Former NLRB Regional Attorney Dennis Boren Joins Dinsmore’s Growing Detroit Office
Dinsmore & Shohl LLP is pleased to announce the addition of partner Dennis Boren to the firm’s Detroit, Michigan office and nationally recognized labor and employment department.
Boren joins Dinsmore after a 40-year career with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). His most recent role there was as regional attorney for Region 7, which includes the Lower Peninsula of Michigan as well as four Upper Peninsula counties—a position he held since 2006. In this capacity, Boren played a significant role in determining the merit of labor-related cases and the decision-making thereafter that led to litigation or settlement.
There are just 26 NLRB regions across the country, and it is uncommon for regional attorneys to move to private practice. But the opportunity to pair the business interests of Dinsmore’s clients, many of whom comprise the Fortune 500, with Boren’s institutional knowledge (both in the National Labor Relations Act and the board’s policies and procedures), is incredibly advantageous for all parties.
“I have the ability to assess evidence and recommend next steps accordingly, and I am as adept working with blue-collar employees as I am with CEOs,” Boren said. “I bring that to the table to resolve matters effectively. I’m vigilant and competitive, and I expect to win my cases.”
Boren has developed a successful business relationship with Dinsmore labor attorney Frank T. Mamat, who was first appointed to the NLRB in the 1970s and joined the firm in Detroit in 2021. He will also work alongside partner Mark Carter, who was chairman of the Federal Service Impasses Panel under President Donald Trump from 2017 to 2021 and who also served on President George W. Bush’s panel from 2002-2009. The panel resolves collective bargaining disputes between the federal government and labor unions. Together, Boren expects they’ll help clients navigate union drives, claims of unfair labor practices, and the collective bargaining and arbitration practices that can follow.
“We feel enormously fortunate that Dennis has joined our practice,” Carter said. “Regional attorneys have a uniquely comprehensive knowledge not only of the National Labor Relations Act, but of the nuance of NLRB processes. Dennis has earned a phenomenal reputation within the agency, and we expect he will only build upon that reputation with Dinsmore.”
Boren’s hire is the latest in a trend of expansion for Dinsmore in Detroit, which has welcomed 12 new attorneys (six partners) since the beginning of 2021. Notably, last year, the firm expanded to include a high-profile group of mergers and acquisitions attorneys led by partner Joe DeVito. Mamat and commercial litigation partner Thomas Walters joined shortly thereafter.
