Seyfarth Boosts Labor & Employment and Airline Sector Capabilities With Addition of Joe Wonderly in Seattle

SEATTLE (August 22, 2023) - Seyfarth Shaw LLP has announced that Joe Wonderly has joined the international law firm as a partner in its Labor & Employment Department, based in its fast-growing Seattle office. Wonderly brings extensive airline industry proficiency to Seyfarth and is a highly skilled employment litigator and labor lawyer.

Wonderly comes to Seyfarth from Alaska Airlines where he has spent the past four years as Senior Corporate Counsel. Wonderly has represented Alaska Airlines and its regional carrier Horizon Air in grievance arbitrations, advised on labor and employment issues, and managed civil litigation for the two carriers, as well as Alaska Airlines’ ground services subsidiary, McGee Air Services.

Prior to joining Alaska Airlines, Wonderly was an attorney with Davis Wright Tremaine’s Employer Services Group, where his practice focused on traditional labor law and employment litigation. He handled NLRA work, in addition to RLA work, including several matters before NLRB Region 19 in the Pacific Northwest.

“Joe Wonderly’s exceptional credentials and proven success within the airline sector will significantly bolster Seyfarth’s airline labor and employment law practice,” said Laura Maechtlen, chair of the firm’s national Labor & Employment Department. “His in-house experience for a major airline, combined with his deep industry knowledge and wide range of contacts throughout the industry, will enable us to expand this practice by offering clients what they value most from high quality outside counsel who know their business inside and out.”

“We know first-hand that Joe Wonderly is a top-notch litigator and labor lawyer from our clients’ past experiences with him as their outside counsel and current engagement with him as a client,” said Denice Tokunaga, co-managing partner of the firm’s Seattle office. “We are excited to add Joe as a key player in the continued growth of our Labor and Employment practice in Seattle, and the Seattle office generally, where he seamlessly aligns with our strategic goals and firm culture.”

“Joe Wonderly’s vast experience with high-stakes employment litigation in the airline sector will enable Seyfarth to extend our reach much deeper into another key industry, both here in Seattle and around the country,” Thomas Wybenga, co-managing partner for Seyfarth in Seattle and partner in the firm’s labor and employment practice. “Joe has successfully overseen litigation involving employees throughout the airline business from pilots to flight attendants, along with managing class action cases.”

“Seyfarth’s commitment to establishing a first-class airline labor and employment law practice makes it an ideal full-service firm for me to join,” said Wonderly. “I have been given a tremendous opportunity to grow this practice by collaborating with the firm’s impressive scope of labor and employment lawyers and the breadth of its Labor Management Relations practice group. I am fully confident Seyfarth will become one of the go-to firms for airline labor matters and employment litigation.”

Wonderly earned his JD from Boston University School of Law and his BA from Seattle University. He is admitted to the Washington Bar.

About Seyfarth

With more than 900 lawyers across 18 offices, Seyfarth Shaw LLP provides advisory, litigation, and transactional legal services to clients worldwide.

Contact: Tom Mariam, Director of Public Relations: 212-218-3366 or tmariam@seyfarth.com