Labor and Employment Law: Current Developments

Kenneth A. Sprang

JD, Case Western Reserve Law School (Order of the Coif)

MA, University of Michigan

BS, Ohio State University

Kenneth A. Sprang is one of the founding partners of Washington International Business Counsel, LLP, in Washington, DC, a boutique firm serving businesses around the United States and abroad.  Mr. Sprang counsels and represents both domestic and international clients in labor and employment and employee benefits matters, as well as a wide range of corporate, business and transactional matters.

Mr. Sprang began his career with Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, a large, multi-national firm, known particularly for its labor and employment expertise.  Subsequently, he served as in house counsel in the legal departments of Calgon Corporation, a former subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., and Cyclops Corporation, a Fortune 500 specialty steel manufacturer.  Later, Mr. Sprang founded legal departments and served as in-house general counsel for several privately-held companies, including a hospital and an Internet advertising company.  Mr. Sprang has also spent several years as a full-time law professor, and continues teaching property law and a labor seminar as an Adjunct Professor at Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law in Washington, D.C.

Mr. Sprang brings to his clients special expertise in labor and employment law. He represents employers in traditional labor relations matters, as well as in wage and hour, employment discrimination, HR, employee benefits, and other issues related to employment.  In addition to representing clients in all aspects of U.S. labor and employment law (including specific state laws), he has served on the senior staff of the Chairman of the National Labor Relations Board and taught the subject for many years. He is the author or co-author of several books and articles on labor and employment law and alternative dispute resolution.  Currently he provides outside editorial assistance to an online HR company, while also serving as its general counsel.

In addition to his labor and employment work, Mr. Sprang counsels clients in corporate formation and governance; negotiation, drafting, and review of contracts, real estate documents, and other instruments; mergers and acquisitions; and federal and state regulatory compliance.   He serves as general counsel to several companies.

Illustrative clients include a Tunisian olive oil producer, a New York construction company, a magazine and online publisher, a manufacturer of isostatic presses, and software developers.  Recent representation has included establishing a turnkey subsidiary for the Italian company; advising several startup companies in all phases of their activity, including raising capital; representing clients in corporate reorganizations; advising clients regarding redundancies; and negotiating and drafting an employment agreement for a new company’s first executive.

Mr. Sprang’s community and pro bono endeavors are focused on children.  He recently completed his term as a member of the Board of Directors of Kidsave International (Kidsave.org), an organization that helps move older children in the U.S. and Colombia out of foster care and into adoptive families.  Through Kidsave, in 2006 Mr. Sprang and his wife Carol adopted their now 17 year old son Christopher from Columbia.  In addition, Mr. Sprang serves on the Board of and as General Counsel to Boys to Men International, which provides programs to support adolescent boys in the transition to adulthood.

Email: ksprang@wibclaw.com