Philip B. Baldwin

Phil is an experienced litigator who advises and defends companies in complex labor and employment matters in civil court, arbitrations, and before administrative agencies, including:

• High-stakes class actions and representative actions under the California Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA)
• Independent-contractor misclassification matters, including those in the “gig-economy”
• Wage-and-hour disputes
• Breach-of-contract and wrongful-termination disputes
• Whistleblower/retaliation, harassment, and discrimination claims
• Breach-of-duty-of-loyalty and unfair-competition claims
• Traditional labor matters, including matters before the National Labor Relations Board

Phil also regularly advises businesses relating to a broad spectrum of employment issues, including the creation of state-of-the-art policies and agreements, workplace investigations, complex hiring issues, terminations and reductions in force, worker-classification audits, and various other compliance issues.

Prior to joining Goodwin, Phil was a Shareholder at Littler in its San Francisco office.

In law school, Phil interned with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington, D.C., the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices, and the Hon. Peter J. Messitte in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland.

Best Lawyers, One To Watch, 2022-2025

Recipient, John F. Kennedy Labor Law Award, Georgetown University Law Center, 2015 (the graduating student with the best overall performance in the field of labor law)

Phil’s recent publications include:

• Co-author, “California Expands Pay Data Reporting Obligations for Large Employers,” Goodwin Client Alert, November 10, 2022
• Co-author, “New California Pay Transparency Law Expands Requirement to Disclose Pay Ranges,” Goodwin Client Alert, November 3, 2022
• Author, “The Eternal Debate on External Law in Labor Arbitration: Where We Stand Five Decades After Meltzer v. Howlett,” 16 Pepp. Disp. Resol. L.J., May 31, 2016

Phil’s recent speaking engagements include

• Lecturer, “Complying With California Wage and Hour Laws,“ Lorman Training Solutions, 2023
• Lecturer, “Complying With California Wage and Hour Laws,” Lorman Training Solutions, 2021