John G. Adam has practiced union‑side labor law since 1984. His experience includes litigation in federal and state trial and appellate courts, federal and state agencies, and arbitration forums, in labor, employment, and retiree benefit cases. He has represented union and retirees in more than a dozen states.
John is admitted to practice before the United States Courts of Appeals for the Third, Fourth, Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Circuits.
He was lead attorney for the College Athletes Players Association which sought to organize college football players in Northwestern University, 362 NLRB No. 167 (2015). The National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) Regional Director found that the Northwestern football players were employees under federal labor law, and conducted a union representation election, but ultimately the NLRB declined to assert jurisdiction over college football programs for discretionary policy reasons and the ballots were never counted.
John is a member of the State Bar of Michigan Labor and Employment Law Section and editor of the Section’s quarterly journal.
John is the author of more than three dozen professional articles and columns, in the University of Detroit Mercy Law Review, Labor Law Journal, Detroit Legal News, and Labor and Employment Lawnotes. He has lectured at professional events sponsored by the Michigan State University College of Law, the Federal Bar Association Labor and Employment Law Section, the State Bar of Michigan Labor and Employment Law Section, the Institute of Continuing Legal Education, the NLRB, the Michigan Employment Relations Commission, the Michigan State University School of Human Resources and Labor Relations, the Wayne State University Labor Studies Center, the University of Michigan Labor Studies Center, the Center for Labor Management Development, and others.
He is a graduate of Michigan State University and Wayne State University Law School.