Cicero Employment Lawyers

Kathleen C. Chavez, founding partner of Foote, Mielke, Chavez & O’Neil, LLC, earned her Juris Doctor degree in 1998 from Northwestern University School of Law. Chavez is a nationally recognized civil litigator with a reputation for obtaining exceptional results in challenging cases. She is a results-driven, highly focused “problem-solver” with an unmatched ability to strategically frame critical issues, develop innovative solutions and negotiate outstanding results for her clients. She is admitted to practice law in California, Illinois and Washington D.C., as well as various federal courts, the Federal Trial Bar and the United States Federal Court of Claims.

I graduated from the University of Kentucky as a philosophy and political science double-major. I then worked in the financial services department of a Fortune 500 company for two years prior to attending The John Marshall Law School in Chicago. After obtaining my Juris Doctor, I worked as an associate attorney at a general civil litigation firm with a focus on personal injury and insurance law. There I settled countless cases for my clients, both individual and corporate. As a litigator, I obtained favorable outcomes through mediation, arbitration hearings, and bench and jury trials. Building on that experience, in 2014...

William R. Pokorny represents management in a wide range of labor and employment matters. He concentrates his practice on litigation and counseling in areas including discrimination, disabilities, ERISA and employee benefits, employment contracts, covenants not to compete, wrongful discharge, wage and hour law, the Family and Medical Leave Act, and labor relations. He represents employers before state and federal courts as well as administrative agencies such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Illinois Human Rights Commission. Mr. Pokorny has experience with a wide variety of clients, including manufacturers, utilities, hospitals and healthcare providers, insurance companies, financial services...

Unique to Ms. Taraska’s chosen career in personal injury law, she was the victim of a propane gas explosion, in which a commercial building collapsed on her, her mother, brother and a close family friend. The explosion left Taraska with extensive second and third degree burns early in her life. She was hospitalized for 3 months, during which she underwent skin grafting of her arms, legs, hands, and chest. Incredibly, a year prior to the explosion, Ms. Taraska’s father and a reconstructive surgeon opened the only downstate burn unit in Peoria where she was successfully treated despite the severity of...

Douglas M. Werman is the founder and principal of Werman Salas P.C. in Chicago, Illinois. His practice is heavily concentrated in labor and employment litigation.

A nationally known and recognized trial lawyer, Doug has won or settled more than 700 individual, collective and class action lawsuits throughout the United States resulting in more than $250,000,000 being paid to working people and their families. In a published decision, one federal court recently described Doug and Werman Salas P.C. as “national leaders in advocating the rights of working people in wage and hour litigation.” In another published decision, a different court called him...

Peter T. Sadelski was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois. Peter earned his bachelor’s degree from Illinois State University in 2018, where he studied political science and legal studies. Peter earned his law degree from the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law in 2021. During law school, Peter clerked at the Cook County Public Defendant’s Office and the UIC Pro Bono Litigation Clinic. Peter has been with Ed Fox & Associates since March 2022. Peter concentrates his practice on civil rights law, mainly focusing on wrongful detentions, false arrests, unreasonable searches, malicious prosecutions, excessive force, due process violations, and other...

My practice focuses on complex commercial litigation and arbitration. I represent clients in high-stakes, high-dollar disputes involving breach of contract, employment law, restrictive covenants, trade secrets, insurance coverage, securities disputes, class actions, and whistleblower claims. I have represented both plaintiffs and defendants before state and federal courts, and in domestic and international arbitration proceedings.

I am a Chicago based litigation attorney who has been practicing law since 1988. I opened my own law firm in 1997 and I have been a successful solo-practitioner ever since. I take a tenacious, results driven, approach to all matters in my practice which makes me a strong advocate and assists in my proven record of success. Because I am a solo-practitioner, I will be directly and personally involved in your legal matters from its inception through its conclusion and together, I believe we will achieve a positive resolve to your legal problems.

The focus of my practice is litigation...

Terry J. Smith is a partner with Smith O'Callaghan & White. He has represented employers in all aspects of labor and employment law for more than 25 years, representing and regularly advising corporate defendants in litigation involving labor and employment matters in federal and state courts, and administrative agencies, throughout the United States. Prior to founding a boutique firm, Mr. Smith was a partner in one of the largest law firms in Chicago. He has been named an Illinois Super Lawyer for 15 consecutive years (2007-2021), representing the top 5% of all attorneys in the State of Illinois. Mr. Smith...

Principal of law firm focusing practice on family law, child custody and support, visitation, domestic violence, mental health, employment discrimination, sexual harassment, FMLA and wage-and-hour violations, retaliation, civil rights, and juvenile justice. Offers settlement negotiation, litigation, general consulting, mediation, arbitration, and training services.

Attorney Kamran Memon has been practicing law in the Chicagoland area since 1997. He has successfully represented many clients in a variety of legal matters. Mr. Memon graduated from the University of Chicago Law School. He works with a trusted network of attorneys who are experienced and skilled in a variety of legal areas.

D. Daxton White is an AV rated attorney by Martindale Hubbell, the attorney rating service, indicating the highest rating for legal ability and ethics. He is a member of the Florida and Illinois Bar Associations, as well as the Indian River County Bar Association. He is also a member of the Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association (PIABA), an association of securities attorneys who dedicate their practices to the representation of investors defrauded by their financial professional or brokerage firm. Mr. White has also served on the PIABA Legislative Committee which attempts to advance the cause of investors through the use...

Lori Ecker provides knowledgeable representation to clients who have been subjected to sexual harassment, a hostile work environment, discrimination because of race, religion, age, gender, pregnancy, national origin, sexual orientation, or gender identity, or who have suffered retaliatory or wrongful termination. She has the experience and resources to represent employees in disputes involving the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, whistleblower retaliation, Workers’ Compensation retaliatory discharge claims, and unemployment compensation, among others. Ms. Ecker is particularly skilled in all matters relating to employment contracts, including severance agreements, executive compensation contracts and non-compete agreements.

For nearly seven years, Michael P. Tomlinson practiced law at a large national law firm. During that time, Mr. Tomlinson represented clients in all types of complex commercial litigation, including the following types of cases: Restrictive covenants (non-competition and non-solicitation) Trade secret misappropriation Securities litigation Securities enforcement actions Labor and employment law Statutory fraud (e.g., the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act) Class action defense Uniform Commercial Code General contract and tort law Qui tam actions White collar crime Mr. Tomlinson also has experience in conducting internal investigations on behalf of both securities and health care clients. In addition to the litigation-related services listed above, Mr. Tomlinson provides advice to his...

Bruce Lewitas has litigated financial services disputes for three decades, beginning his career as an Enforcement attorney for the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and thereafter serving as both in-house and outside counsel representing both individuals and broker-dealers. Bruce has overseen thousands of matters involving customer disputes, employment matters, regulatory inquiries and internal investigations.

At Lewitas Hyman PC, our core values include putting the client first and providing cost-effective counsel coupled with professional and aggressive advocacy.

Alex Rozman, the Managing Partner of the Rozman Legal Group PC, is an experienced trial attorney who personally has a proven track record of successfully bringing over sixty jury and non-jury trials to verdict. Awarded the prestigious Illinois Bar Foundation Distinguished Award for Excellence, Alex Rozman is a respected litigator and speaker in the Chicago legal community. He graduated with honors with a double major from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a law degree from the Chicago-Kent College of Law. Licensed as an attorney in Illinois and New York, Mr. Rozman has been appointed to serve...

The Law Office of Jeffrey Friedman, P.C. concentrates in serious personal injury, medical malpractice, work injuries and employment discrimination, including sexual harassment. We offer a free consultation.

For over 25 years Doug Hyman has been representing investors, brokerage firms, registered representatives, investment advisor representatives and RIAs in various types of matters relevant to the financial services industry, both in the context of general counseling and in connection with representing clients nationwide in arbitrations and in state/federal courts.

At Lewitas Hyman PC, our core values include putting the client first and providing cost-effective counsel coupled with professional and aggressive advocacy.

Doug is also committed to serving his profession and community. For many years he has served as Treasurer for the Association of Securities and Exchange Commission Alumni Association, a non-profit...

Heidi has provided employment law counseling to businesses in a wide variety of industries. She helps create and implement policies, conducts training, and drafts and negotiated executive employment agreements and separation releases. Heidi has training as a Human Resources Professional by the Human Resources Certification Institute, and approaches labor and employment problems with an eye toward finding positive business solutions to client problems.

Heidi has advised numerous clients in the drafting and revision of covenants not to compete, employment contract, separation agreements, employee policies and handbooks, and affirmative action plans, She also advises clients on FLSA and...

Jaz Park concentrates her practice in labor and employment law including Title VII, ADA, ADEA, FMLA, FLSA, IMWL, IWPCA, retaliation, and unemployment insurance claims and appeals. She is available to serve as a private mediator in disputes between parties upon request.

Ethan G. Zelizer is a nationally respected employment and labor law attorney, senior certified human resources professional and a certified labor relations professional, based in Chicago, Illinois. Ethan has extensive experience working with both management and employees. He has extensive experience representing and advising employers in various industries including financial services, aerospace, manufacturing, and food distribution, in all aspects of labor and employment law. He regularly appears before federal and state courts, federal arbitration panels, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), and the Illinois Department of Human Rights, and the Human Rights Commission. Ethan...

I represent employers and management, professional and executive employees in labor and employment matters, including: negotiating and drafting employment, severance and restrictive covenant agreements; wage-hour disputes; and whistleblower and EEO complaints. I also mediate employment disputes, manage workplace conflict and conduct sexual harassment and other third-party investigations in the workplace. I have a unique perspective because I have represented unions, companies and individuals in my 38 years of practice.