Oregon attorney and labor arbitrator Al Hein made an extraordinary contribution to the development of Oregon public sector labor law. Throughout his career, Al supported collective bargaining and the resolution of disputes through arbitration as ways to foster labor peace. Al was a well-respected member of the Oregon Employment Relations Board, serving from 1980 to 1997, and then was a balanced and fair arbitrator. Many of the ERB decisions that Al wrote or influenced stand today as solid precedents under the Public Employee Collective Bargaining Act.

Al graduated from what is now Lewis & Clark Law School in 1969 and was admitted to the Oregon State Bar that same year. To the sorrow of his family and many friends and colleagues, Al died on July 19, 2006.

In Al's memory, some of his numerous friends are paying their respects to his spirit and his accomplishments by establishing the Allen Hein Memorial Award at Lewis and Clark Law School. The Law School will give the award annually to a deserving Lewis and Clark Law School student who exemplifies the qualities of professional dedication and intellectual insight that Al Hein brought to the study and advancement of labor law in Oregon.