Firm News

November 8, 2019

Chicago -- Clark Baird Smith LLP’s founding partner, James Baird, received the American Bar Association’s top honor, the Arvid Anderson Award, for public sector labor attorneys in recognition of a career spent shaping the practice of public sector labor law. 

At its annual Labor and Employment Law Conference in New Orleans, the Section of Labor Employment Law of the American Bar Association (ABA) named Mr. Baird the 2019 recipient of the Arvid Anderson Public Sector Labor and Employment Attorney of the Year Award, a national award that has been bestowed annually since 2009.

The Arvid Anderson award, according to the American Bar Association, is bestowed upon “attorneys, whether publicly or privately employed, who have devoted substantially their entire careers to the advancement and development of public sector labor and employment law at the state and local level.” 

“It is a sincere pleasure to congratulate you on your many accomplishments and your selection as the recipient of this year's Award,” said Joseph Tilson, Chairman of the ABA’s Section of Labor and Employment Law, in a letter to Mr. Baird. “This award recognizes an attorney whose career substantially contributed to the development of public sector labor law as exemplified by Arvid Anderson. A number of fine public sector attorneys were nominated, and we determined that your achievements were particularly noteworthy.”

Baird's acceptance of the award also includes an outstanding paper he wrote titled: "A Comparison of Collective Bargaining in the Public and Private Sectors" and can be found, in its entirety, online here. Mr. Baird, who has been practicing labor and employment law since 1972, has represented both public and private sector management clients on a wide variety of collective bargaining and employment law matters, including mediation and interest arbitration. He has successfully negotiated over 200 collective bargaining agreements on behalf of public, private and federal employers throughout the country. He also authored or co-authored five books covering public employee labor relations. 

Mr. Baird is an ardent advocate for the labor and employment legal profession. In 2004, Jim was elected to the Board of Governors of the American Bar Association, where he served as one of the 36 Governors of the 405,000 member attorney Association. He has held various offices in the ABA Section of State and Local Government Bargaining, including Chair of the Section in 1994. Jim also served a three-year term as a Commissioner on the prestigious ABA Commission on Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Profession.

“To have my work acknowledged by the American Bar Association is indeed a genuine privilege. To have my name attached to an award in honor of Arvid Anderson is an even greater honor. But to have earned the support and confidence of my colleagues, other attorneys and people who have spent a career in public service as well as so many in the private sector is perhaps the greatest professional privilege one could ask for.” 

Mr. Baird is the eleventh recipient of the award overall and the second Clark Baird Smith LLP attorney to receive the award. Ted Clark, another founding partner of the firm, received the Arvid Anderson Award in 2010.   

“On behalf of all his colleagues at Clark Baird Smith LLP, I congratulate Jim on receiving this distinguished award,” said Clark Baird Smith LLP founding partner Robert J. Smith. “This honor publicly acknowledges something his colleagues have known all along: Jim is an outstanding lawyer who brings great zeal, intellect and integrity to every issue, every matter and every client he serves. The privilege of calling him a colleague and friend is proudly and distinctly ours.”   

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ABOUT CLARK BAIRD SMITH LLP

Based in Rosemont, Illinois, Clark Baird Smith LLP is a labor relations and employment law firm established in 2010 that represents public and private sector clients on matters ranging from collective bargaining and interest arbitration to contract negotiations, grievance and interest arbitration proceedings, disciplinary hearings, employee benefit matters, EEO charges, investigations and trials.