Robert B. Mitchell

Mr. Mitchell maintains a civil trial practice focused on representing employers and employees in labor and employment law cases.  He has litigated and tried numerous cases to conclusion before courts in several states, federal districts, administrative tribunals and arbitration panels.Mr. Mitchell is a member of the State bars of Connecticut, New York and Louisiana and has appeared before State courts in Connecticut, Louisiana, California, New Jersey and Tennessee, and before federal trial courts in Connecticut, the Eastern and Southern Districts of New York, the Eastern and Western Districts of Louisiana, the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and the Northern District of Florida.  He has argued cases before State appellate tribunals in Connecticut and Louisiana as well as the United States Courts of Appeal for the Second and Fifth Circuits.  Mr. Mitchell appears as an advocate before federal and state administrative agencies including the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities, the New York Division of Human Rights, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Federal Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division, the Connecticut State Board of Labor Relations and the National Labor Relations Board.In a non-litigating role, Mr. Mitchell advises public sector employers, private company managements and individual employees on their rights and obligations under federal and State labor and employment laws.  His work includes providing counsel to employers on union avoidance issues, collective bargaining, grievance management and arbitration, general union contract management, anti-discrimination law obligations (including sex, race, age and disability discrimination), FMLA, non-competition, confidentiality and compensation issues. He advises individuals about their rights under federal and state anti-discrimination laws, the common law, their employment agreements, severance contracts, the National Labor Relations Act and both State and federal compensation statutes.Bob graduated with honors from the Tulane University School of Law in 1978 where he was an editor of the Tulane Law Review.  He earned his undergraduate degree from Ohio Wesleyan University in 1975.  He is a member of the American Bar Association.  He belongs to the Greater Bridgeport Bar Association, where he sat on the board of directors and served as President from 2006 to 2007.  Bob is also a member of the Connecticut Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Law Section’s Executive Committee.  Bob has served as an Arbitrator and Attorney Trial Referee for the Connecticut Superior Court since 1989 and is a member of the Connecticut United States District Court’s Special Master’s Panel.  Mr. Mitchell is rated "AV" by the Martindale-Hubbell legal reference service, has been listed as "Connecticut Super Lawyer,” is named in the Best Lawyers in America and was named as a "Top Lawyer" and one of “the 200 Outstanding Lawyers in Fairfield County” by the Moffly Media Magazine Group.Community work is also an important part of Mr. Mitchell’s life.  He served as a Republican member of the Monroe, Connecticut Town Council from 1993-1999 and was a member of the Monroe Republican Town Committee and its Executive Board.  He was the President of the Board of Directors of SoundWaters, Inc., an environmental educational organization focused on the Long island Sound Watershed, was on the board of the Cardinal Shehan Center in Bridgeport, was Volunteer Director of a SoundWaters-Cardinal Shehan Center joint Junior Sailing Program, was on the Board of Directors of Stamford's Young Mariner's Foundation, an organization that provides on-the-water experiences for underserved children, has been a member of the American Civil Liberties Union, is on the Board of Directors of the Connecticut Zoological Society (Bridgeport’s Beardsley Zoo) (was President of the Board from 2011-2017), is Chairman of the Stratford United Methodist Church's Board of Trustees, and is on the Board of Directors for the Stratford Union Cemetary Association.Mr. Mitchell lectures and writes articles on labor and employment topics for the Connecticut Law Tribune and other professional publications.  He is a member of the Connecticut Law Tribune’sEditorial Board.  Attorney Mitchell can be reached at 203-873-0240 or rbmitchell@mitchellandsheahan.com