L. Michael Zinser is the founder of The Zinser Law Firm, P.C. He received his Juris Doctor from Vanderbilt University School of Law in 1975 and is an honors graduate of the University of Cincinnati. For over four decades, Michael has focused his practice on representing communications companies and industry trade associations – in particular, labor/employee relations and newspaper circulation legal issues.
 

Michael has served as on-site labor counsel during strikes and collective bargaining with unions at publications across the country. He was Lead Counsel in St. Joseph News-Press – the leading precedent at the National Labor Relations Board proving that home delivery, single copy, and bundle haulers are independent contractors not eligible for unionization.
 

During Michael’s career, he has defended independent contractor status for newspapers in 40 of the 50 states. He has also counseled newspapers and press associations seeking togain statutory language changes to protect independent contractor status.
 

Michael is General Counsel to the following newspaper trade associations: Texas Circulation Management Association; Inter-State Circulation Managers’ Association; Mid-Atlantic Circulation Managers Association; Midwest Circulation Management Association; Central States Circulation Managers’ Association; Cal-Western Circulation Managers’ Association; and Northwest International Circulation Executives. For over 25 years, he was General Counsel to OCMA, and he was the 1993 recipient of the OCMA Presidential Award.
 

In January 2014, Circulation Ideas Service inducted Michael into the National Circulation Director Hall of Fame. He is the first non-Circulation Director recipient of this honor.
 

Michael is a member of the Antitrust, Labor Law, and Litigation Sections of the American Bar Association (ABA). He is the Management Co-Chair of Region XIII of the ABA Committee on Practice & Procedure under the National Labor Relations Act.
 

Michael is listed in Martindale-Hubbell’s Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers for Labor and Employment Law. Martindale’s highest attorney rating is “AV.” Only 7% of all lawyers nationwide are rated AV. Only 3% of AV rated lawyers are listed in the Bar Register.

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