Bob Murphy is Of Counsel in the San Diego office. He is a member of the Employment, Labor and Retail & Hospitality Practice Groups. With over 40 years of experience in employment law, he is considered to be one of the nation’s most highly respected and creative labor lawyers. His practice is equally divided between employment litigation, labor-related matters such as union representation campaigns and collective bargaining negotiations and advising buyers and developers of hotel and resort properties with respect to the full gamut of due diligence matters including selection and training of employees, issues arising under the National Labor Relations Act and the creation of unique employment cultures.
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Met with the owners and developers of the Four Seasons Hualalai on the island of Hawaii to design human resources policies and procedures that were rooted in the most sacred values of Hawaiian culture. Instead of employing workers "at-will,” Mr. Murphy helped to design an employment contract that promised the employees fair treatment and required arbitration of all disputes. The process gave local community leaders a voice in the design of the resort and included them in important decisions affecting the resort and the community. One of those leaders was placed on the staff of the resort to act as an ombudsman/spiritual advisor to the employees. All of these things were done at our suggestion. The ILWU was rejected in its two – and only – attempts to unionize the workers, the resort has had virtually no employment litigation, has had only two arbitrations in the 13 years of its existence and has been financially successful. All of the surrounding resorts are unionized and several have gone into foreclosure.
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Negotiated collective bargaining agreements for major hotels and resorts across the United States including the Four Seasons New York; Doral Miami; Fairmont Miramar Santa Monica California; Hotel Bel Air, Bel Air, California; The Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel, and Beverly Hills Hotel, Beverly Hills, California and Turtle Bay Resort, Oahu, Hawaii.
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Acted as principal labor and employment counsel to owners and operators in over 300 hotel and resort acquisitions across the continental United States and Hawaii.
Admissions
- California
- California Supreme Court
- U.S. District Court, Central District of California
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
Community Involvement
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Pro bono representation of youth sports programs, animal shelters and businesses impacted by the COVID pandemic
EDUCATION
Graduate Degree, Criminology, Cambridge University
J.D., with honors, Columbia University
B.A., magna cum laude, California State University at Northridge
HONORS
The Best Lawyers in America©, "Employment Law – Management" (2018-present)
Martindale-Hubbell®, "AV Preeminent® – Peer Rated for Highest Level of Professional Excellence" (1987-present)