2015 Trusted Advisers Lawyer: Jay Dade

Jay Dade knows he’s done his job when clients see an unexpected way to accomplish a goal.

“We never thought we could do it that way’ is a comment for which I strive, so we can partner together to craft a new path,” says Dade, a shareholder at Polsinelli PC who practices labor and employment law.

His focus areas include personnel and union management issues; federal and state wage matters; discrimination claims; the Family and Medical Leave Act; noncompete agreements; and unemployment compensation.

“I seek to serve clients and represent their best interests in management-side labor and employment-relations law by learning everything I can about their business and earning their trust to advise and represent them concerning one of the most critical areas of their business: their human capital,” Dade says, noting their business must become as important to him as it is to the client. “I view myself as a partner, of sorts, with my clients and strive to advise and represent them with the primary goal of serving them as trusted adviser to actively assist them in succeeding in their business.”

Dade often finds himself touring businesses and plants off the clock in order to learn as much as he can about a client’s workplace. “To effectively advise and represent management-side labor and employment clients, I must understand a client’s business and what makes it tick,” he says.

Dade is well aware his work can make a measureable difference for clients. He says negotiating collective bargaining agreements walks a fine line that can have a big impact on the bottom line.

“That is a sobering reality,” he says. “A good contract provides the framework to yield an effective, efficient, harmonious workplace. A bad contract may create an atmosphere in which productivity may decrease, conflicts may grow and grievances or arbitrations arise.

“Such a resulting atmosphere can frustrate the clients and impact their bottom line.”

Craig Tabor, president and CEO of BluCurrent Credit Union, met Dade two years ago.

“Our company was in need of legal counsel and advice related to upcoming union negotiations. I found Jay to be quite engaging and very knowledgeable to our specific needs,” Tabor says. “Over the next 12 months, we spent a great amount of time together in preparation for and working through what became somewhat difficult negotiations. His experience and skills were exactly what we needed.”

Tabor says Dade is an asset to the Springfield community through his understanding of how to navigate what has become a very partisan labor climate with great effectiveness and political acumen.

Admitted to the bar in Missouri and Kansas, Dade has been included in the peer-reviewed Best Lawyers in America since 2013. The University of Missouri alumnus is a founding member of the University of Missouri Flagship Council.