Printable FormatDouglas E. Gerhardt
Member
Mr. Gerhardt is a member of the firm. He practices with the Educational Institutions Team and the Labor and Employment Law Practice Group. He serves schools, municipalities and other government entities as general counsel to both school districts and BOCES, public sector labor counsel, special counsel on specific projects, not-for-profit counsel (including establishment of not-for-profit entities), and individuals in a wide range of personal matters. Mr. Gerhardt also represents clients in litigation and other matters before a variety of government state agencies including the New York State Education Department, New York State Attorney General's Office and New York State Liquor Authority.
Prior to joining Harris Beach, Mr. Gerhardt was General Counsel to the New York State Council of School Superintendents. He oversaw all aspects of the organization's legal services, had been an integral part of the Council's advocacy team. Mr. Gerhardt served superintendents statewide in negotiating contracts, and working through complicated school and public employment law issues. He has been integrally involved in implementation of new rules impacting school district audits and retiree hiring practices. In 2006, Mr. Gerhardt oversaw the Council's involvement as amicus curiae before the United States Supreme Court in Arlington Central School District Board of Education v. Murphy (126 S. Ct. 2455 (2006)). The successful case examined whether the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) permits parents to recover fees paid to experts during legal actions against school districts.
Before joining the Council, Mr. Gerhardt served as Director of Government Relations and Assistant Counsel for the School Administrators Association of New York State (SAANYS). Mr. Gerhardt litigated matters for administrators in disciplinary actions, court and PERB proceedings as well as collective bargaining. He also served as SAANYS' chief lobbyist and liaison on all government relations matters. He began his legal career as a counsel to Assembly Speakers Sheldon Silver and Saul Weprin.
Mr. Gerhardt is an Adjunct Professor of the Thelma Lally School of Education at the College of St. Rose and Union College's Graduate School of Teaching where he initiated what is now a mandatory component of Union's graduate school curriculum. In 2009, Mr. Gerhardt was appointed an adjunct faculty member at Albany Law School.
Professional & Community Activities
Mr. Gerhardt adds a unique blend of professional and personal endeavors to his background. Professionally, he is president of the Management Advocates for School Labor Affairs (MASLA), a state-wide organization of attorneys and human resource professionals working in schools state-wide. He is a longstanding, active member of the New York State Bar Association where he served as chair of the Public Sector Law Committee of the Labor Law Section. Through these and other affiliations Mr. Gerhardt is a frequent lecturer on legal issues impacting school district, public employers and employment relations.
He has published the following articles: “Making Garcetti’s Practical Inquiry Into Public Employee Free Speech Rights,”Municipal Lawyer, New York State Bar Association Vol. 24, No. 2 (Spring 2010); “District Cannot Impose Suspension Imposed by Student’s Prior District,”On Board, New York State School Board Association, Vol. 11 No. 13 (July 19, 2010); “Perspectives on the Employee Free Choice Act,” Saratoga and Glens Falls Business Review, (March 2009); and “Jack Welsh at the Helm: The New Age of School Leadership?”Vanguard Magazine (March 2001).
Personally, Mr. Gerhardt is a member of the Temple Sinai Board of Directors and the Saratoga City School District’s Superintendent Parent Forum Committee. He has been can active fundraiser for Double “H” Hole in the Woods Ranch in Lake Luzerne and a coach for the Saratoga Athletic Little League. Mr. Gerhardt is an active outdoorsman and athlete. He formerly served as a National Park Ranger in Grand Teton National Park where he patrolled trails and portions of the Snake River, summited the highest peak in Europe and regularly runs marathons and triathlons. He published the article, “The Waterfall Hunters,”in the March 2009 edition of the Adirondack Explorer.
