Dreier LLP Launches Management Consulting Firm Berry Block & Bernstein LLC

July 9, 2008 2:03 PM EDT

NEW YORK, July 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Philip A. Berry, a widely recognized expert in human capital development in the workplace, has joined with the law firm Dreier LLP to launch a management consulting firm to assist companies in attracting, developing and retaining highly talented executives and employees. The other principals of the firm -- to be known as Berry Block & Bernstein LLC -- are nationally known employment attorneys and Dreier LLP partners Richard H. Block and Andrew J. Bernstein.

Mr. Berry is Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees for City University of New York and former Vice President, Global Workplace Initiatives for Colgate-Palmolive. Berry Block & Bernstein LLC builds on Mr. Berry's background in global diversity and human resources management, as well as Dreier LLP's strengths in employment law.

The new firm will provide companies with consulting services to help them improve working relationships in their businesses and develop their human potential to maximize their human capital effectiveness. The firm will assist clients in developing inclusive strategies to attract, reward and retain the best available talent; cultivate more capable leaders; foster innovation and collaboration; and align human resources strategies with global business objectives to attain sustainable competitive advantage in their industries. Berry Block & Bernstein LLC will also help companies manage diversity on a global basis to better match evolving business and demographic trends; to develop and implement effective affirmative action programs; and build positive employer-employee relationships.

"Amid the massive changes brought about by globalization and rapid developments in information technology, organizations need to realize that their human capital is as valuable as their financial capital," stated Mr. Berry. "Our firm is well situated to help companies develop practical strategies to nurture talent, motivate teams, and maximize their potential to become even better than they believe they can be."

"Our clients have been asking us for a number of years to start a consulting practice to assist them in proactively managing performance through their people," stated Mr. Block, a nationally recognized expert in employment law, who has been named one of the "Best Lawyers in America" for 2005 through 2008. "This new and innovative firm will help companies maximize their productivity and effectiveness, as well as offer them a full range of complementary legal services through our affiliation with Dreier LLP."

Manhattan-based Dreier LLP has built one of the largest and most sophisticated employment law practices in New York, and the affiliation with Berry Block & Bernstein is a natural progression for the rapidly growing firm.

"Dreier LLP's entrepreneurial model has always been to capitalize on business opportunities that allow us to better serve our clients," stated Mr. Dreier. "More than ever, companies of all sizes are looking for pragmatic solutions to managing talent within their organizations. With the combined expertise of Philip Berry, who has held senior management positions at global companies including Colgate-Palmolive and Procter & Gamble, and attorneys Richard Block and Andrew Bernstein, who have counseled companies across a wide range of industries, this new firm will offer much-needed services to the marketplace."

Background on Philip A. Berry

Philip A. Berry, a founding principal in Berry Block & Bernstein LLC, has worked in over 60 countries and lectured extensively on innovation, human capital development, diversity and leadership. As Vice President, Global Workplace Initiatives and Corporate Officer for Colgate-Palmolive, Mr. Berry led the company's efforts to attract, develop and retain a diverse workforce. Mr. Berry joined Colgate in 1990 as Associate Director of Human Resources and subsequently held senior Human Resources positions in the Central Europe/Russia, Africa/Middle East, Latin America and European Divisions. Prior to joining Colgate, Philip acquired broad Human Resources expertise at Procter & Gamble, where he worked for eight years in labor relations, organizational development and compensation.

Mr. Berry was appointed to the Business Leadership Council of CUNY (City University of New York) and serves on the Panel for Education Policy, appointed by the Mayor of New York. He serves as Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees for City University, which has responsibility for the 23 colleges within the New York City area and is acting Chairman of the CUNY Construction Fund. Mr. Berry is on the Advisory Board of the New York City Center, an arts and cultural institution, and is Co-Chair of the Corporate Diversity Council for the Asia Society. He has received numerous awards, most recently the Crossing Borders awards from Feminist Press; and other awards from National Hispanic Corporate Achievers, the National Association of Asian American Professionals; the Quality of Work Life award from Work Life Matters magazine; the 100 Most Powerful Blacks in New York award from Crain Magazine, the Communicator of the Year award from Global HR News and the Governor's award for Distinction in Community Service. Mr. Berry holds an AA degree from Manhattan Community College, BA degree from Queens College in New York, a Master's in Science from Columbia University School of Social Work, and an MBA from Xavier University.

Background on Richard H. Block

Richard H. Block is a principal in Berry Block & Bernstein LLC and a partner in the employment law practice at Dreier LLP, known as the Employment Law Group of Block Bernstein & Lagasse. A nationally recognized expert in labor and employment law, Mr. Block was named one of the "Best Lawyers in America" for 2005-2008; one of "New York Super Lawyers 2007"; and was also named to "The Best of the U.S." in its 2008 List of the Best of Lawyers (Employment) in the United States. Mr. Block represents a wide variety of clients, including Fortune 500 companies, financial institutions, insurance companies, educational institutions, entertainment companies, e-commerce firms and health care organizations. He has also counseled and represented individual senior executives regarding employment contracts and separations from employment. Prior to joining Dreier LLP, he was a partner at the law firm of Pillsbury Winthrop LLP, where he co-chaired the firm's national Labor and Employment Law Practice in New York.

Mr. Block is a member of the Bar of the State of New York, a member of the Board of Governors of The Princeton Club of New York, and a member of the Board of the Simon Wiesenthal New York Tolerance Center. Mr. Block is also a member of: the CPR Institute for Dispute Resolution, the Employment Disputes Committee, the Fellows of the American Bar Foundation and the American Bar Association.

Background on Andrew J. Bernstein

Andrew J. Bernstein is a principal in Berry Block & Bernstein LLC and a partner in the employment law practice at Dreier LLP, known as the Employment Law Group of Block Bernstein & Lagasse. Mr. Bernstein was named to the peer-reviewed "New York Super Lawyers 2007," as a specialist in litigating all types of employment related claims including employment discrimination, compensation, wage hour, defamation and trade secret and restrictive covenant claims. He regularly represents and counsels numerous corporations on a wide variety of employment-related issues in all types of industries; and regularly represents chief executive officers of both publicly and privately held companies and management teams in connection with leverage buyouts by private equity sponsors as well as in connection with their employment agreements and other contracts.

Mr. Bernstein is a faculty member for Federal Publications and Lorman Educational Services, and a past member of the Labor and Employment section of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York. Prior to becoming a partner at Dreier LLP in the labor and employment group, he was a partner at Pillsbury Winthrop LLP, where he was also a member of the New York Office Management Committee. He was formerly co-chair of Pillsbury Winthrop's Trade Secret Practice.

Background on Dreier LLP

Dreier LLP was founded in 1996 by Marc Dreier as a more responsive and innovative alternative to traditional "large-firm" lawyering. Dreier LLP represents a wide range of institutional, entrepreneurial and individual clients in diverse sectors of the financial, industrial and service-oriented markets. The firm's principal practices are commercial litigation, real estate, bankruptcy and corporate reorganization, employment, corporate and securities, entertainment, sports law, intellectual property, matrimonial and tax. Dreier LLP's Los Angeles affiliate, Dreier Stein Kahan Browne Woods George LLP, has its principal practice in entertainment and commercial litigation and corporate transactions. The firm's New York affiliate Schlesinger Gannon & Lazetera LLP has an extensive practice in the area of trusts and estates law. Pitta & Dreier LLP is an affiliate which specializes in labor law, and Pitta, Bishop, Del Giorno & Dreier LLP specializes in government relations. In the 12 years since its founding, Dreier LLP, with its affiliate members, has grown to more than 225 attorneys, with its principal office at 499 Park Avenue in Manhattan, and additional offices in Los Angeles and Santa Monica, California; Albany, New York; Stamford, Connecticut; and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

SOURCE Dreier LLP

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