For much of his nearly 50-year legal career, Peter Van Dyke represented employers exclusively in all aspects of labor and employment law, with much of his practice devoted to effectively dealing with labor unions on behalf of management clients. His work in this highly specific area of law earned him inclusion in the Labor Relations Institute’s list of “Top One Hundred Labor Attorneys in the United States.”
In addition to being a featured speaker and author on labor and employment topics, Pete was a frequent lecturer for continuing legal education programs and served as an adjunct professor at the Oklahoma City University School of Law, a director of the Oklahoma Labor Management Conference, a volunteer arbitrator for the Better Business Bureau, and a volunteer mediator for the Oklahoma County District Court. He also served as an administrative law judge for the Oklahoma Department of Labor.
Over the course of his distinguished career, Pete’s achievements earned him perennial recognition and inclusion in Chambers USA Guide to America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, The Best Lawyers in America (employment law–management, labor law–management, labor and employment litigation), Oklahoma Super Lawyers, and Who’s Who in American Law. He was selected by Best Lawyers as the “Oklahoma City Labor and Employment Lawyer of the Year” in 2011, “Oklahoma City Labor Law (Management) Lawyer of the Year” in 2012 and “Oklahoma City Labor and Employment Litigation Lawyer of the Year” in 2013, honors given only to a single lawyer in each legal specialty in each community.
Prior to joining McAfee & Taft in 1998, Pete was a member of the Oklahoma City law firm of Lytle Soulé & Curlee for 25 years. His career experience also included serving as a captain in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps for four years.
Pete retired from McAfee & Taft in December 2017.