John K. Baker, Attorney

Mr. Baker is counsel in the Commercial Litigation Department, where he is a member of the Labor and Employment Law Group.  His labor practice focuses on union avoidance and merit shop, election campaigns, mass picketing injunctions, picketing and boycott issues, union trust fund/ERISA litigation, collective bargaining negotiations, Acts 111 and 195, grievance and interest arbitrations, unfair labor practices and representation/ decertification hearings.  He is a Contributing Editor to The Developing Labor Law, 4th and 5th editions, publications of the American Bar Association.

On the employment side, Mr. Baker represents management in all aspects of trial/appellate litigation, in both the court and administrative agency systems including wrongful discharge, discrimination and breach of contract.  He also counsels companies with respect to employment/ independent contractor agreements and handbooks, OSHA, prevailing wage, trade secrets, restrictive covenants, civil service, wage and hour, and FMLA, to name a few.  Mr. Baker is a frequent speaker on these topics for several professional associations and is an Adjunct Instructor in Labor and Employment Law in the Institutional Leadership degree program at Penn State - Lehigh Valley Campus.  He has served as an Arbitrator Chairman of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Mr. Baker received his B.A. in 1982 from Westminster College and his J.D. in 1985 from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law.  He is licensed to practice in the United States Supreme Court, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, and all State and Federal Courts in Pennsylvania.  He is a member of the American and Pennsylvania Bar Associations, and is Co-Chair of the Member Welfare Committee of the Bar Association of Lehigh County.  He is currently on the Board of Trustees of the Allentown YMCA/YWCA and is the recipient of the 2006 Distinguished Service Award.  In 1997, he received the Clara Barton Society Award given by the American Red Cross of the Greater Lehigh Valley for the highest achievement in volunteer leadership, which followed a six-year tenure on that Board.  In 2005, Mr. Baker was honored by the Greater Delaware Valley Chapter of the MS Society as an MS Corporate Achiever, given to area professionals for contributions to the business and culture of the Lehigh Valley/Greater Berks areas.  Mr. Baker was also a lawyer-volunteer for Trial Lawyers Care, Inc., an organization which provided free legal representation to victims' families in connection with the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund.