Human Resources Management
Resume:
J EF FREY S. LAND ERS
Albuquerque, New Mexico 87110
OBJECT IVE: To return to representation of a private sector employer in a position that
i nvolves labor relations. I am an attorney with twenty years of experience representing
both private and public sector employers. My experience as a labor and employment
a ttorney and my experience in labor management relations, collective bargaining, grievance
and arbitration procedures, developing employment policies and procedures provides great
value and offers a unique perspective in addressing and resolving workplace problems and
issues.
E DUCAT ION:
Nazareth College of Rochester BA in Political Science
Pittsford, New York Degree Conferred May 1986
Creighton University School of Law Juris Doctor
Omaha, Nebraska Degree Conferred May 1990
L ICENSES:
All New Mexico State Courts October 2, 1990
U nited States District Court March 8, 1991
For the District of New Mexico
United States Court of Appeals August 28, 1991
For the Tenth Circuit
United States Supreme Court November 1, 2004
WORK EXPER IENCE:
September 2005 to Present – County Attorney for Bernalillo County, New Mexico
In this position, I serve as General Counsel for a local county government. The capacity of
t he representation ranges from serving as t r ial counsel in complex li tigation involving
m ulti-million dollar public works and construction projects to li tigation involving class
actions under the Prison Li tigation Reform Act to daily guidance on labor and employment
matters. I also oversee the legal work of attorneys and law fi rms assigned by the County’s
i nsurance carrier and I am actively involved in forming lit igation strategy in these cases. I
supervise the work of the Deputy County Attorney, Assistant County Attorneys and support
s taff. My practice areas include: labor, employment, union negotiations, grievance and
a rbitration representation, civil r ights defense, procurement, property taxation,
constitutional law, elections law, contract law, and a variety of statutorily imposed duties
and responsibilities for elected officials and local governments. My practice areas of choice
a re labor, employment and civil r ights law. I have served as chief negotiator on
management’s negotiating team and provide guidance to the Human Resources Director
and upper management on collective bargaining strategies and labor relations strategies
w ith five (5) bargaining units. I advise departments on the requirements of state and
federal employment laws.
F ebruary 1996 to August 2005 – Assistant County Attorney and Assistant County
A ttorney Senior with the Bernalillo County Attorney’s Office
In this position, I functioned primarily as the County Bernalillo’s labor and employment
counsel. In this position, I advised, counseled and represented management in all labor
and employment matters. This included representation at r ights and interest arbitration
p roceedings, grievance administration, as well as representing management before state
and federal agencies as well as local and state labor boards. I served as a member of
collective bargaining teams and served as the chief spokesperson during collective
bargaining sessions. I represented management’s bargaining teams during impasse
p roceedings on several occasions. In this position, I was also handled the negotiation of
complex commercial subleases, joint powers agreements, intergovernmental agreements
and other documents to establish legal relationships with private and public entities.
G iven the relatively small size of the County Attorney’s Office I was called on to research
and develop a knowledge and understanding of programs that were regulated by the federal
government in the areas of housing, homeland security and emergency management. In
addition, I was actively involved in drafting legislation and seeking legislative support for a
n umber of initiatives at the state level. In this position, I represented county government
i n matters before state and federal t r ial and appellate courts. I was primarily responsible
for drafting employment policies and procedures for Bernalillo County and revising
antiquated language in the county’s personnel rules and regulations and other employment
documents related to employment procedures.
October 1990 to January 1996 – Associate Attorney – Cherpelis & Salazar
In this position, I conducted legal research, prepared legal memoranda, prepared pleadings,
d iscovery for a number of large employers in the public utili ty and retail industries. The
f i rm had a boutique practice focused on labor and employment law. My duties included
handling administrative matters before the EEOC and New Mexico Human Rights
D ivision, unemployment compensation appeals, proceedings before the N LRB, as well as
representation of employers in the state and federal t r ial courts and state appellate courts.
I a lso represented automobile manufacturers and dealerships in matters involving the
M agnuson-Moss and New Mexico Lemon Law cases. In this position, I was responsible for
d rafting employment handbooks and policies and procedures.
O THER EXPER I ENCE:
Hearing Officer/Mediation/Arbitration
Management’s Representative on Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water U tility Authority
L abor Board
I have served as a volunteer hearing officer/arbitrator for local governments and the state
courts to assist in the resolution of legal disputes involving employment matters, personal
i njury matters, and debt collection matters. For the past five years I have served as the
Bernalillo County L iquor License Hearing Officer.
L ecturing and T raining Attorneys, Students and Managers
I have assisted the County’s Human Resources Department in t raining managers on a wide
spectrum of labor and employment matters. I have also assisted private employers in
developing and implementing t raining programs for managers. I have served as a speaker
a t a number of Continuing Legal Education Programs involving labor and employment
matters. I have also served as a guest lecturer at the University of New Mexico’s Anderson
School of Business and the University of New Mexico’s School of Law on the subject of
collective bargaining process and strategy.
Judicial Selection Committees
I have been appointed by the New Mexico Second Judicial District Court Judges and the
New Mexico State Bar to serve on judicial selection commit tees to nominate individuals to
f ill vacancies on the state t r ial bench.
R EFERENCES:
Ar t De La Cruz, Vice Chair Tito D. Chavez
Board of County Commissioners 1500 Mountain Road NW
Of the County of Bernalillo Albuquerque, New Mexico 87104
One Civic Plaza NW, 10th F loor 505-***-****
Albuquerque, New Mexico 87102
George Cherpelis Alan B. Armijo
9202 N. 83rd P lace 1504 Cliffside Court NW
Scottsdale, Arizona 85258 Albuquerque, New Mexico 87105
Thaddeus Lucero
M id-Region Council of Governments
809 Copper Avenue NW
Albuquerque, New Mexico 87102
Contact this candidate