Areas of Practice
LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT
Abato, Rubenstein and Abato, P.A., represents unions and employees in Maryland and the surrounding states. Abato attorneys counsel and advise labor organizations in union organizing campaigns and in the enforcement of union contracts. Attorneys from the firm negotiate collective bargaining agreements on behalf of unions. The firm’s labor attorneys have represented unions in several thousand arbitrations. Abato attorneys handle federal and state court litigation, as well as hearings at federal and state administrative agencies, on behalf of unions and individuals. These include unfair labor practice hearings and representation cases before the National Labor Relations Board, discrimination cases, unemployment cases, and administrative appeals. Attorneys from the firm have trained union agents and stewards in collective bargaining, grievance processing, arbitration preparation, labor laws, civil rights laws, Family and Medical Leave Act issues, and costing labor contracts.
The industries in which the firm represents clients include trucking, mass transit, warehousing and distribution, music and entertainment, health care, utilities, building and construction, food service, bakery and confectionery, bottling, package delivery, stevedoring, retailing, manufacturing, hospitality, textiles, wagering, logistics, printing, media, electronics, and aerospace. The firm represents unions and employees in both the private and public sectors.
The publications The Best Lawyers in America and Maryland Super Lawyers have named attorneys from the firm in their publications for several successive years. Abato attorneys have also received the highest rating (“av”) from Martindale-Hubbell, a national directory in which lawyers are evaluated by their peers.
EMPLOYEE BENEFITS
Abato, Rubenstein and Abato, P.A., represents multiemployer and single employer pension and welfare benefit plans in the construction, trucking, warehousing, manufacturing, service, racing and longshore industries. In addition to pension and health and welfare plans, the firm represents training, severance and annuity, scholarship, royalty, and 401(k) plans.
Attorneys in the Employee Benefits Group of Abato, Rubenstein and Abato, P.A., advise clients regarding all aspects of employee benefit plan administration, including plan design and drafting, plan amendments, compliance with state and federal regulations, enforcement of plan terms, plan mergers, QDROs, and fiduciary responsibility. The firm represents clients in federal and state court litigation related to collection of employee benefit plan contributions and assets, enforcement of employee benefit plan terms, and other matters. The firm assists clients with creditor representation in bankruptcy court.
Members of the firm participated in the Department of Labor’s administration of the Welfare and Pension Plans Disclosure Act, the precursor of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). An Abato attorney was a member of the DOL-appointed Attorney Working Group which educated Congress and assisted in the drafting of ERISA. Attorneys in the Employee Benefits Group have lectured and presented papers on the topic of fiduciary duties in several venues, including at meetings of the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans.