Robert A. Blackstone

Partner

I help clients achieve their objectives legally, practically, and cost-effectively.

When Bob Blackstone works with clients, he makes sure that he clearly understands, up front, their desired objectives, their time frame, and the relative significance of the issue, or problem to their business. Although he helps clients to frame and evaluate their options from both a legal and practical perspective, he also makes recommendations based on his many years of practice and the experience of other clients in similar situations (as well as his 7 years of management experience gained from serving as the partner-in charge of the firm’s largest office with more than 200 lawyers and 400 support staff). When appropriate, Bob taps into the relevant collective knowledge and expertise of the other 70 lawyers in our firmwide employment services group.

Bob’s practice focuses primarily on strategic labor and employment law problems, including labor relations planning, executive employment and separation issues, noncompetition and trade secret matters, and the impact of technology in the workplace. He has substantial experience defending employers in administrative proceedings before the NLRB and in arbitration, and has served as chief collective bargaining negotiator for clients in a variety of industries.

Bob has represented Phillips 66, REI, Rising Phoenix Holdings Corporation, MG2 Architecture, TerraPower, Northwest Administrators, Twin City Foods, Charlie's Produce, and Pacific Market International.

Practice Highlights

Traditional labor work

Assisted a Fortune 100 company with a variety of labor work, including prevailing in two very visible and significant arbitrations involving misuse of employer technology, and successfully managed opposition to union organizing campaign in a technical unit of 90 employees; lead collective bargaining negotiator in a variety of industries, including food processing, retail, transportation, printing, and cable and broadcast television.

Executive employment work

Assisted multinational employer in resolving difficult sexual harassment complaint involving a high-level executive in a foreign office; successful resolution of multiple whistleblower discrimination claims; negotiated multiple complex separations of long-term presidents of major healthcare institutions and CEO of publicly-traded technology company. Successful mediation of a number of significant executive employment dispute, including noncompetition and trade secret disputes.

Corporate restructuring

Assisted multiple employers in connection with employment and labor issues relating to various corporate restructuring, including severance arrangements, retention and "stay bonus" agreements and WARN Act issues.

Admitted to Practice

Washington, 1976
District of Columbia, 1983

Education

J.D., Columbia Law School, 1976
- Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar
B.A., American Studies, Amherst College, 1973, with honors

Memberships & Affiliations

- Chairman, Board of Trustees – Museum of Flight, Seattle
- Trustee and Member of Executive Committee, Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce
- Member, Community Development Roundtable
- Management Co-chair, Whistleblower Subcommittee, 2009-2011; Management Co-chair, Subcommittee on Covenants Not to Compete and Trade Secrets, 2003-2007 – Employee Rights and Responsibilities Committee, Labor and Employment Law Section, American Bar Association
- Chair, Labor and Employment Law Section, Washington State Bar Association, 2007
- Chair, Labor and Employment Law Section, King County Bar Association, 1996-1997
- Chair, Pacific Coast Labor and Employment Law Conference, 1996

Professional Recognition

- Fellow, College of Labor and Employment Lawyers
- Received the "Willard J. Wright Award for Outstanding Civic Activity," Davis Wright Tremaine, 2019
- Named one of "America's Leading Business Lawyers" in Labor & Employment (Washington) by Chambers USA, 2004-2020; Ranked as an "Eminent Practitioner" in Labor & Employment (Washington), 2019-2020
- Named one of the "Best Lawyers in America" in Labor and Employment Law by Best Lawyers, 1995-present
- Selected to "Top 100 Washington Super Lawyers," 2008-2009; "Washington Super Lawyers," Thomson Reuters, 2007-2018

Your search returned no results. Please try another search or remove search criteria.