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Elliot S. Azoff

Elliot S. Azoff’s practice primarily is focused in the area of labor relations. He has served as the chief negotiator in collective bargaining on behalf of various employers in the newspaper field, steel industry, construction industry and light and heavy manufacturing, as well as in the public sector. An accomplished litigator, he represents clients before the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) at representation and unfair labor practice hearings and in labor-related litigation at the administrative, trial and appellate levels.

Mr. Azoff has handled hundreds of arbitration proceedings of all kinds. An adroit problem solver, he counsels clients in the many aspects of the employer-employee relationship, including potential discrimination, contract discrimination, wage-hour and employment-at-will problems.

Mr. Azoff has a national reputation in the newspaper field and counsels newspapers throughout the country on a daily basis. He has extensive experience providing strategic counsel during this time of crisis and transition for many in the newspaper industry. Mr. Azoff has provided advice on risks, needs and conversion, allowing clients to maximize efficiencies and economies while shifting toward new media opportunities.

Mr. Azoff has represented some of the nation’s largest and best known newspapers in complex arbitrations and NLRB proceedings, including the New York Post, The Plain Dealer, the Wall Street Journal, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Newark Star-Ledger and the Dayton Daily News. He has also been intimately involved in developing and implementing cost-containment stratagems for many of these clients.

Mr. Azoff represents multiple contractor associations in Northeast Ohio and possesses an in-depth understanding of management-union relations in the construction industry. He has extensive experience in the steel industry and has negotiated major contracts on behalf of integrated mills. In addition, Mr. Azoff serves as General Counsel and Labor Counsel for a large metropolitan park district.

Mr. Azoff conducts seminars for clients’ supervisors on such diverse topics as “Managing Employees Within the Law,” “The Interviewing and Hiring Process” and “Proper Methods of Supervision.” He and Baker Hostetler partner Paula Seger conduct a program designed to sensitize supervisors and management to sexual harassment issues, called “Sexual Harassment in the Workplace.” They also conduct diversity training.

Mr. Azoff has served as a member of the BNA Corporate Practice Series Advisory Board and has co-authored two volumes for that series entitled “Practice and Procedure Before the NLRB” and “Guide to Wage-Hour Regulation.” He has been recognized in such publications as Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business and Best Lawyers in America.