Biography

Mr. Stolzenbach is a partner in the Labor & Employment Department of Seyfarth Shaw LLP. He represents and counsels clients in many industries, including hospitality, health care, manufacturing, construction, telecommunications, waste management, print and broadcast media, airline and ground transportation, warehousing and distribution, retail grocery, and higher education.

Mr. Stolzenbach is particularly well versed in the field of labor relations law. He represents clients in unfair labor practice proceedings, grievance and interest arbitrations, Section 301 litigation, representation proceedings, and litigation under the Railway Labor Act. He serves as chief negotiator for various clients during their labor negotiations, and as behind-the-scenes advisor for others.  He also enjoys helping businesses to remain union-free by lawfully responding to union organizing campaigns.  In addition, he provides his clients with legal and practical advice on a wide spectrum of labor relations issues, including lockouts and strikes, neutrality agreements, corporate campaigns, employee benefits issues, successorship and other matters related to mergers and acquisitions, leased employees, employee committees, employee handbooks and work rules, and labor-related bankruptcy issues.  He also provides education and training to supervisors and managers on labor law, contract administration, and positive employee relations.

In addition to his labor relations practice, Mr. Stolzenbach also has substantial experience in benefits-related litigation under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).  Mr. Stolzenbach defends complex class actions and single-plaintiff lawsuits under ERISA.  In the class action realm, he has defended various types of claims, including claims for benefits, claims of employment discrimination, and claims for breach of fiduciary duty, including 401(k) "stock-drop" claims.  Mr. Stolzenbach also counsels clients on employee benefits matters, including the termination and modification of pension benefits and retiree medical benefits in both union and non-union workplaces, and he represents clients in connection with investigations by the U.S. Department of Labor into alleged ERISA violations.

Mr. Stolzenbach also represents clients in litigation various numerous other employment statutes. For example, has defended clients in litigation under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Americans With Disabilities Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Surface Transportation Assistance Act, the Illinois Human Rights Act, the Florida Civil Rights Act, the Minnesota Human Rights Act, Michigan’s Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act and Persons With Disabilities Civil Rights Act, the Ohio Civil Rights Act, and a variety other state laws in Illinois, Missouri, Ohio, Minnesota, and Iowa.  Mr. Stolzenbach also counsels clients on everyday employment law matters and assists clients with revisions to employee handbooks, employee-related policies, and employment applications.

Mr. Stolzenbach’s legal experience is not strictly limited to the realm of labor and employment law.  He has represented his clients in litigation involving municipal contracting and the Fourteenth Amendment, the separation of powers within local government, and the alleged intimidation of witnesses.  During law school, Mr. Stolzenbach served as a Felony Trial Division Intern in the Office of the Prosecuting Attorney for Washtenaw County, Michigan, where he tried and won several cases and provided substantial assistance in the successful prosecution of murderers and sex offenders.  He also served as a judicial intern for the Honorable Patrick J. Duggan of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.

Education

J.D., University of Michigan, cum laude

ABA-BNA Labor Law Award; Book Award in Law and Bioethics

A.B., University of Missouri, cum laude with Honors in History

Phi Beta Kappa; Curators Scholar

Admissions

• Illinois

Courts

• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh, Eighth, Ninth and District of Columbia Circuits
• U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (Trial Bar)
• U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois
• U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado
• U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana
• U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan