Groat Award Honoree Kenneth Kirschner Reflects on ILR’s Enduring Influence

On March 26, Scheinman Advisory Board Member and distinguished attorney Kenneth Kirschner ‘75 was the recipient of ILR’s 2026 Groat Award.

The Groat Alumni Award was established in 1971 in honor of Judge Groat's vision and in tribute to his professional accomplishments, which culminated in his appointment as Justice of the New York State Supreme Court, Eleventh Judicial District.

Kirschner is a partner at Hogan Lovells in New York City, where he focuses on management-side litigation, arbitration and employment. Over the years, he has been recognized by Chambers and The Legal 500, New York Super Lawyers and Best Lawyers, among others.

“I owe my career accomplishments to the courses I took at ILR and the excellent Cornell professors who taught us about human resource management,” he explains. That foundation was not purely academic. Instead, it was built through relationships—with professors, supervisors, and mentors who connected theory to practice in tangible ways.

As a sophomore, he secured an internship with the New York State Assembly’s Governmental Employees Committee. What followed was not a one-off experience, but a sequence of opportunities that deepened both his skills and his professional network: “That internship led to becoming a research assistant during my junior year with the Select Committee on Industrial and Labor Issues.” 

These roles then positioned Kirschner to take on significant responsibility immediately after graduating, serving as executive assistant to a New York State Senator before entering law school.

Kirschner also points to his time as a teaching and research assistant at Cornell as formative, emphasizing that these roles offered “great mentors and hands on experience that have greatly shaped and helped my professional development.”

Throughout his legal career, Kirschner has remained deeply committed to developing younger attorneys, viewing mentorship not as optional, but as integral to the profession. “I was lucky to have great mentors throughout my career. That is why I feel it is important to help train the next generation of labor lawyers,” he says. The connection is direct: the support he received created an obligation to provide the same for others.

He describes the process of mentoring as far more than advising students, but actively shaping their careers: “It is extremely satisfying to see the success of young attorneys I have worked with over the years.” He notes a particular satisfaction in working with ILR graduates who go on to law school and distinguish themselves professionally.

For Kirschner, ILR graduates bring a distinctive advantage: “They have an excellent knowledge and practical experience pertaining to dispute resolution, human resources and employment law.”

“When I started practicing as a management labor lawyer, I actively used the labor education I received at Cornell,” he recalls. His early career was defined by direct engagement with the traditional functions of labor law—arbitrations, negotiations, and NLRB proceedings. These areas require far more than technical knowledge, but practical judgment developed over time.

For Kirschner, being named a Groat Award recipient is “one of the great honors of [his] career,” particularly given the legacy of the award and the community it represents.