Bush Gottlieb

What Bush Gottlieb does

Bush Gottlieb is a union-side labor and employment law firm founded in 1970 by young lawyers active in the student civil rights and anti-war movement, headquartered at 801 N. Brand Boulevard in Glendale, California. The firm represents private and public sector labor unions, multi-employer employee benefit trust funds (Taft-Hartley and governmental pension and health plans), and individual workers across ten practice areas: Traditional Labor Practice, Strategic Labor Initiatives, Employee Benefits, Public Sector Unions, Litigation, Secured Transactions & Intellectual Property, Bankruptcies and Workouts, Railway Labor Act, Wage and Hour, and Governmental Advocacy. Bush Gottlieb's marquee clients include SAG-AFTRA, the Directors Guild of America, and the Writers Guild of America West, along with their related Pension and Health Plans, and the firm manages the Tri-Guild compliance inspection program with film producers and distributors.

The firm has approximately 27 attorneys organized as a private partnership with no parent company, no institutional investors, and no technology products; legal services are delivered through standard practice management tools and billed on hourly fee arrangements without publicly disclosed pricing. Customer acquisition is driven by reputation, AFL-CIO Union Lawyers Alliance referrals, and bar association participation rather than traditional marketing. The firm has aggressively recruited former NLRB senior leadership—most notably Jennifer Abruzzo (former NLRB General Counsel, April 2025) and Jessica Rutter (former Acting General Counsel, October 2025)—providing it with deep institutional regulatory knowledge and a competitive advantage in NLRB proceedings, ERISA compliance, and entertainment industry bankruptcies.

Quantified outcomes include nine-figure recoveries for union members in bankruptcy proceedings, hundreds of millions of dollars collected on behalf of entertainment industry talent, and $100s of millions in benefit recoveries for employee benefit plan participants. The firm operates under a Collective Bargaining Agreement with the Office & Professional Employees International Union Local 537 for its staff, and is staffed by attorneys from top-tier law schools including Stanford, Harvard, UCLA, and Cornell. Bush Gottlieb is among the most credentialed union-side labor boutiques in the United States, with multiple partners recognized as Southern California Super Lawyers, Rising Stars, and Fellows of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers.

Name

Bush Gottlieb

Legal name

Bush Gottlieb

Website

https://bushgottlieb.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1970

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Bush Gottlieb is a union-side labor and employment law firm founded in 1970, representing private and public sector labor unions, multi-employer employee benefit trust funds, and individual workers in collective bargaining, NLRB proceedings, ERISA, bankruptcy, and litigation matters nationwide from its Glendale, California headquarters.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Labor Law Services

NAICS

Legal Services (5411)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

Employment & Labor Law (BPAHAAAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Labor, Worker Rights & Employment Policy Advocacy (BPAGAFAH), Labor Relations & Employment Practice Advisory (BPAHAGAK)

Keywords

• Union labor law
• Employee benefits counsel
• NLRB representation
• Collective bargaining
• ERISA compliance

Headquarters

HQ city

Glendale

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Legal Services Billing: Bush Gottlieb provides legal representation to labor unions, employee benefit trust funds, and workers through hourly fee arrangements. As a law firm, revenue is generated through billing clients for legal services rendered in areas including litigation, arbitration, administrative proceedings, collective bargaining, and advisory counsel.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Bush Gottlieb is a union-side labor and employment law firm that represents labor unions, multi-employer employee benefit trust funds, and individual workers across the United States. The firm provides legal services in collective bargaining, NLRB proceedings, arbitration, ERISA compliance, wage and hour litigation, bankruptcy and workout representation for union creditors, public sector labor relations, railway labor matters, secured transactions, and governmental advocacy. Practice areas are organized into ten interconnected specialties serving the labor movement from its Glendale, California headquarters.

Product overview

Bush Gottlieb is a union-side labor law firm offering a comprehensive suite of legal services to labor unions, trust funds, and working people. The firm operates as a unified legal practice organized around ten distinct but interconnected practice areas: Traditional Labor Practice, Strategic Labor Initiatives, Employee Benefits, Public Sector Unions, Litigation, Secured Transactions & Intellectual Property, Bankruptcies and Workouts, Railway Labor Act, Wage and Hour, and Governmental Advocacy. These practice areas work together to provide full-spectrum representation including collective bargaining, arbitration, NLRB proceedings, benefit plan counseling, entertainment industry bankruptcies, and legislative advocacy.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Traditional Labor Practice Legal representation and advocacy for labor unions before the National Labor Relations Board, in arbitration, at the bargaining table, in courts, and through the legislative process. Targeted at private and public sector unions across multiple industries.
• Strategic Labor Initiatives

Quantifiable outcome

• Collected well into nine figures for union-represented employees through bankruptcy proceedings
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers14 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• AFL-CIO Union Lawyers AlliancecoreOthersBush Gottlieb attorneys are members of the AFL-CIO Union Lawyers Alliance, an organization of union-side labor lawyers that coordinates professional development, referrals, and advocacy for the labor movement. Multiple attorneys serve in leadership positions including Jason Wojciechowski, Luke Taylor, Julie Gutman Dickinson, Michael Plank, David Ahdoot, and Joseph Kohanski.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Bredhoff & Kaiser: Washington, D.C.-based union-side labor law firm representing major national and international unions in collective bargaining, NLRB proceedings, and employee benefits matters — a long-standing direct competitor to Bush Gottlieb on complex national union mandates.
• O'Donoghue & O'Donoghue: Union-side labor law firm with a national practice covering traditional labor, employee benefits, and ERISA matters for unions and multi-employer plans — directly comparable to Bush Gottlieb's core practice mix.
• James & Hoffman: Washington, D.C.-based union-side labor and employment law firm representing major unions and benefit plans in litigation, NLRB proceedings, and ERISA matters — directly comparable specialty and client base.
• Schuchat, Cook & Werner: St. Louis-based union-side labor firm focused on traditional labor law, employee benefits, and appellate litigation for unions and benefit funds — closely comparable in benefits and ERISA practice.
• Cohen, Weiss and Simon: New York-based union-side labor firm representing private and public sector unions in collective bargaining, litigation, and benefits matters — directly comparable in client type and practice scope.
• Gladstein Reif & Meginniss: New York union-side labor and employee benefits firm representing public and private sector unions and multi-employer funds — comparable mix of traditional labor and benefits practice.
• Messing Adam & Jasmine: California-based union-side labor law firm serving public and private sector unions; comparable geographic overlap and similar mix of traditional labor, organizing campaigns, and litigation.

Others

• AFL-CIO: National labor federation that is both an indirect channel for referrals to Bush Gottlieb (via the Union Lawyers Alliance) and an ecosystem participant rather than a direct legal services competitor.
• SAG-AFTRA: Major entertainment industry union and one of Bush Gottlieb's most important clients; included as a key ecosystem participant and demand driver rather than a peer in legal services.

Emerging players

• Katz, Marshall & Banks: Washington, D.C. employment and labor firm with whistleblower and employee-side representation; partial overlap on the employee-advocacy side but smaller traditional labor/union practice than Bush Gottlieb.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/100054226821633
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/bush-gottlieb-a-law-corporation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles16 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Bush Gottlieb