Kim Ebert is the current Managing Shareholder of Ogletree Deakins with overall responsibility for the Firm’s direction and delivery of client service.
For over thirty years, Mr. Ebert has defended the interests of employers in the full range of labor and employment matters. He has played a significant role in working with clients to develop a national strategy for labor and employment, and also regularly has assisted in due diligence in acquisitions and divestitures.
As a labor lawyer, Mr. Ebert has negotiated over 100 collective bargaining agreements, including agreements related to facility closings and work transfers. He has played a key role in strike planning and related state court injunction litigation. Mr. Ebert has also handled more than 200 arbitrations. He has successfully helped employers develop positive employment practices and resist union organizing by all of the major labor organizations in the United States.
As a litigator, Mr. Ebert has served as lead counsel both at the trial and appellate level in class, collective and multi-plaintiff actions, as well as the full range of individual suits under federal and state law.
A past member of the American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on Continuing Education of the Bar, Mr. Ebert is a frequent writer, speaker and seminar chair at regional and national conferences on labor and employment subjects for attorneys and human resource professionals.
Experience
Mr. Ebert has had the opportunity to represent employers across the country in diverse industries in a wide range of substantive areas. By way of example, Mr. Ebert has
- Recovered approximately $1,000,000 for a client from a Teamster pension fund in a sophisticated ERISA withdrawal liability dispute arising out of a strike and decertification
- Successfully bargained with the United Auto Workers the decision and effects of a plant closing that impacted a unit of over 1000 workers
- Coordinated the strike planning for a national client with facilities in 9 states related to the renegotiation of a national agreement with the Steelworkers Union
- Successfully defended the first ADA reasonable accommodation case to reach the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals
- Successfully persuaded the National Labor Relations Board to reverse the unit determination of a Regional Director in a precedent-setting case involving a health care system with multiple hospitals
- Established precedent favorable to employers under the Indiana wage payment statutes in a suit to collect bonuses decided by the Indiana Supreme Court
- Obtained an order from the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals which vacated an arbitration award that would have required a closed foundry to reopen and rehire its previous Teamster-represented workforce
- Achieved a defense verdict in a jury trial under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act where the decision maker hand wrote the ages of candidates on their employment applications
Indiana
Education and Honors
- Fellow, College of Labor and Employment Lawyers
- Best Lawyers in America (1995 to date)
- Best Lawyers 2011 and 2012 Indianapolis Labor and Employment Lawyer of the Year
- Chambers USA America’s Leading business Lawyers, Band 1 rating (2005 to date)
- Recipient, Distinguished Barrister Award by The Indiana Lawyer (2007)
- Fellow, Indiana Bar Foundation
Professional Activities
- American Bar Association (Standing Committee on Continuing Education of the bar, 1997-2000; Section of Tort and Insurance Practice, Chair, Communication Coordinating Group, Past Chair-Elect, Employer-Employee Relations Committee, past Chair, National Programs, past Chair, CLE Board; Member, Litigation and Labor and Employment Law Sections)
- Indiana State Bar Association (Council Member, Labor Law Section; Labor Law Section, Chair 1988)
- National Association of College and University Attorneys
- Indiana Chamber of Commerce (Labor Relations Committee)
- Indiana Manufacturers Association
- Ogletree Deakins Seminar - "Legal Update: Eye on Employment Law" - Indianapolis - October 5, 2010
- Ogletree Deakins Workplace Strategies Seminar - "Government Contractors Take Note - OFCCP Update" - Miami - May 7, 2009
- Indiana Manufacturers Association - "It's a Brave New World Program: Union Organizing 2009" - Indianapolis - April 22, 2009
- Ogletree Deakins Seminar - "Free Choice Act My Foot! Anticipated Labor Legislation and What It Means to Your Company" - Indianapolis - April 1, 2009
- Ogletree Deakins and Ogletree Governmental Affairs, Inc. Seminar - "21st Century Reforms for the National Labor Relations Act: Striking a New Equilibrium Through Legislation, Regulation and Board Cases" - Washington, D.C. - February 26, 2009
- Ogletree Deakins Seminar - "Legal Update: Eye on Employment Law" - Indianapolis - October 15, 2008
- Ogletree Deakins Seminar - "Legal Update: Eye on Employment Law" - Indianapolis - October 16, 2007
- Ogletree Deakins Seminar - "Legal Update: Eye on Employment Law" - Indianapolis - October 4, 2006
- Ogletree Deakins Workplace Strategies Seminar - "Collective Bargaining During Competitive Times" - Atlanta - May 2006
- Ogletree Deakins Workplace Strategies Seminar - "Winning Arbitration Strategies" - San Antonio - May 2005
- Ogletree Deakins Workplace Strategies Seminar - "Positive Management of Union Contracts" - Atlanta - May 2004
- Indiana Chamber of Commerce - "Overview of the Americans with Disabilities Act" - Indianapolis - May 5, 2003
- Ogletree Deakins Workplace Strategies Seminar - "Positive Management of Union Contracts - A Guide for Employers" - Chicago - May 2003
- Indianapolis Business Journal - "2003 Employment Practices Seminar for Managers" - Indianapolis - May 2003 / May 2030
- Indiana University School of Law/NLRB Region 25, 24th Annual Labor and Employment Seminar - "Requests for Information and the NLRA" - Indianapolis - March 6, 2003
In The News
- March 26, 2012 - National Law Journal - "A Time To Grow, Once Again"
- February 1, 2012 - The American Lawyer - "This Time It's Personal"
- October 2011 - Of Counsel - "Of Counsel 700 Survey ... From Istanbul to Lancaster, PA, Many Firms Seize Opportunities and Open New Offices"
- September 2011 - Inside Counsel - "The Profession by the Numbers ... Attorney Count Flat to Slightly Down as Some Firms Retrench and Others Restock"
- August 2011 - Profiles in Diversity Journal - "Relief to Earthquake and Tsunami Victims in Japan"
- June 2011 - American Lawyer - "A Rebuilding Year"
- March 16, 2011 - The Indianapolis Star - "Hoosiers Raising Money to Help Japan"
- February 15, 2011 - National Law Journal - "Ogletree Deakins Has Better Than Expected Year"
- January 1, 2011 - Law360 - "Employment Laterals Favored Boutiques in 2010"
- December 3, 2010 - Law360 - "6 Firms Make Their Debut on In-House Atty's Fave List"
- October 1, 2010 - Inside Counsel - "Of Counsel 700 Survey: While Many Firms Halted Expansion, Some Seized Opportunities and Entered New Markets"
- July 12, 2010 - Law360 - "Ogletree Nabs Perkins Coie Vet for New Ore. Office"
- April 18, 2010 - Indianapolis Business Journal - "Airport Shruggs Off CEO Probe"
- March 31, 2010 - Law360 - "Ogletree Deakins Continues Expansion in Minneapolis"
- March 3, 2010 - The Indiana Lawyer - "Leading From Indiana: Longtime Labor Law Attorney Elected Managing Shareholder of National Firm"