Charles S Birenbaum

Practice Areas

Labor & Employment

ERISA & Employee Benefits Litigation

Trade Secrets

Career

Charles S. Birenbaum serves as the firm’s Chair of Northern California. Chuck is an experienced labor and employment attorney who focuses his practice on traditional labor and employment law matters, and has wide-ranging experience litigating in state and federal courts as well as various administrative agencies. He has testified on proposed legislation impacting entire industries before state legislative committees, and has interfaced and negotiated with labor organizations, politicians, regulators, and industry leaders to resolve complex issues for his clients in the health care, energy, construction and other industries.

Chuck is an experienced trial lawyer, having tried race harassment class actions, noncompetition trials, unfair labor practice hearings before the National Labor Relations Board, and multiple arbitrations. His appellate work includes decisions from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit under the National Labor Relations Act, Labor Management Relations Act, and the Employee Retirement and Income Security Act.

In the area of traditional labor law, Chuck has a broad array of experience in collective bargaining, union organizing and trust fund litigation for employers in the construction, energy, health care, manufacturing, and service industries. He has first chaired collective bargaining for all bargaining units at a health care system; first chaired collective bargaining over a bargaining unit of registered nurses at a dialysis provider; first chaired collective bargaining for construction agreements covering billions of dollars of heavy infrastructure development; and first chaired collective bargaining for a steel manufacturer and fabricator.

Chuck has been honored by numerous organizations for his labor and employment practice. Since 2013, he has continuously been listed with Chambers USA Guide for his work in labor and employment law, as well as being listed as one of the nation’s top 100 most powerful employment lawyers with Human Resources Executive® magazine each year. Chuck is also recognized by The Legal 500 United States for both Labor-Management Relations and Labor and Employment Disputes – Defense.

Concentrations:

Labor and employment class actions

Traditional labor law

Appellate advocacy

Employment law advice, counseling and training

Unfair competition, restrictive covenants and trade secrets

Professional Memberships

Board Member, Board of Trustees, Oberlin College, 2014-Present

Board Member, California Chamber of Commerce, 2017-Present; Chair, Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, 2021-Present.

Member, Oberlin College, President’s Advisory Council, 2011-2014

Arbitrator, American Arbitration Association, Employment Law Panel

Chair and Board Member, Georgetown University Law Center, National Law Alumni Board

Member, Bar Association of San Francisco; Board Member, Justice & Diversity Center of The Bar Association of San Francisco, 2013-2016.

Member, State Bar of California

Past Adjunct Professor, Santa Clara University Law School

Past President, Lawyers Club of San Francisco

Publications

Listed, Chambers USA Guide, Labor & Employment Law, 2013-2022

Personal

Education

J.D., Georgetown University Law Center, 1982

B.A., Government, with honors, Oberlin College, 1979