A storied career in labor law: Reflections of William B. Gould IV

Writing a report for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, winning a labor dispute after a decade of litigation and invoking Section 10(j) as chair of the National Labor Relations Board were career highlights shared by William B. Gould IV, LLB '61, as he spoke about his recent memoir in Ives Hall on April 9. The talk was the kick-off event for the ILR School's annual Union Days event series.

Gould is the Charles A. Beardsley Professor of Law Emeritus at Stanford Law School. His memoir, "Those Who Travail and Are Heavy Laden: Memoir of a Labor Lawyer" (2025, Worcester Polytechnic Institute Press), explains why he chose a legal career and discusses the arc of his career so far, including his time at Cornell University.

While studying at the Cornell Law School in the early 1960s, Gould began friendships with Kurt Hanslowe and Jack Sheinkman '49, JD '52, that led to professional opportunities.

The first came about due to a legal research project assigned by Hanslowe, a professor of law and at the ILR School, on the topic of duty of fear of representation. "I took to the problem like a fish takes the water," Gould said. Hanslowe was impressed with Gould's work and recommended him to the UAW for a summer clerkship. "Everything in my professional life starts from there," observed Gould.

The second opportunity began when Sheinkman recommended Gould to chair the National Labor Relations Board under the Clinton administration and supported his nomination. While Gould led the board, the Major League Baseball Players Association went on strike. The strike ended after the board sought and was granted a National Labor Relations Act Section 10(j) injunction against actions taken by the teams' owners.

Read the full story on the ILR website.

Tonya Engst is a staff writer for the ILR School.