Affiliations

• Chicago Bar Association
• American Bar Association

Representative Engagements

• Jones v. Capital Grille Holdings, Inc., No. 12-CV-00660 (N.D. Ill.) (Represent defendant in nationwide class and collective action asserting wages and hour and discrimination claims.)
• Green v. Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc., No. -:11-CV-03745 (N.D. Ill.) (Represent defendant in class action alleging wage and hour claims.)
• Howell v. Rush-Copley Medical Group NFP, No. 1:11-cv-02689 (N.D. Ill.) (Represented defendant in putative class action alleging race and color discrimination in violation of Title VII and § 1981; matter settled without class certification.)
• Bergman v. Kindred Healthcare, Inc., No. 10-0191 (N.D. Ill.) (Represent defendants in a nationwide purported collective action and a statewide class action claiming violations of the FLSA and state wage and hour laws for allegedly not paying employees who worked through their meal breaks.)
• Carson v. Vibra Healthcare, No. 5: 10-CV 10642-JCO-VMM (E.D. Mich) (Represent certain defendants in a nationwide purported collective action claiming violations of the FLSA for allegedly not paying employees who worked through their meal breaks.)
• Maximum Availability Limited v. Vision Solutions, Inc., No. 10-CV-1488 (C.D. Cal.) (Represented defendant in action asserting state antitrust and false advertising claims; motion to dismiss antitrust claims was granted.)
• McAfoos v. Lewis & Clark Community College District No. 536, No. 08-MR-5 (Cir. Ct. Macoupin County) (Represented defendant in action asserting federal and state antitrust claims; antitrust claims were dismissed with prejudice at pleadings stage.)
• State of California, ex rel. Edmund G. Brown, Jr. v. Safeway Inc., Albertson’s, Inc., Ralphs Grocery Company, Food 4 Less Company, Vons Companies, Inc., Nos. 08-55671 and 08-55708 (9th Cir.) (Represented defendant in action asserting antitrust claims; dismissal of antitrust claim upheld on appeal.)
• Reed v. Evanston Northwestern Healthcare, No. 06-3337 (N.D. Ill.) (Represent one of the defendants in a class action brought on behalf of a purported class of approximately 19,000 nurses claiming that the defendant hospitals engaged in a conspiracy to fix the wages paid to certain registered nurses in the Chicago Metropolitan Area in violation of federal antitrust laws; court denied plaintiffs’ motion for class certification.)
• Custom Search, Inc. v. The Star Tribune Company, No. 27-CV-06-19192 (D. Minn.) (Represent defendant in a class action brought by advertisers alleging that the defendant overstated its circulation figures and overcharged customers for its advertising; case settled before class certification issue was decided.)
• Kerner v. Safeway, Inc., No. BC306456 (Cal Sup. Ct.) (Represented grocer defendant in antitrust class action alleging price fixing conspiracy and unfair competition brought on behalf of consumers against retail grocers; plaintiffs dismissed case without prejudice before class issue determined.)
• Lingis v. Motorola, No. 03 C 5044 (N.D. Ill.) (Represent defendants in ERISA class action claiming breach of fiduciary duty arising out of failure to disclose material inside information to participants and failure to remove employer stock as an investment option in 401(k) plan; summary judgment was awarded in favor of all defendants.)
• Masterson Personnel, Inc., v. The McClatchy Company and The Star Tribune Company, No. 05-CV-1274 (D. Minn.) (Represented defendants in class action raising consumer fraud and related claims arising out of allegations that newspaper overstated its circulation; The McClatchy Company was dismissed; two plaintiffs voluntarily dismissed their claims; and the two remaining plaintiffs settled before class certification issue was decided.)
• Vallone v. CNA Insurance, No. 98 C 7108 (N.D. Ill.) (Represented defendant in ERISA class action claiming wrongful denial of retiree benefits; summary judgment was awarded before class issue was decided and decision was affirmed on appeal.)
• Bellevue v. Prudential Ins. Co. of Am., No. C 98 112 (N.D. Iowa) (Defense of nationwide class action for accounting and breach of contract by agents for underpayments allegedly due to defective computer accounting and compensation systems; summary judgment obtained against plaintiff class representative while class certification motion was pending.)
• Smith v. Contra Costa Newspapers, No. C 97-00135 (Cal. Sup. Ct., Contra Costa County) (Represented defendant in certified class action of over 8,000 independent news carriers alleging antitrust violations, breach of contract, and unfair business practices; case settled after defendant filed motions for summary judgment and to decertify class.)
• United States of America, ex rel Janet Chandler, Ph.D v. The Hektoen Institute for Medical Research, No. 97 C 514 (N.D. Ill.) (Represented defendant in Federal False Claims Act case alleging false claims made in connection with a grant awarded for the study of drug addicted pregnant women; case settled during discovery.)
• John Klaczak, ex rel United States Of America v. Consolidated Medical Transport, Inc. d/b/a Comed Transport, No. 96 C 6502 (N.D. Ill.) (Represented defendant hospital in Federal False Claims Act case alleging false claims made in connection with Medicare payments made for ambulance services; defendants prevailed on summary judgment.)
• Budd v. Freedom Communications, Inc., No. 96 C 238 (D Col.) (Represented defendant in class action brought on behalf of over 700 newspaper distributors alleging antitrust claims, tortious interference with contract, breach of contracts, violation of state minimum wage and wage collection laws, Labor Peace Act, fraudulent and negligent  misrepresentations of workers’ alleged non-employee status to deprive them of various employee benefits, and breach of fiduciary duty; case settled after class certification was denied.)
• Gibbs v. Daily Southtown Inc., No. 96 L 1884 (Cir. Ct., Cook County, Ill.) (Represented defendants in class action brought by distributors claiming that monies were unlawfully deducted from their pay in violation of the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act, breach of contract, improper issuance of IRS Form 1099s, and deprivation of other employee benefits; on eve of pending motion in opposition to class certification, named plaintiffs settled.)
• College Book Stores of America v. Follett College Stores Corporation, C.A. No. 96-456-A (E.D. Va.) (Represented defendant in antitrust case raising claims of monopolization and concerted refusal to deal; summary judgment in favor of defendants was awarded on all counts.)
• Weicht v. Suburban Newspapers of St. Louis, Inc., No. 94 2 10087 (Cir. Ct., St. Louis County, Mo) (Represented defendant in various tort claims brought by 179 independent contractor delivery agents; summary judgment for defendants at trial was overturned on appeal; case settled.)
• Petz v. Newsday, Inc., No. 94 CV 3563 (E.D.N.Y.) (Represented defendant in ERISA class action denial of benefits case; settled in discovery phase before class certification decided.)
• Pennington Investment Corporation v. Baylor University and Follett College Stores Corporation, No. 92-4023-3 (Dist Ct. McLenna Cty, Tex., 74th Jud. Dist.) (Represented defendant in antitrust case raising claims of monopolization and refusal to deal; case settled during discovery.)
• Protest of Unisys Corporation, 1991 WL 160878 (GSBCA) (Represented intervener in successful defense of multi-million dollar contract awarded by the Veterans’ Administration for automatic data processing equipment.)
• Protest of International Business Machines and Lockheed Missiles of Space Co., Inc., 1991 WL 542336 (GSBCA) (Represented protester in successful protest of $1.4 billion contract awarded by the IRS for office automation systems and software.)
• Chamberlain Manufacturing Corporation v. Maremont Corporation, No. 90-7127 (Represented plaintiff in action alleging claims for RICO violations, fraud, breach of contract and indemnity arising out of alleged misrepresentations by the defendants in connection with the acquisition of a government contractor; case settled shortly before trial after multi-million dollar jury verdict obtained against same defendant in related case arising out of the same acquisition.)
• Hyatt Corporation v. Turner Construction, No. 87-1882 (N.D. Ill.) (Represented defendants in case alleging violations of RICO and state common law claims; summary judgment in favor of defendants was awarded and state claims were dismissed.)
• Aydt v. DeAnza, Case No. 86 C 100400 (N.D. Ill.) (Represented defendant in class action brought by mobile home park residents; case settled after summary judgment in favor of defendant was awarded.)
• Precision Publications, Inc. v. Asbury Park Press, Inc., No. 82 2867 (D. N.J.) (Represented plaintiff asserting antitrust claims including monopolization, predatory pricing, and threatened unlawful acquisition of a competitor in violation of Section 7 of the Clayton Act; plaintiff’s request for temporary restraining order prohibiting newspaper acquisition was awarded; case settled during discovery.)
• ILCO, Inc. v. Gould, Inc., Nos. CV 83-Y-0407-S & CV 83-Y-0406-S (N.D. Ala.) (Represented defendant in case which included claims for violation of Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act; plaintiff withdrew antitrust claims during discovery and the case thereafter settled.)
• White v. The Hearst Corporation, 669 F.2d 14 (1st Cir. 1982) (Represented defendant in antitrust case brought by seven former distributors of the defendant alleging an unlawful price fixing conspiracy; summary judgment in favor of defendant was sustained on appeal.)
• Highland News Co., Inc. v. The Hearst Corporation, No. 80 413 T (D Mass.) (Represented defendant in case brought by over 70 terminated distributors alleging claims of breach of contract, estoppel, violation of "Little FTC Act" and breach of covenant of good faith and fair dealing; case settled after jury was selected.)
• Linn v. Marriott Corporation, No. 79 C 1643 (N.D. Ill.) (Represent defendants in action asserting claims for antitrust violations, unfair competition and breach of contract arising out of an alleged termination of the plaintiff’s franchise agreement; case settled during pendency of defendants’ motion for partial summary judgment with respect to antitrust and unfair competition claims.)
• Ayer v. Gore Newspapers Company, No. 78 6541 (S.D. Fla.) (Represented defendant in antitrust, breach of contract and related claims arising out of termination of plaintiff's distributorship; summary judgment for defendant was awarded and case settled.)

The Supreme Court of Illinois does not recognize certifications of specialties in the practice of law and no certificate, award or recognition is a requirement to practice law in Illinois.

Publications

• “Plaintiffs’ “No Poaching” Antitrust Class Action Claims Survive Motion to Dismiss,” Seyfarth Shaw LLP - Workplace Class Action Litigation Blog (April 27, 2012)
• “Recent Class Decision Highlights The Perils Of Exchanging Wage Information,” Seyfarth Shaw LLP - Workplace Class Action Litigation Blog (April 1, 2012)
• “Federal Bar Association Panel Discussion on Rule 23 - Evolving Issues For Workplace Class Actions,” Seyfarth Shaw LLP - Workplace Class Action Litigation Blog (March 23, 2012)
• Chapter Author, " Chapter 22 -Independent Contractors and Joint Employers," Wage & Hour Collective and Class Litigation, ALM Law Journal Press (2012).  Definitive treatise on wage and hour litigation.
• Co-author, “Employee or Independent Contractor? Enhanced Penalties in Recent California Legislation Counsel Review of Non-Employee Classification Practices,” Seyfarth Shaw LLP - Strategy & Insights (October 27, 2011)
• “Nurse Wage Decision Highlights Risks of Sharing Wage Information,” Seyfarth Shaw LLP - Client Alerts (August 3, 2010)
• Co-author, “Antitrust Problems,” The Labor Law Handbook, Illinois Institute for CLE (January 2010)
• Co-author, “Intellectual Property Tips for PEO’s” PEO Insider (November 2000)
• Co-author, “Addressing Safety and Maintaining Independent Contractor Status are Not Mutually Exclusive,” Newspaper Association of America, Circulation Update (May 1999)
• Co-author, “Another Myth of Independent Contractor Distributors–All Are Direct Sellers,” Newspaper Association of America, Circulation Update (May 1999)
• Co-author, “Shoppers and Newspapers Benefit From Amendment to Direct Seller Exemption,” WAPA News (Spring 1997)
• “Supreme Court May Reconsider Application of Per Se Rule to Maximum Price-Fixing Agreements,” Newspaper Association of America Labor and Employment Law Letter (May 1997)
• Contributing Author, “Defensive Measures To Deal With ‘Attacks’ On Independent Contractor Status,” Inland Press Foundation (April 1995)
• “Antitrust Risks Resulting From The Exchange of Wage and Benefit Information,” Corporate Counseling Report, ABA Section of Antitrust Law (Spring 1995)
• Co-author, Comments submitted on behalf of a coalition of associations representing over 20,000 employers on the IRS training manual “Employee or Independent Contractor?” (1996)
• Co-author, “Newspaper Distribution Systems and Changes in Methods of Distribution,” Antitrust, the Media and the New Technology, Practicing Law Institute (1981)