Biography

Mr. Poor is a partner in the Chicago office of Seyfarth Shaw, where he represents management in the area of labor and employment law.  Mr. Poor is Chair and Managing Partner of the Firm with overall responsibility for the leadership, direction, growth, profitability and culture of the organization.  He has held that position since mid-2001.  In that capacity, he serves as Chair of the Firm’s Executive, Compensation and Administrative Committees. He has served on the Firm’s Executive Committee since 1998.  Prior to joining the Executive Committee,  he was Chair of the Firm’s Labor and Employment Law Group from 1994 through 1998.

Mr. Poor’s legal practice has a particular emphasis on complex litigation relating to claims brought under ERISA as well as sex, race and age discrimination and harassment cases.  His practice has included jury trials in a number of state and federal courts, including California, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, New York, Texas and West Virginia.  He has argued cases in the Fourth, Sixth and Seventh Circuit Courts of Appeal, and has litigated two cases before the United States Supreme Court.  Mr. Poor participated in the creation of Seyfarth’s legal compliance and management training subsidiary, Seyfarth Shaw at Work, which provides leader-led and Internet-based training on a variety of employment law issues, including harassment and discrimination, workplace safety, privacy, positive employee relations, managing an independent contractor workforce, diversity, and human resources management.  Mr. Poor has served as the Chief Executive Officer of Seyfarth Shaw at Work since its creation. 

Mr. Poor frequently speaks and writes on a variety of employment discrimination issues, including workplace harassment, positive employee relations, privacy rights in the workplace, reductions in force and issues relating to the trial of employment matters.  In addition, Mr. Poor frequently addresses issues relating to law firm management, such as partner compensation systems, strategic planning and law firm merger and acquisition strategy.  He served as Editor-in-Chief of the Illinois Labor Letter and has contributed to a variety of other publications.

Education

J.D., University of Virginia, with honors (1980)

Order of the Coif

B.S., Indiana University, with honors (1977)

Phi Beta Kappa

Admissions

• Illinois

Courts

• United States Supreme Court
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth, Sixth, Seventh and Eighth Circuits
• U.S. District Court for the Central and Northern Districts of Illinois