Irwin W. Aronson

Irwin W. Aronson

Harrisburg, PA recognized lawyers icon Recognized in Best Lawyers since 1989
Willig, Williams & Davidson

18 Best Lawyers awards

Willig, Williams & Davidson logo

Awarded Practice Areas

Employment Law - Individuals Labor Law - Union Litigation - Labor and Employment

Biography

Irwin W. Aronson is the partner in residence of Willig, Williams & Davidson’s Harrisburg, Pa., office. A respected appellate advocate, Irwin concentrates his practice in labor and employment law, employee benefit matters, governmental affairs and legislative drafting and analysis. He possesses a broad range of experience in litigation and legislative matters ranging from fair labor standards and unemployment compensation, to housing and urban development, to elections and voting rights.

Among other notable verdicts and settlements, Irwin served as lead counsel for the prevailing party or prevailing intervenor in matters that: established the applicability of public labor and employment regulation to private construction projects partially supported by public funds; established that unions may participate as parties in prevailing wage enforcement cases; established a method of computing benefits for workers who sustain injuries after only a short period of employment; and secured railroad yard safety by prohibiting the replacement of workers with electronic signaling devices.

Irwin is a frequent lecturer and has authored numerous articles. He serves or has served as an instructor for Pennsylvania State University’s Department of Labor Studies and Industrial Relations, the Union Leadership Academy, Pennsylvania State University’s Capitol College (adjunct faculty member), the Pennsylvania Bar Association and the Pennsylvania Bar Institute, among others. In 2012, Irwin was appointed by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania to serve on its Pennsylvania Interest on Lawyers Trust Account (IOLTA) board. He is also a dedicated member of his community, serving on many boards and committees benefitting others and co-founding the Keystone Research Center, a Pennsylvania-based public policy research institute.

The recipient of several prestigious awards, Irwin received the Keystone Research Center’s highest honor, the Sol Hoffman Award for Outstanding Service to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, in 2005. As a candidate for the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania in 2001, he was the only Democratic nominee to receive the Pennsylvania Bar Association Judicial Evaluation Commission’s coveted “Highly Recommended” rating. That same year, the Chester County Labor Council named him “Citizen of the Year. Since 1987, Irwin has been recognized as a LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell AV® Peer Review Rated attorney. He has been consistently selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® in the fields of Labor, Employment and Employee Benefits Law (Copyright 2010 by Woodward/White, Inc., of Aiken, S.C.) since 1987. In 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2011, Irwin was named a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer by Thomson Reuters, published annually in Philadelphia magazine.

Irwin is AV® rated by LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell® a registered certification mark of Reed Elsevier Properties Inc., used in accordance with the Martindale-Hubbell certification procedures, standards and policies.
Willig, Williams & Davidson

18 Best Lawyers awards

Willig, Williams & Davidson logo

Overview

  • Penn State, B.A., graduated 1972
  • Penn State Dickinson School of Law, J.D., graduated 1982

  • Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Bar Association

  • AFL-CIO Lawyers Coordinating Committee - Member
  • Council of Large Public Housing Authorities Attorneys’ Working Group - Member
  • Dauphin County Bar Association - Member
  • Jewish Community Center of Harrisburg - Board of Directors
  • Pennsylvania Bar Association - Member
  • Pennsylvania Interest on Lawyers Trust Account (IOLTA) Board - Chair of the Board
  • Pennsylvania Labor History Society - Member
  • Philadelphia Bar Association - Member

  • Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
  • United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
  • United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania
  • United States Supreme Court
  • Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Bar Association
  • AFL-CIO Lawyers Coordinating Committee - Member
  • Council of Large Public Housing Authorities Attorneys’ Working Group - Member
  • Dauphin County Bar Association - Member
  • Jewish Community Center of Harrisburg - Board of Directors
  • Pennsylvania Bar Association - Member
  • Pennsylvania Interest on Lawyers Trust Account (IOLTA) Board - Chair of the Board
  • Pennsylvania Labor History Society - Member
  • Philadelphia Bar Association - Member
  • Penn State, B.A., graduated 1972
  • Penn State Dickinson School of Law, J.D., graduated 1982
  • Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
  • United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
  • United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania
  • United States Supreme Court

Client Testimonials

Awards & Focus

Lawyer of the Year Badge - 2025 - Litigation - Labor and Employment
Named "Lawyer of the Year" by Best Lawyers® for:
  • Litigation - Labor and Employment, Harrisburg (2025)
Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America® 2026 for work in:
  • Employment Law - Individuals
  • Labor Law - Union
  • Litigation - Labor and Employment
Additional Areas of Practice:
  • Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law
  • Real Estate Law
Special Focus:
  • Administrative
  • Appellate
  • Civil Rights
  • Employee Benefits
  • Government Relations
  • Individuals
  • Labor
  • Litigation
  • Wage-Hour Law
Awards:
  • Highly Recommended Rating as Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania candidate, Pennsylvania Bar Association Judicial Evaluation Commission, 2001
  • Citizen of the Year, Chester County Labor Council, 2001
  • Sol Hoffman Award for Outstanding Service to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Keystone Research Center, 2005
  • Pennsylvania Super Lawyers, Philadelphia Magazine, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2011, 2014 and 2015

Additional Information

  • Experience
  • Willig, Williams & Davidson, Partner, 2001-Present
  • Johnston, Aronson & Diamond, Principal, 1998-2001
  • Handler, Gerber, Johnston & Aronson, Principal, 1987-1998
  • Handler, Gerber, Johnston Strokoff & Cowden, Associate, 1982-1987
  • Pennsylvania AFL-CIO, Research and Education Director, 1978-1982
  • Pennsylvania AFL-CIO News, Editor, 1978-1982
  • Pennsylvania AFL-CIO, Lobbyist, 1974-1982
  • Pennsylvania AFL-CIO, Staff, 1973-1982

    Your browser is not fully compatible with our automatic printer friendly formatting.

    Please use the print button to print this profile page.

    Spinning circle Big letter B