Littler expects the following employment and labor laws will have the most impact on the robotics revolution: workplace privacy and eDiscovery, worker’s compensation, health and safety, state rights statutes, anti-discrimination protections, wage and hour requirements, trade secret protections and covenants not-to-compete, unionization and collective bargaining requirements, human displacement and international standards and agreements. More details are described in the Robotics Practice Group brochure, located on Littler’s Robotics Practice Group page.
“Littler has consistently been a trailblazer in counseling our clients on emerging legal issues,” said Thomas Bender and Jeremy Roth, co-managing directors of Littler, in a joint statement. “This new robotics practice embodies the forward thinking and innovative approaches to law our clients have come to expect from us. As robotics becomes increasingly more commonplace, Littler is in a unique position to help businesses confront the new challenges ushered in by the robotics movement.”
Attorneys in Littler’s Robotics Practice Group will assist employers in the technology sector, as well as those that are integrating technological advances into their workplaces. The Robotics Practice Group also will work closely with Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute to provide expert testimony and model policies on employment and labor law compliance. Read a thorough overview by Littler in the Robotics Business Review, discussing how employment and labor law will be critical to the development and direction of the robotics revolution that is reengineering the workplace worldwide.
About Littler Mendelson
Littler Mendelson is the world’s largest labor and employment law firm exclusively devoted to representing management. With more than 1,000 attorneys and 57 offices throughout the U.S. and globally, Littler has extensive resources to address the needs of U.S.-based and multinational clients, from navigating domestic and international employment laws and labor relations issues to applying corporate policies worldwide. Established in 1942, the firm has litigated, mediated and negotiated some of the most influential employment law cases and labor contracts on record.
