Employers who need legal representation in conflicts with employees often turn to William T. Earley, a partner and labor management specialist with the Luce Forward law firm. But they need to watch out, for on the telephone they may think they are speaking to someone else.

Not really. Earley, 38, is a sincere attorney, but he also is a comedian who formerly co-hosted a comedy radio show, a sportscaster and a pretty good impersonator. His sense of humor and comedian’s timing can be useful.

“I try to keep things light when it is appropriate,” he says. “Life is hard. Comedy helps.” His job involves him in “the most interesting cases,” and often employees who claim to have been harassed have been just as difficult as the employers they complain about, he says.

Some people “don’t let the facts get in the way of a good story,” he notes. Frequently he does preventive maintenance, training employers, managers and supervisors how to have better relationships with employees. He finds using humor in training to be effective. He often is asked to speak or to be master of ceremonies for various events.

Earley has announced San Diego State University women’s basketball for seven years, and he has assisted with SDSU football games. He was an adjunct professor of employment relations law at SDSU.

He has received a U.S. Congressional Gold Medal; was named a Martindale-Hubbel AV-rated lawyer, the highest rating possible; was the outstanding graduating senior at SDSU, receiving the Dean Herbert Peifer Award; and was a foreign exchange student in West Berlin. He graduated cum laude from SDSU, where he was student body president, and with honors from Georgetown University Law Center.

Earley is not married and has no children, about which he quips: “Children should not be having children.”

— Sandy Pasqua