Biography: Management Labour and Employment

Roland founded the law firm Gerlach Rechtsanwaelte in 2011 and formerly was senior partner of Griesser-Gerlach-Gahleitner, also a distinguished boutique law firm practising exclusively labour and employment law. Excelling in this practice area he is regularly listed in the top tiers of Austria's employment lawyers in various international publications.

Roland is convinced that it is of great importance to never lose the conspectus of the whole subject, for which reason he advises employers as well as employees and refuses to get caught in conflicts of ideologies, but prefers quick, effective and lasting solutions on either side. Thus he advises national and multinational corporations as well as individuals on all aspects of individual/collective labour law and social security law. His main areas of practice include employment law aspects of corporate restructuring, the human resource aspects of mergers and acquisitions, (management) employment contracts just as management contracts and occupational pension schemes. Litigation forms another aspect of the firm's strong presence in Austrian employment law.

Roland is author of a wide range of publications and is now working on a comprehensive handbook on employment contracts. He regularly speaks at seminars for employment and human resources specialists as well as at national and international congresses, especially on the comparative view of employment law in different countries of the EU.

Trained at the University of Vienna Roland received his Doctor iuris in 1988. He was admitted to the Austrian Bar in 1993 and graduated from the London School of Economics.

In the European Employment Lawyers Association (EELA) Roland acts as Austria's representative. He is also a member of the Industrial Law Society (ILS), Law & Society, the American Bar Association (ABA) and the International Bar Association (IBA).