St. Antoine, Theodore J., 1929-

An expert in labor relations law since the late 1960s, and a practicing labor arbitrator. Dean of the University of Michigan Law School from 1971 through 1978.

His public service has included chairing the UAW-GM Legal Services Plan, and serving as reporter for the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Law on the Model Employment Termination Act.

Theodore St. Antoine, currently James E. and Sarah A. Degan Professor Emeritus of Law, has been an acknowledged expert in labor relations law since the late 1960s, and is a practicing labor arbitrator. He has also distinguished himself with a full service record, participating in and leading numerous committees, councils and other organizations in the labor law field as well as at the University of Michigan, including guiding the Law School as Dean from 1971 through 1978. He is married to Elizabeth Lloyd (Frier), and they have four children.

Theodore St. Antoine was born in Vermont on May 29, 1929. He graduated from Fordham University in 1951 with a degree in philosophy and theology, and from the University of Michigan Law School in 1954, having served as editor-in-chief of the Michigan Law Review. He did post-graduate work with a Fulbright Grant at the London School of Economics, and on his return to the United States, he practiced in Cleveland and the U.S. Army, and then in Washington D.C. with the firm Woll, Mayer and St. Antoine. In 1965, after seven years in D.C., he joined the University of Michigan Law School faculty, teaching courses in contracts, and labor and employment law.

As Dean of the Law School from 1971 through 1978, he raised the funds for the underground law library addition, and saw it through the ground-breaking in 1978. His wisdom and even-handedness, and his flawless negotiating skills, are celebrated in his roles as both teacher and administrator. His students for years have called him "The Saint."

Though limited by university policy to ten to fifteen cases a year, St. Antoine also practices labor arbitration through the Michigan Employment Relations Bureau, the National Arbitrators Academy (NAA), and the American Arbitration Association. Several of his opinions have been published, and he is often cited in other arbitrators' decisions. He participates in an executive capacity in arbitration societies, and served as president of the NAA during the 1999/2000 term.

St. Antoine's other public service activities include both university-related and outside work. He was presented with a Distinguished Faculty Governance Award in 1996 in recognition of his service at the university, beginning in the 1970s as chair of the University Council and as a member of the Ad Hoc Committee on a Permanent Judiciary, then as President of the Research Club in 1989-1990, and as chair of the Faculty Senate's Academic Affairs Advisory Committee, among other positions.

Outside of the university, St. Antoine has served as Secretary and Council member for the Labor and Employment Law Section of the American Bar Association, as chair of the Labor Law Section of the Michigan State Bar, and as chair of the UAW-GM Legal Services Plan. In January of 2000, he received the Distinguished Service Award from the Labor and Employment Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan. He was the reporter, or principal draftsman, of the Model Employment Termination Act for the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Law (NCCUSL), which he worked on from 1987 through 1992. The NCCUSL passed the model act in 1992, despite much initial contention, but it was not widely adopted.

St. Antoine is currently a member of the UAW's Public Review Board, and a member of the U.S. Executive Board of the International Society for Labor Law and Social Security. His casebook, Labor Relations Law, is in its tenth edition.