Speaker details

Biography

John L. Sander is a principal in the New York City, New York, office of Jackson Lewis P.C. He is co-leader of the International Employment practice group, and Chairman of L&E Global, the international alliance of employers’ counsel. His practice focuses on cross-border labor and employment matters for our multinational clients. He is also adjunct professor of Law in Global Labor and Employment Law at Cornell Law School. Before joining the firm, John served in senior in-house roles for more than 16 years at Merck & Co., Inc. and its predecessor, Schering-Plough Corporation. At Merck, he was vice president and associate general counsel, leading the team responsible for labor and employment law matters outside the U.S. Before the merger of Merck and Schering-Plough, he was vice president and associate general counsel at Schering-Plough, where he managed the employment law group, responsible for labor, employment, and immigration counseling and litigation within the U.S. and globally. At Schering-Plough, John also at various times served as head of commercial litigation (responsible for product liability, Lanham Act, a wide variety of general commercial litigation and international arbitrations) and as general counsel to the consumer healthcare and generic divisions of the company, as well as managed the compliance and corporate security functions within the law department. Before joining the Schering-Plough law department, he was a litigator at Cahill, Gordon & Reindel and Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker. While attending law school, John served as article editor of the Cornell Law Review. After law school, he clerked for the Hon. Joseph L. Tauro of the U.S. District Court for Massachusetts. John has substantial experience in international dispute resolution processes and their reform. He has served as vice chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce Commission on Arbitration and was a member of the Drafting Sub-Committee responsible for the 2011 revision of the ICC Rules of Arbitration. John has also served as a member of the ICC Working Group in the role of in-house counsel in International Dispute Resolution. He is currently a member of the ICC Commission on Arbitration and the USCIB Arbitration Committee. Honors and Recognitions Who's Who Legal, “Thought Leaders: USA — Labor and Employment” (2023-present) Who's Who Legal, “Recommended Attorney in Labour, Employment & Benefits” (2021-present) The Best Lawyers in America©, “Litigation – Labor and Employment” (2025)