Biography

Mr. Darch is a partner representing management in the area of Labor and Employment Law. He is an active member of the Chicago Bar Association and the Illinois Bar Association, having served as the Chair of the Labor & Employment Law Committee and as the Chair of the Individual Rights and Responsibilities Section Council of these respective associations. His practice has a particular emphasis on complex corporate transactions, labor management restructuring, Taft-Hartley benefit plan modification, corporate campaigns and employment litigation. Mr. Darch has represented employers in such highly publicized cases as Kyles v. JK Guardian, the Title VII employment testers case, Dubuque Packing -- the case establishing the duty to bargain over work relocations under the National Labor Relations Act, and Esmark v. NLRB - - at the time, the largest corporate restructuring of a publicly held employer.

His clients include manufacturers, health care and service employers. These employers value strategic planning to meet corporate objectives while avoiding the costs of litigation where possible. Mr. Darch has tried over 200 cases before the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), labor arbitrators, in the federal and state courts and before administrative agencies. His experience includes representation in such matters as Title VII, Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), handicap/disability discrimination, employment-at-will, retaliatory discharge, wage and hour, veterans status, NLRB unfair labor practice and representation cases and family leave (FMLA). Mr. Darch also has extensive National Labor Relations Board election campaign experience, collective bargaining experience, and appellate court advocacy. Prior to attending law school, Mr. Darch was a naval officer.

Education

J.D., University of North Carolina
B.S., Applied Psychology, Georgia Tech

Admissions

• Illinois

Courts

• United States Supreme Court
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Tenth, and District of Columbia Circuits
• U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois
• U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (Trial Bar)
• U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana
• U.S. District Court for the Eastern and Western Districts of Wisconsin