David M. Mandel

Background

David M. Mandel's documented biography begins with his undergraduate studies at Yale University in the early 1970s. He completed a Bachelor of Arts summa cum laude in 1973 and then pursued legal education at Harvard Law School, graduating with a Juris Doctor magna cum laude in 1976.

Boston's legal profession and Harvard Law School had long been closely connected. The founders of Ropes & Gray, the Boston firm where Mandel later practiced, were both Harvard Law graduates, and Harvard was among the firm's longtime clients. Mandel was admitted to the Massachusetts bar in 1977, a year after his law school graduation, and began his legal career in Boston.

Education

David M. Mandel graduated from Yale University with a Bachelor of Arts in 1973. Yale traces its origins to the Collegiate School, founded in Connecticut in 1701, and took the name Yale College in 1718. By the early 1970s it was one of the oldest universities in the United States, with a long tradition in the liberal arts.

He then entered Harvard Law School and received a Juris Doctor magna cum laude in 1976. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is one of the oldest law schools in the United States and has been a major center of American legal education.

While at Harvard, Mandel served as an editor of the Harvard Law Review in 1974-75 and again in 1975-76. The journal was founded in 1887 largely through the efforts of Louis Brandeis, and it was among the first student-edited law reviews in the United States. Its editors are selected from the law school's students, giving members an opportunity to develop their editing and writing skills.

Career

Mandel's documented legal career centers on Ropes & Gray, a Boston law firm founded in 1865 by John Codman Ropes and John Chipman Gray. The firm's early partners were both Harvard Law graduates, and it was one of the oldest and most respected law firms in the nation. Its name changed several times during its early history as partners joined and left the partnership.

Mandel was admitted to the Massachusetts bar in 1977 and practiced as a partner at Ropes & Gray until 2016. His practice centered on labor and employment law, including representation of employers in union organizing, National Labor Relations Board proceedings, collective bargaining negotiations, and labor union grievance arbitrations. He also advised clients on complex business immigration matters and served as the firm's own employment practices compliance counsel.

The National Labor Relations Board, a federal agency created under the National Labor Relations Act of 1935, administers the process by which employees choose union representation and resolves unfair labor practice complaints. Labor disputes of this kind formed a significant part of Mandel's work for employers in health care, educational, social services, financial services, and commercial organizations. After leaving the partnership in 2016, he served as senior counsel at the firm until 2025.

Membership

The Boston Bar Association and the Massachusetts Bar Association are professional organizations of lawyers that promote the legal profession, provide continuing legal education, and support members in practice areas. Both associations organize their members into practice-area sections, which allow lawyers with a shared specialization to exchange developments in that field. Mandel's participation in these associations was connected with the labor and employment field in which he practiced.

• Member of the Labor and Employment Section

  Boston Bar Association , United States

• Member of the Labor and Employment Section

  Massachusetts Bar Association , United States

References

• David M. Mandel, Ropes & Gray attorney profile Firm biography describing Mandel's labor and employment practice, his service as a partner and later senior counsel, and his Yale and Harvard Law School credentials.