GILBERT & SACKMAN, A LAW CORPORATION

What GILBERT & SACKMAN, A LAW CORPORATION does

Gilbert & Sackman, A Law Corporation is a California-based law firm founded in 1945 by Robert W. Gilbert, specializing in the representation of labor unions, Taft-Hartley multiemployer trust funds, and employees in employment matters. The firm operates from two offices — headquarters in Los Angeles at 800 Wilshire Blvd. and a Phoenix office at 3838 N. Central Ave. — and is staffed by 18 personnel including 16 attorneys, several of whom hold AV-Preeminent ratings, Super Lawyers distinctions, and Fellowships in the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel and the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers. Its practice covers three interconnected service lines: traditional labor law (grievances, arbitrations, collective bargaining, organizing, and representation before the NLRB, PERB, and DOL), pension and employee benefits law (ERISA advisory work for labor-management trustees of multiemployer plans), and class action employment litigation (wage-and-hour, meal/rest break, WARN Act, and ERISA claims).

The firm's revenue model is professional-services based, drawing on hourly billing, contingency arrangements for class actions, and ongoing retainer-style engagements with institutional union and trust fund clients. It represents more than fifty international and local labor unions and Taft-Hartley trust funds, including United Steelworkers (for whom Jay Smith serves as District Counsel across eleven western states), IATSE Locals 44, B-192, and 768, UNAC/UHCP, AFSCME, AGVA, UFCW Local 324, United Teachers Los Angeles, and multiple multiemployer benefit plans in the sheet metal, machinist, electrical, and building trades. The firm does not operate a proprietary technology platform; its competitive differentiation rests on credentials, decades of institutional memory, regulatory specialization, and demonstrated litigation outcomes including settlements and awards exceeding $170 million collectively in recent class action and arbitration work.

Gilbert & Sackman is a privately held California professional corporation with no disclosed parent company, subsidiaries, or external investment. Go-to-market relies on professional reputation, peer referrals within the labor movement, and participation in organizations such as the AFL-CIO Union Lawyers Alliance and the National Lawyers Guild. Recent strategic activity (2024-2025) includes the addition of senior shareholder Gerald Barrett from a Phoenix construction-trades practice, and associate hires that modestly expand bench depth, with no announced mergers, acquisitions, or material practice expansions beyond established union, ERISA, and plaintiff-side employment lanes.

Name

GILBERT & SACKMAN, A LAW CORPORATION

Legal name

Gilbert & Sackman, A Law Corporation

Website

https://gslaw.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1945

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Gilbert & Sackman is a Los Angeles-based labor and employment law firm founded in 1945 that represents 50+ labor unions, Taft-Hartley trust funds, and employees across California, Arizona, and the western United States through labor law, ERISA, and class action practices.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Labor and Employment Legal Services

NAICS

Offices of Lawyers (541110)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAHAAAD

Employment & Labor Law

Business & Public Services/Professional Services (Legal, Accounting, Consulting)/Legal Services

SECONDARYBPAHAGAK

Labor Relations & Employment Practice Advisory

Business & Public Services/Professional Services (Legal, Accounting, Consulting)/Human Capital & Organizational Consulting

Keywords

• Labor law representation
• Union legal services
• ERISA benefits counsel
• Taft-Hartley trust funds
• Employment class actions

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Legal Services - Union Representation: Provides legal representation to private and public sector labor unions, including union grievances, arbitrations, negotiations, organizing campaigns, and litigation in state and federal courts and before administrative agencies (NLRB, PERB, DOL). Revenue generated through legal service fees for ongoing union representation.
2. Legal Services - Taft-Hartley Trust Fund Representation: Provides expert advice and legal counsel to labor and management trustees of multiemployer benefit plans including pension, health and welfare, and apprenticeship trust funds. Includes plan design, compliance, and litigation services.
3. Legal Services - Class Action Litigation: Represents employees in class, representative, and collective actions under state and federal employment laws including wage and hour claims, WARN Act violations, and ERISA cases. Generates revenue through contingency fees and hourly billing for employment litigation.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Gilbert & Sackman is a law firm providing legal representation to private and public sector labor unions (grievances, arbitrations, negotiations, organizing campaigns, and litigation), Taft-Hartley trust funds (ERISA compliance, pension and health plan design), and employees in class/collective actions under state and federal employment laws. The firm serves more than fifty international and local labor unions and multiemployer benefit funds across multiple U.S. states.

Product overview

Gilbert & Sackman is a law firm offering three interconnected legal service lines: Labor Law (representing unions in grievances, arbitrations, negotiations, and court proceedings), Pension and Employee Benefits Law (advising Taft-Hartley trust fund trustees on ERISA compliance and plan design), and Class Action Representation (handling wage and hour and employment law class actions). The firm represents over fifty international and local labor unions and Taft-Hartley trust funds across industries including entertainment, retail, healthcare, construction, manufacturing, printing, and transportation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Labor Law Services
• Pension and Employee Benefits Law
• Class Action Representation

Quantifiable outcome

• Over $65 million returned to workers through meal period violation settlements
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Proskauer Rose LLP: Large national full-service law firm with a prominent Labor & Employment Law Department and significant union, Taft-Hartley, and employee benefits practice — a much larger, broadly diversified incumbent that competes for the same institutional clients.

Direct peers

• The Wagner Law Group: Boston and nationally focused firm concentrating in ERISA, employee benefits, and Taft-Hartley trust fund representation — directly comparable to G&S's pension and employee benefits practice line.
• Bredhoff & Kaiser, PLLC: Long-established Washington, D.C.-based law firm exclusively representing labor unions, Taft-Hartley trust funds, and working people in labor, ERISA, and employee benefits matters — directly comparable to Gilbert & Sackman's union-side and Taft-Hartley practice.
• Schuchat, Cook & Werner: St. Louis-based union-side labor and employment law firm serving labor organizations, Taft-Hartley plans, and individual workers — directly comparable to G&S's union representation and ERISA practice mix.
• Cohen, Weiss and Simon LLP: New York-based union-side labor law firm representing private and public sector unions, multiemployer benefit funds, and individual workers in collective bargaining, arbitration, and ERISA matters — a directly comparable peer in the union-side niche.
• Katz, Marshall & Banks, LLP: Washington, D.C.-based employment law firm representing plaintiffs in whistleblower, discrimination, and class action matters — comparable in employment-side plaintiff representation.
• Nichols Kaster, PLLP: Minneapolis-based plaintiff-side employment law firm with a major class action practice in wage-and-hour, FLSA, and ERISA cases — directly comparable to G&S's class action representation practice.
• Davis, Cowell & Bowe, LLP: San Francisco-based firm specializing in labor law, ERISA, and employee benefits representation of unions, multiemployer trust funds, and working people — geographic and practice-area twin to Gilbert & Sackman.
• Segal Roitman, LLP: Taft-Hartley and ERISA specialty firm representing multiemployer benefit plan trustees in pension, health and welfare, and fiduciary matters — closely comparable to G&S's trust fund representation practice.
• Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP: National plaintiff-side class action firm with a significant employment practice representing workers in wage-and-hour and ERISA class actions — comparable to G&S's plaintiff-side class action work at larger scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/gilbert-&-sackman-a-law-corporation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 GILBERT & SACKMAN, A LAW CORPORATION