Michael Patrick O’Brien has been working to solve employment law problems for over three decades. He has served as an employment law attorney in Utah since 1986. This practice includes both administrative agency and court litigation, but also a consulting practice where Mike works with employers to defuse and/or avoid employment law problems before they turn into litigation. He also has helped some employees resolve employment disputes and problems. This very practical side of Mike’s practice is punctuated by his active quarter-century affiliations with the local and national Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), where he has served as legal and legislative director as well as a board member
During his many years crafting practical solutions for employment law problems, Mike has participated in hundreds of mediations and arbitrations. He also has served as a mediator or arbitrator in some employment cases, which sparked his interest in doing more work as a third party neutral. Accordingly, in December 2019, Mike attended and successfully completed the formal and extensive mediator training program from AAA Education Services—Mediator Essentials: Skills for Facilitating Negotiated Agreements. He now includes mediation as a part of his employment law and related practices as a shareholder at the law firm of Parsons Behle & Latimer.
Mike is qualified to serve as a mediator for various types of matters including:
- workplace discrimination, harassment and civil rights claims
- claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and related laws
- retaliation and whistleblower claims
- wage and hour claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and related laws
- disputes under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and related laws
- employment contracts and wrongful discharge issues
- noncompetes and restrictive covenant disputes
- defamation and torts
- other workplace-related disputes
Mike has written/published many articles on employment law topics and speaks often to the news media as well as local and national employer groups on various legal trends and issues. In addition to employment law, he also practices as a media lawyer, assisting and defending numerous news media entities in publication matters and regarding court and records access issues.
Mike has been recognized often for his professional achievements: AV rated by Martindale-Hubbell; ranked Band 1 by Chambers USA, Labor & Employment (2003 to present); Utah State Bar Employment Lawyer of the Year (2001); rated one of the Nation’s Most Powerful Employment Lawyers in America by Human Resources Executive (2010 to present); Mountain States SuperLawyers (2007 to present); Utah Business Magazine’s Legal Elite (2006 to present); and Best Lawyer, including 2019 Lawyer of the Year for Employment Law and 2020 Lawyer of the Year for Media Law.
For more information about Michael Patrick O’Brien please visit: Profile on Parsons Behle & Latimer
LinkedIn Profile: Mike O’Brien