John B. Langel

John B. Langel is Chair of Ballard Spahr's Litigation Department. He led the firm's Labor and Employment Group for more than 30 years.

Mr. Langel focuses primarily on the representation of employers in a wide variety of labor and employment matters. He represents employers in employment litigation, including the preparation and trial of employment discrimination, restrictive covenant/trade secret, and breach of employment contract cases. He also represents employers in labor matters before the National Labor Relations Board and state labor boards, including unfair labor practices, representation matters, and jurisdictional disputes, and in labor negotiations and arbitrations. 

Mr. Langel's practice includes legal advice, training, and policy development concerning labor and personnel issues, including sexual-harassment and union-free training, wage and hour investigations, preparation of employment contracts and restrictive covenants, planning of early-retirement and reduction-in-force programs, and implementation and related litigation involving the labor implications in mergers, acquisitions, and asset purchases.

Mr. Langel's clients include companies in a wide variety of industries, including biosciences, heavy industry, financial services, colleges and universities, and health systems and other health care providers. Mr. Langel practices sports law as well. He has represented professional athletes, college and professional coaches, general managers, broadcasters, and the players on U.S. national teams.

Mr. Langel has a proud history of counseling colleges and universities for more than three decades, including the longstanding representation of several Philadelphia-area educational institutions. For Temple University (Mr. Langel's fondly remembered first client, more than 36 years ago), he has served as counsel to the chief negotiator in talks with 13 different bargaining units, successfully led challenging negotiations during the faculty strikes of 1987 and 1990, and served as the university's chief negotiator in the contract negotiations with its faculty union. Mr. Langel also led the Ballard Spahr team that successfully represented the University of Pennsylvania before the NLRB in connection with Penn graduate students' attempts to organize. Cornell University retained the same team when its graduate students sought to organize.

Mr. Langel is a member of Ballard Spahr's Expanded Board.

Judicial Clerkships

Hon. Daniel H. Huyett III, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania

Professional Activities

American Bar Association

Philadelphia Bar Association
Past Chair, Labor and Employment Law Committee

Temple University James E. Beasley School of Law, Adjunct Professor

American Society for Healthcare Human Resources Administration (ASHHRA)

National Association of College and University Attorneys (NACUA)

Recognition & Accomplishments

Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business, labor and employment law, highest ranking (band one), 2003-2013

The Best Lawyers in America, employment law, labor and employment litigation, 2013

AV Peer Review Rating, Martindale-Hubbell

College of Labor and Employment Lawyers, Fellow

Recipient, American Bar Association's 2012 Frances Perkins Public Service Award, presented to Ballard Spahr in recognition of its pro bono work on behalf of female athletes

Recipient, City of Hope's 2009 Spirit of Life Award, given in recognition of a lifetime of personal and professional achievement

Publications

Co-author, "Maximizing Your Acquisition Strategy: Merging, Disappearing, or Negotiating with Bargaining Units," 38th Semi-Annual ASHHRA/IRI Labor Activity in Health Care Report, March 2012

Co-author, "An Activist National Labor Relations Board and Department of Labor," 37th ASHHRA Labor Activity in Health Care Report, Fall 2011

Contributing Editor, Employment Discrimination, Schlei & Grossman (publisher)

Speaking Engagements

Frequent lecturer on labor law at human resources seminars

Board Memberships

Delaware Valley Alzheimer's Association, Chair

Marietta College, Board of Trustees

Temple University James E. Beasley School of Law, Board of Visitors

Athletes for Hope, Board of Trustees

Temple University James E. Beasley School of Law (J.D. 1974, summa cum laude)
Case Note Editor, Temple Law Quarterly

Marietta College (B.A. 1970)

New Jersey

Pennsylvania