NEW YORK (May 4, 2026) – Littler, the world’s largest labor and employment law practice representing management, has added RyAnn Hooper as of counsel in its New York City office. Hooper joins the firm from New York Life Insurance Company, where she served as Head of Employment Law, and brings two decades of experience advising on labor relations, employment law and workforce strategy across the public and private sectors—including 10 years at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).
“With labor law increasingly woven into every aspect of management’s workforce decisions, organizations need strategic business partners who can take a proactive, holistic approach to labor relations planning, as well as employee engagement strategies that can not only help manage risk—but improve businesses’ bottom lines,” said Jonathan Levine, Brooke Niedecken and Brendan Fitzgerald, co-chairs of Littler’s Labor Management Relations Practice Group, in a joint statement. “RyAnn’s extensive in-house leadership experience, coupled with her deep firsthand knowledge of how the NLRB operates, make her a vital asset to our team.”
At New York Life, Hooper led the Fortune 100 company’s global employment law function, overseeing employment litigation strategy and advising on a range of workplace risks, employment matters and corporate governance issues. Well-versed in new workplace technologies, she helped to design and implement artificial intelligence (AI) tools while ensuring legal defensibility,...
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