Michael E. Kramer

Michael Kramer has devoted his 30-year legal career to representing private and public sector labor unions and their membership, as well as non-union workers, in all types of employment cases. Michael has litigated employment discrimination, contract, whistleblower, workers compensation, civil rights and constitutional cases. He has litigated in state and federal courts, arbitrations, NLRB proceedings, school board, and administrative hearings. He has argued numerous cases before the Georgia Supreme Court and Court of Appeals. Michael is AV-Rated in the Martindale-Hubbell Directory. Michael has represented such varied unions as the Teamsters, Mailhandlers, IATSE, SEIU, Georgia Association of Educators, and the American Federation of Television & Radio Artists. He has negotiated numerous collective bargaining agreements for unions, and arbitrated contract interpretation and discipline cases under their provisions, including a collective bargaining agreement for the theater and stagehands union (IATSE) with The Fox Theatre that resulted in unprecedented salary and pension increases for its members. In recent years, Michael has added the representation of seriously injured workers in claims before the Georgia Board of Workers Compensation. Michael served as General Counsel for over 15 years for the Georgia Association of Educators (GAE), where he litigated many of Georgia's leading appellate education cases. He brought litigation to block statewide urinalysis testing of public employees, establish enhanced due process protections, preserve union dues deductions, enforce 1st Amendment rights, and increase pension benefits. In 2003, he drafted the amendments adopted by the Georgia General Assembly to the Georgia Whistleblower Act which increased the protections and damages for state and public school employees. He continues to serve as GAE's labor consultant and represents its members in disciplinary school board hearings and professional certificate cases before the Professional Standards Commission. In devotion to environmental advocacy, Michael has been a board member of GreenLaw, Inc., since 1998, and its treasurer since 2003. GreenLaw, Inc. is one of Georgia's leading environmental non-profits, bringing litigation against polluters in the state. Michael is a 1976 graduate of Oberlin College. He graduated from the University of California at Davis Law School in 1980 where he was an editor of the law review. In 1990, he earned an Executive MBA from Emory University, with Beta Gamma Sigma honors. He and his wife Gerri, a psychologist, have two daughters. In his spare time, he plays guitar and harmonica in neighborhood music sessions. Awards and Honors Honors AV-Rated, Martindale-Hubbell

• Of Counsel

• Kramer & Patel, LLC, Managing Partner, 2004 - 2008
• Kramer & Thomas, LLC, Atlanta, GA, Managing Partner, 1997 - 2004
• Zimring & Ellin, Atlanta, GA, Partner, 1992 - 1997
• Georgia Association of Educators, Decatur, Georgia,, General Counsel, 1985 - 1992
• U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission. San Francisco, California, Attorney, 1984 - 1985
• Beeson, Tayer, Kovach & Silbert/Michael Kramer Law Offices. San Francisco, California, Attorney, 1981 - 1984
• Georgia Association of Educators, Tucker, Georgia, General Counsel, 1998 - 2007

• Superintendent Beverly Hall v. Gerald Nelson
• Citation: S07A1052
• Court: Georgia Supreme Court
• Year: 2007
• Elizabeth Cook v. Gwinnett County School District, et al.
• Citation: 856 F.2d 142
• Court: U.S. District Court, Northern District-Atlanta
• Year: 2005
• GAE et al., v. Governor Joe Frank Harris
• Citation: 749 F.Supp. 1110
• Court: U.S. District Court, Northern District - Atlanta
• Year: 1990
• Georgia Association of Educators v. Gwinnett County School District
• Citation: 856 F.2d 152
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals, 11th Circuit
• Year: 1988
• Ezzell v. Board of Regents, Univ. System of Georgia
• Citation: 838 F.2d 1569
• Board of Regents, Univ. System of Georgia v. Rux
• Citation: 260 Ga. App. 760
• Court: Georgia Court of Appeals
• Year: 2003
• Moulder v. Bartow County Schools
• Citation: 267 Ga. App. 339
• Year: 2004
• Gurley v. Gordon County Board of Education
• Citation: 231 Ga. App. 481
• Year: 1998
• Murray County School Board v. Adams, et al.
• Citation: 218 Ga. App. 220
• Year: 1995
• Muscogee County Board of Education v. Boisvert
• Citation: 196 Ga. App. 537
• Gilda Ellis-Adams v. Whitfield County School District
• Citation: 182 Ga. App. 463
• Year: 1987
• Sharon Brawner v. Marietta Public Schools
• Citation: ---Ga. App.---
• Service Employees International Union, et al., v. Perdue, et al.
• Citation: 280 Ga. 379
• Year: 2006
• Shin v. Cobb County Board of Education
• Citation: 248 F.3d 1061
• Year: 2001
• Parrish, et al., v. Employees Retirement System of Georgia
• Citation: 260 Ga. 613

• GreenLaw, Inc., Treasurer, 2003 - Present
• Representative Clients
• Atlanta Housing Authority
• Fulton County Employees Retirement System & Board of Trustees
• Georgia Association of Educators
• Service Employees International Union
• Mailhandlers Local 310
• Progressive Redevelopment, Inc.
• LAI Engineering, Inc.
• Alisias Group
• Georgia Association of Fire Chiefs
• IATSE
• Teamsters
• SEIU
• American Federation of Television & Radio Artists

• Georgia, 1986
• District of Columbia, 1986
• California, 1980

• Georgia Bar Association, 1986 - Present (Member)
• California Bar Association, 1980 - Present (Member)
• District of Columbia Bar Association, 1986 - Present (Member)
• American Bar Association (Member)
• American Trial Lawyers Association (Member)
• American Civil Liberties Union (Member)
• Amnesty International (Member)
• Atlanta Bar Association (Member)
• Georgia Employment Lawyers Association (Member)
• Georgia First Amendment Foundation (Past Member)
• GreenLaw, Inc, 1998 - Present (Board Member)
• GAE (Labor Consultant)