Brian as the Grand Marshall of the 2019 New York City St. Patrick’s Day Parade

Brian as the Grand Marshall of the 2019 New York City St. Patrick’s Day Parade

 

 Education

National University of Mexico

International Study 1962

  • Mexico, D.F.

The George Washington University B.A. 06/1966

  • Spanish American Literature - Washington, D.C.

  • Spanish - Mexico City, Mexico City 

- Sigma Delta Pi National Spanish Honorary


Middlebury College and Middlebury Madrid M.A. 08/1967

  • Spanish - Middlebury, VT

Georgetown University J.D. 06/1970

  • Juris Doctor - Washington, D.C.


The George Washington University LL.M 02/1976

  • LL.M (Labor Law Concentration) - Washington, D.C.

Honorary Degrees

Dublin City University 02/2013

  • Doctor of Philosophy - Dublin, County Dublin

Middlebury College 08/2019

  • Doctor of Humane Languages - Middlebury, Vermont

Experience 

National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)

Attorney - Los Angeles, California         07/1970 - 02/1972

  • Trial attorney. Major case representing Mexican workers

New York State Labor Relations Board

Senior Litigation Attorney - New York, NY 02/1974 - 01/2976

  • Representing Hospital workers


O’Dwyer & Bernstien, LLP

Senior Partner and Counsel - New York, NY 01/1976 - Present

  • 40 plus years experience concentrating in Labor and Employee Benefits law. Representing the Nation’s largest Pension and 401(K) jointly trusteed plans. Represented US Airline Pilots Association in Nation’s largest Airline Merger.

  • Primary counsel to labor unions in the public and private sectors with regard to government compliance and investigations, seniority, fair representation, and equal employment issues.

  • Primary counsel for multiple employer, public employee, and single employer benefit funds as both sole counsel and co-counsel in all aspects of plan administration, regulatory compliance, trustee fiduciary duties, collections, benefit appeals, and participant communications.

Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, New York 

General Counsel

  • Representing Migrant Labor, Farm Workers, and others in collective bargaining along the East Coast


Arbella Insurance Group 

Director - Boston, Massachusetts 01/2015 - Present 

  • Director of Large Mutual Insurance Company assigned to Investment Committee overseeing investments


Keith Miller Foundation 

President - New York, NY 01/2010 - Present 

  • Chair of small foundation funding progressive organizations


Bar Admissions

  • State of New York (1971)

  • District of Columbia (2010)

  • U.S. Southern, Eastern, and Northern Districts of New York (1973)

  • United States Supreme Court (1983)



Languages

Spanish (fluent), Italian (some), Portuguese (some)

Volunteer Activities (Representative, past and present)

Founder and Chair

Emerald Isle Immigration Center

New York, NY

  • Agency responsible for the well being of immigrants. Provides housing assistance, ESL classes, counseling and other services.


Member

New York City Commission on Human Rights

New York, NY


Member 

Presidents Commission on White House Fellows (Clinton)


Chair

CUNY Law School Foundation 

Queens, NY


Chair

Board of Directors, Association Tepeyac

  • Non-profit organization dedicated to the well being of Mexican and other Latin American immigrants. Provides ESL, computer classes, immigration and other counseling.


International Chair 

Ireland West Airport

Knock, County Mayo, Ireland 


Member

Advisory Council, Graduate School of Political Management at The George Washington University

Washington, DC


Member

Jacob K. Javits Center Operating Board

New York, NY

Political Activities (partial)

  • Chair, Irish Americans for Clinton-Gore

  • Vice President, Irish American Democrats

  • Co-Chair, Catholics for Biden-Harris

  • Co-Chair, Irish Americans for Biden-Harris

  • Biden-Harris Finance Committee 

Honors (Professional)

  • Rated as one of New York's "Super Lawyers" (top 5% of all attorneys in New York) for five years in a row by peer ranking 

  • Top rating in Martindale Hubbell peer rating ("AV") for 25 years in a row 

  • Named as one of top 100 Irish-American lawyers in the United States three years in a row 

  • Lecturer on employee benefit issues and member of the Attorneys Committee, International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans 

Honors (Catholic)

  • Knight Commander of the Order of the Holy Sepulcher 

  • Child of Peace Award Catholic Home Bureau 

  • Award Incarnation Children’s Center 


Honors (Irish) 

  • Grand Marshal - New York Saint Patrick’s Day Parade 2019

  • Sean MacBride Award, Ancient Order of Hibernians 

  • Irish American Legal 100 - Multiple years

  • Irish Echo Irish Person of the Year - 2018