Labor & Employment Law Section

Lifetime Achievement Award  

New York State Bar Association Labor and Employment Law Section 2021

Evan J. Spelfogel
Senior Counsel, Phillips Nizer LLP

Evan J. Spelfogel is senior counsel in the Labor & Employment Law Practice at Phillips Nizer LLP representing management and benefit providers in all areas of employment law, labor, and employee relations.

After graduating from Harvard College and the Columbia University Law School, Evan served five years with the United States Department of Labor, Office of the Solicitor and the National Labor Relations Board in Washington, D.C., Boston, and New York.

Evan is an adjunct professor at Columbia University Law School where he teaches Employment Law. He has previously served as an adjunct professor at Baruch College of the City College of New York, and as a lecturer in labor law at St. John’s University, and at annual labor and employment institutes of New York University, Southern Methodist University, Boston University, and the University of Washington. He has written, edited and published numerous articles, books and book chapters on a broad range of issues, including wage and hour collective actions, comparable worth and pay equity, employment discrimination, wrongful discharge, retiree health care, plant closings and reductions in work force, e-mail and workplace privacy, union picketing and hand billing on private property, NLRB representation and unfair labor practice proceedings, the interaction of ERISA, the ADA and the NLRA, pregnancy disability, sexual harassment, employee benefits and alternative dispute resolution.

A Former Chair of the New York State Bar Association’s (NYSBA) Labor & Employment Law Section, Evan continues to serve on its Executive Committee. He has also served as a member of the Executive Committee of the NYSBA’s Dispute Resolution Section.

In January 2018, Evan was elected a Fellow of The New York Bar Foundation in recognition of his distinguished achievement, dedication to the legal profession, commitment to the organized bar, and service to the public. He was also elected to the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers as a Fellow, the highest recognition by one’s colleagues of sustained outstanding performance in the profession, exemplifying integrity, dedication, and excellence. Evan has been selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America© (1995 to 2018) in the fields of Employment Law—Management and Labor Law—Management and has been included on the New York Metro Super Lawyers list (2006 to 2019) in the areas of Employment & Labor, Employment Litigation: Defense, Employee Benefits, and Alternative Dispute Resolution. He received the 2014 Samuel M. Kaynard Award for Excellence in the Fields of Labor & Employment Law in recognition of his strong ideals, keen legal acumen, and outstanding contributions to the fields of labor and employment law. In addition, Evan is currently listed in Who’s Who in America; Who’s Who in American Education; Who’s Who in Industry and Finance; Who’s Who Legal: The International Who’s Who of Management Labour & Employment Lawyers; and Who’s Who in the World.

Samuel M. Kaynard Memorial Student Service Awards  

New York State Bar Association Labor and Employment Law Section 2021

First Prize $3000:  Michelle Capobianco, St. John’s University Law School

Second Prize $2000: Ellie Sage Sheinwald, St. John’s University Law School

Third Prize (Tie) $1000 each:  Courtney Trombley, Albany Law School of Union University &  Katherine Boyd, Pace University, Elisabeth Haub School of Law

Michelle Capobianco

Michelle Capobianco is a third-year law student at St. John’s University School of Law with a focus of study in labor and employment law. She is currently the Vice President and Programming Director of the Labor and Employment Law Society and a Senior Staff Member of the New York Real Property Law Journal at St. John’s. She is also an executive board member of the Dispute Resolution Society and Entertainment, Arts & Sports Law Society at St. John’s. She will be interning with the legal department of the Director’s Guild of America during her final semester and continues to work as a law clerk with The Boyd Law Group, PLLC.

Ellie Sheinwald

Ellie Sheinwald is a 3L student at St. John’s University School of Law. She is the Articles & Notes Editor of the New York International Law Review, Executive Director of the Public Interest Law Students Association, and Co-President of the Jewish Law Students Association. She has worked as a legal intern at the U.S. Department of Labor, Keane & Beane, and NYSUT. Ellie’s scholarly note discussing international labor standards was published recently in a NYSBA publication. Ellie holds two undergraduate degrees: one in Political Science from Columbia University and one in Modern Jewish Studies at the Jewish Theological Seminary.

Katherine Boyd

Katherine M. Boyd is a 2L at Pace University’s Elisabeth Haub School of Law, where she is a Junior Associate with the PACE LAW REVIEW. She graduated from Boston University, after which she spent time in the restaurant industry, learning to combine hard-work with creativity. This time inspired her interest in labor and employment law. She is committed to developing her knowledge of labor and employment law and has participated in internships at the Unemployment Action Center and the New York State United Teachers Office of General Counsel. Having grown up in the Hudson Valley, she is happy to have returned to the state to be a part of the legal community in New York.

Courtney Trombly

Courtney Trombly is a 3L at Albany Law School.  During law school, she worked as a Peggy Browning fellow and later as a law clerk at New York State United Teachers (NYSUT), where she gained an understanding of and appreciation for labor and employment law.  She also serves as the Managing Editor of Research and Writing on the Albany Government Law Review and will be published in the upcoming issue of the Albany Law Journal of Science and Technology.  Courtney lives in Broadalbin, NY, and is currently studying for the February Bar Exam.  She would like to thank her father for his continued support throughout law school, and her dog, Buddy, for keeping her days bright.

Dr. Emanuel Stein and Kenneth D. Stein Memorial Writing Competition  

New York State Bar Association Labor and Employment Law Section 2021

First Place  $3000:  Taiyee Chien, The University of Chicago Law School

Second Place $2000:  Trishala Dessai, American University Washington College of Law

Taiyee Chien

Taiyee Chien is a JD Candidate at the University of Chicago Law School. During his time in law school, Taiyee has served as a staff and online editor of the University of Chicago Law Review, and has volunteered with various pro bono legal clinics. After graduating from law school this summer, he will join the litigation department of the New York office of Kirkland & Ellis LLP. Taiyee earned his undergraduate degree, with honors, from Princeton University.

Trishala Dessai

My name is Trish Dessai and I am a J.D candidate American University Washington College. I attended undergraduate at College of Industrial Labor Relations at Cornell University. Labor and employment law is a topic I have been passionate about since high school. My parents are both immigrants from India and have faced the traditional issues most immigrant workers are subject to such as: wage disparity, lack of workers’ benefits, and discrimination. Their experiences inspired me to pursue labor and employment law in order to remedy worker injustices. This summer I worked for Terri Gerstein of the Harvard Law School Labor and Worklife program to conduct research on the effect of the pandemic on gig-economy workers and nursing home workers. This research drove me to write a paper which aimed to cure the  gig-economy misclassification conundrum by creating a portable workers’ benefits system. This fall, I am working as a judicial intern for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) where I am learning how to draft summary judgments on complex employment discrimination issues. I serve as a Senior Staffer on the American University’s Legislative Policy Brief and as a Junior Staffer on the Arbitration Brief. During my second year in law school, I am focusing on combining my love for labor and employment law with international law by concentrating on international arbitration, specifically on fair and equitable treatment provisions, and the impact it has on worker protections. My future goal is to work on projects which deal with international labor in relationship to international trade agreements as well.