New York Unemployment Insurance, Hearings and Appeals, and Labor and Employment Attorney
Jacob regularly appears before the New York State Unemployment Insurance Appeal Board. For several years, he has provided counseling regarding unemployment insurance matters and representation at hearings and on appeals. In addition to appearing before the New York State Unemployment Insurance Appeal Board hundreds of times on behalf of claimants and small businesses, Jacob has experience in a wide range of labor and employment law matters, including employment discrimination litigation, wage and hour litigation, drafting and reviewing employment contracts and severance agreements, and counseling employees and employers on various issues under the law. Jacob is also currently Of Counsel at Raff & Becker LLP.
After graduating from New York Law School with a concentration in Labor and Employment Law and working as an associate at a plaintiff-side employment law firm, Jacob founded his own labor and employment law practice with a particular focus on unemployment insurance matters. He has previously worked at a union-side labor law firm, a plaintiff-side employment discrimination law firm, and the Brooklyn regional office of the National Labor Relations Board.
Jacob was previously the president of the board of directors of the Unemployment Action Center, a non-profit organization that has provides pro bono representation at unemployment insurance hearings to hundreds of claimants per year since 1980. In addition to providing direct representation to many claimants himself, Jacob oversaw the Unemployment Action Center’s administrative and financial operations and the recruitment, training, and advising of hundreds of advocates at nine law schools in the New York City area.
Jacob is an alumnus of the Peggy Browning Fund Fellowship Program, a prestigious honor for law students who are dedicated to careers in workers’ rights. As a Peggy Browning Fund Fellow at the Workers Defense League, Jacob spent his second summer of law school providing direct pro bono representation to claimants at unemployment insurance hearings.
During law school, Jacob was a member of New York Law School Legal Services, where he represented the plaintiff in an employment discrimination matter, drafted an amicus curiae brief for the U.S. Supreme Court in Shelby County v. Holder, and performed legal research and writing for the American Civil Liberties Union Racial Justice Project. He also served as President of New York Law School’s Labor and Employment Law Society, President of the New York Law School chapter of the Unemployment Action Center, Senior Editor of New York Law School’s Dispute Resolution Team, and a teaching assistant for the first-year Civil Procedure course.
Education
J.D., New York Law School
M.A., New York University
B.S., New York University
Bar Admission
New York
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York
Honors and Awards
New York Law School Justice Action Center “Unsung Hero” Award
Peggy Browning Fund Fellowship
Joseph Solomon Public Interest Fellowship
New York Law School Public Interest Fellowship
Unemployment Action Center “Advocate of the Year” Award
Professional Memberships
New York State Bar Association
New York City Bar Association
New York County Lawyers Association
National Employment Lawyers Association/New York
New York Unemployment Insurance Coalition