Top Hollywood Labor Lawyer Howard Fabrick Switches Firms (Exclusive)

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Howard Fabrick, one of Hollywood's top experts on labor and employment law, has joined the Los Angeles office of law firm Barnes & Thornburg as a partner.

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Fabrick, who previously spent 13 years with LA firm Akin Gump and 18 years with Proskauer Rose, has been featured in THR's annual Power Lawyers issue for his experience handling tricky guild issues and employment disputes. He joined the new firm Jan 1. 

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Fabrick recently worked on Immortals and the upcoming Mirror, Mirror for Relativity, Hugo for GK Films, Red Tails for Lucasfilm, and the upcoming I, Alex Cross for QED. He has extensive experience negotiating with guilds, recently handling AFTRA's renegotiation over video games.

"This is going to be a big year in the labor community and I'm excited to be with the new firm," Fabrick tells THR in an interview. He cites the upcoming negotiations between producers and the various craft unions whose heath care pacts expire in July as one of the thorniest labor issues facing the industry.

Fabrick is the 16th attorney to join the Barnes & Thornburg firm since it launched an LA outpost last February (the national firm has offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Washington and other cities). He joins Scott Witlin, Jonathan Wight, Stephen Mick and Jason Karlov, all of whom once practiced with Fabrick at his former firm.

"Howard is a nationally recognized labor and employment attorney, who brings more than 40 years of experience to Barnes & Thornburg," says Kenneth J. Yerkes, chariman of the firm's labor and employment department, in a statement. "His arrival will help deepen the firm's already strong capabilities in representing employers in union matters, including collective bargaining and counseling, particularly in the entertainment industry."

Email: Matthew.Belloni@thr.com

Twitter: @THRMattBelloni