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The Center for Labor and Employment Law Honors a Legacy and Starts a New Chapter
Students were always at the heart of the late David L. Gregory’s work at St. John’s, where he served as the Dorothy Day Professor of Law for 35 years. He established the Law School’s Center for Labor and Employment Law with a focus on the importance, and the sanctity, of doing good work in the world. “The Center strives to show students, by engagement and example, that they can be successful practitioners who also give back to their communities,” Professor Gregory said early on.
Under his leadership, the Center met its mission by expanding the Law School’s labor and employment law curriculum, presenting international conferences and symposia, and bringing distinguished speakers to campus. “Dave created an unrivaled learning environment, where students are exposed to the practice of labor and employment law, and where they engage in important and enlightening conversations with our alumni and other influencers in the field,” says Dean Michael A. Simons. “He then left the Center in the able hands of his colleague and friend, Professor David Marshall.”
Building on the work of his predecessor for almost six years, Professor Marshall has added to St. John’s suite of labor and employment offerings. There are now eight courses taught by professors with a broad range of experience in the field—from private practitioners and judges to attorneys from the Department of Labor and the National Labor Relations Board. Students can also take related courses on alternative dispute resolution, negotiation, and client counseling through the Law School’s Hugh L. Carey Center for Dispute Resolution.
“Since starting as director, my priorities have been enhancing our students’ law school experience and improving their competitiveness for labor and employment jobs,” Professor Marshall explains. “I enjoy engaging with students in the classroom as I teach Employment Discrimination, Labor & Employment Arbitration, and Transnational Employment Relations Law. And, of course, it’s wonderful to see them succeed through their own hard work and with guidance from the Center and the Law School’s Career Development Office.”
Outside the classroom, Professor Marshall collaborates closely with students in the Center-affiliated Labor Relations and Employment Law Society. The group produces the St. John’s Labor and Employment Law Forum blog to showcase student scholarship. The students also organize and host an annual interview skills workshop, an ongoing mentorship program, a series on how to be a successful intern, and panel events on timely labor and employment topics. All those initiatives involve St. John’s Law alumni, who support students and the Center generously as speakers, mentors, employers, and donors.
With the Center strong in its student focus, in January, Professor Marshall joined the Law School community in welcoming Professor Miriam A. Cherry as faculty director. “I’m delighted to start this new chapter in the Center’s story,” he shares. “Miriam brings a reputation in the legal academy for innovative and prolific scholarship. Her skills, ideas, and personal example as a scholar are going to benefit the Center by motivating our students to deepen their own interests in scholarship and elevate their scholarly work product. Her contacts with other prominent scholars will permit the Center to resume the tradition David Gregory established of sponsoring important conferences and publications relating to labor and employment. Miriam will also deepen the Center’s connection with the St. John’s faculty, creating opportunities for collaboration.”
Professor Cherry is already engaging her experience and skills as an educator and a scholar to benefit the Center. This semester, she is teaching an upper-level course on the Future of Work using her book, Work in the Digital Age. “My students are writing papers on remote work, algorithmic management, social media influencers, and discrimination in Esports videogames,” she says. “My research and the work with the Center are directly connected to this seminar class.” In the coming months, collaborating with the Carey Center, Professors Cherry and Marshall will organize and present a symposium on arbitration in the gig economy. There will also be an alumni reception to bring practitioners and students together with the Center’s leadership.
“I’ve always thought that labor and employment law is a ‘hot’ area, and now everyone else seems to agree,” says Professor Cherry. “In just the past 10 to 15 years, we’ve seen the rise of gig platforms, the increasing use of remote work, and the development of artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT. These changes, and others, will have an enormous impact on the way people work. We’re also seeing legal changes that promote equality in the workplace, like the ban against confidentiality/NDAs, mandatory arbitration of sexual assault and harassment claims, and pay transparency laws. So, it’s the perfect time for the Center to host conferences and symposia around hot topics in labor and employment law.”
As he and Professor Cherry team to lead the Center for Labor and Employment Law going forward, Professor Marshall reflects on Professor Gregory’s legacy. “Maintaining and expanding the Center, supporting the Labor Relations and Employment Law Society, and producing ethical, well-educated labor and employment lawyers are the best things we can do to honor Dave, whose true joy was watching St. John’s Law students succeed.”
