On Wednesday, Robinson appeared before a congressional panel to say that his objections still stand. The so-called “persuader” rule, he said, will effectively “wipe out the statutory advice exemption” that previously shielded companies and attorneys from disclosing their arrangements for countering union campaigns.
“The rule of law in America has been built on the cornerstone of client-attorney confidentiality. Unless defeated, the new administrative rule will undermine in the context of labor relations the confidentiality so essential to effective attorney-client communications,” said Robinson, the member-in-charge of Frost Brown Todd’s northern Kentucky office. Robinson emphasized that he spoke only for himself and not for the ABA—but he said that his 2011 letter reflects the association’s policy “to this day.”
In his opening remarks, Robinson called on lawmakers to support a joint resolution that Rep. Bradley Byrne, R-Alabama, introduced this month to block the persuader rule under the Congressional Review Act.
