Full-Service Law Firm solving complex challenges through bold thinking, precise execution, and shared purpose.

Full Service Law Firm | Michael Best & Friedrich LLP

Specializing in the Intersection of Business &amp; Government

Meet our team of trusted advisors, strategic thinkers, and community builders dedicated to client success.

Learn about our full-service legal and business solutions, designed to address complex challenges for leading organizations across industries.

Access thought leadership, news, and resources to stay informed about the latest trends, legal developments, and industry innovations.

Discover how partnership, bold thinking, and precise execution drive results for clients nationwide.

Explore how our national reach and local expertise support clients across the United States and beyond.

Grow at a firm designed to bring out your best.

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Building Stronger Workplaces Through Trusted Legal Partnership

We understand that strong employer-employee relationships are essential to business success. Our nationally recognized Labor &amp; Employment Relations team partners with organizations across the country to navigate complex employment laws, mitigate risk, and foster productive workplaces. Our goal is to help you make informed decisions and plan strategically for the future.

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Received Band 1 recognition for Labor &amp; Employment Law

Chambers &amp; Partners

Ranked National Tier 1 for Labor &amp; Employment Law

Best Law Firms

Employment Law Alliance

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Our Approach: Workplace Law That Moves with Your Business

We deliver strategic legal counsel shaped by deep familiarity with the challenges our clients face. From navigating employment decisions and building compliant policies to managing disputes, our team provides practical, proactive solutions grounded in hands-on legal insight. We take the time to understand your business, your industry, and your internal dynamics—partnering closely with HR teams and general counsel to ensure seamless collaboration. From tailored training and real-time legal updates to policy advocacy, we equip you with the insight and integration needed to stay ahead of regulatory change and business demands.

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Tailored Legal Support for Every Workplace Situation

Employee Benefits &amp; Executive Compensation

Build benefit programs and executive compensation strategies that strengthen your workforce and meet complex regulatory demands. Our nationally experienced team guides employers through plan design, fiduciary governance, ERISA compliance, and risk management—helping you align benefits with business goals while staying audit‑ready.

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Employment Litigation

Representing employers in individual and class action lawsuits, administrative agency proceedings, and alternative dispute resolution involving a wide range of employment issues, including discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wage and hour compliance, workplace safety, family and medical leave, disability accommodations, unfair competition, trade secrets, employee benefits, and executive compensation.

Immigration

Enable seamless global mobility with strategic, end‑to‑end immigration support. From visas and permanent residency to I‑9 compliance, corporate restructuring, and outbound assignments, our team helps you move talent across borders while staying ahead of regulatory change.

Labor-Management Relations

Providing strategic counsel to employers during union organizing efforts, elections, collective bargaining, strikes, and proceedings before the NLRB and state agencies; guiding grievance and arbitration processes; and advising on employee relations strategies to support and maintain a union-free workplace.

Unfair Competition &amp; Trade Secrets

Assisting clients in safeguarding trade secrets and intellectual property, crafting and enforcing restrictive covenants, preventing employee poaching, and establishing proactive policies and procedures to minimize asset loss, while also providing strong representation in unfair competition and trade secret litigation.

Workplace Compliance 

Protect your organization with proactive, real‑time support across OSHA/MSHA compliance, safety program development, investigations, and hazard mitigation. Our team helps you build compliant policies, reduce risk, and maintain a safe, productive workplace backed by deep regulatory insight.

Proven Legal Guidance for Everyday Workplace Challenges

Assisted five technical colleges in establishing a consortium for purposes of offering health benefits to their employees, with joint administration and joint self-funding of the cost of claims administration and re-insurance premiums. Because the colleges are state governmental entities and it was unclear whether state law allowed them to jointly self-fund employee health coverage, we helped draft changes that were enacted into state law. We created governing documents and protocols for the member colleges and oversaw creation of the consortium and its “going live.”

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Represented a chain of dental clinics in collective bargaining and negotiated innovative agreements with two unions to facilitate comprehensive restructuring of our client’s clinic workforces.

For a large international manufacturer that had grown through acquisition over the prior decade, we completed the process of consolidating multiple qualified retirement plans into a single plan. In addition to advising on the design of the combined plan, we obtained an IRS ruling, assisted with recordkeeping conversion, and provided guidance on operational changes resulting from the company-wide consolidation. This project impacted over 5,000 plan participants and allowed our client to decrease its overall cost of plan administration.

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Represented a major manufacturer of iron castings in a precedent-setting “hybrid” collective/class action involving claims under the FLSA and state law. The plaintiffs are foundry workers who contend they should be compensated for time spent donning and doffing work gear, showering, and walking because it is a necessary part of their workday. We won summary judgment before the district court, which found that the activities were not required to be performed on-site at the foundries and thus were not compensable. The Seventh Circuit reversed on appeal. The U.S. Supreme Court denied a petition for certiorari, and the case went back to the district court, which certified both classes. We sought an immediate appeal from the Seventh Circuit, and the parties are currently briefing certification issues on appeal. This is a unique case, as the outcome hinges on the safety of the work environment.

Defended a national taxicab company in a wage and hour case in which cab drivers challenged the industry business model. The plaintiffs asserted that cab drivers were employees under state law and, therefore, the defendant cab companies had violated the law by failing to pay minimum wage and overtime and by deducting fees from the drivers’ wages. The Seventh Circuit rejected these claims and found that the cited law did not apply to the drivers, because the cab companies did not promise or contract to pay wages to the drivers.

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Network of connected icons shaped like people on a digital grid, illustrating workplace relationships and employment structures.

Michael Best Elects Eight Attorneys to Partnership

Michael Best’s Jorge Leon Named in Notable Leaders in Employment & Labor Law by Crain’s Chicago Business

Michael Best Welcomes Accomplished Labor & Employment Lawyer Andrew Shelby

Cook County’s New Paid Leave Ordinance Replaces the County’s Earned Sick Leave Ordinance Effective December 31, 2023

Chicago City Council Delays Implementation of New Paid Leave Ordinance Until July 1, 2024

New OSHA Work Injury Reporting Rule Will Subject Employers to Public Scrutiny

Banks and Financial Institutions Beware:  Unions Have You in Their Sights

Seven Michael Best Lawyers Named to 2024 Business North Carolina Legal Elite

DOL Issues Final Independent Contractor Rule

Limited U.S.-based Visa Processing Returns

NLRB Allows Dartmouth Men’s Basketball Team to Conduct Union Vote

Michael Best Announces Election of Four to Equity Partnership

H-1B Registration Window Opens March 6, 2024

Emerging ERISA Trend: Excessive Fee and Expenditure Litigation Against Employer-Sponsored Health Plans

IRS Continues “Pre-Examination Compliance Pilot” in Version 2.0 – Continued Focus on Self-Correction to Avoid or Limit an Audit

Michael Best’s Kerryann Haase Minton Named in Women in the Law Crain’s Chicago Business

National Labor Relations Board Finds Protected Activity in Home Depot Decision

Federal District Court Strikes Down National Labor Relations Board Joint Employer Rule

A Win For Illinois Staffing Agencies: Federal Court Grants Preliminary Injunction Of “Equivalent Benefits” Provision In Illinois’ Day And Temporary Labor Services Act

New Lie-detecting AI in the Hiring Process: How Will This Case Unfold?

Michael Best Welcomes 10 Associate Attorneys

Pay Transparency is Knocking at Federal Contractor Doors – DoD, GSA, NASA and OFPP Issue Proposed Pay Equity and Transparency Rule

Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) Opens Portal for Contractors to Certify Affirmative Action Plan Compliance – July 1, 2024, Deadline

The United States Supreme Court Announces Lower Standard for Actionable Conduct Under Title VII

Show Them the Money: Department of Labor Sets Aggressive New Overtime Exemption Salary Thresholds

FTC Bans Non-Compete Agreements

Department of Education Releases Long Awaited Title IX Regulations

OSHA Final Rule Impacting Employee and Union Rights During Inspections

New Guidance for Federal Contractors Using Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Hiring

Effective Date Of the Non-Compete Ban Identified – September 4, 2024

Colorado Becomes First State to Enact Landmark Artificial Intelligence (AI) Bill

Facey Featured in <em>Law360</em> article, “This New Michael Best Atty Chose A ‘Strange Detour’ Into HR”

Same Script, Different Cast: New Challenge to the DOL’s Overtime Rule

Bird Flu Outbreak Sparks Call for Dairy Farms to Protect Workers

Thirty-Five Michael Best Attorneys Recognized in Chambers USA 2024 Rankings

Chicago Issues Final Rules on Its New Paid Leave and Paid Sick and Safe Leave Ordinance as Employers Prepare for July 1, 2024 Effective Date

The U.S. Supreme Court Sides with Starbucks and Affirms Four-Factor Injunction Test

Michael Best Welcomes Seven New Attorneys

Two Michael Best Lawyers Named to Power 30 Employment Lawyers List

New Changes to Annual Form 5500 Reporting for Employee Benefit Plans

Texas Court Stays Effective Date of the FTC’s Non-Compete Ban but only for the Plaintiff, Refuses to Issue a Nationwide Ban

Heat Safety Rule Proposed by Federal OSHA – California Rule Effective Immediately

Pennsylvania Court Refuses to Preliminarily Enjoin FTC Final Rule Banning Noncompetes – All Eyes Back on Texas for its August 30, 2024, Pending Decision

Michael Best Elevates Eight Attorneys to Partnership

Michael Best Attorneys Appointed to National Leadership Positions

Ninety-Eight Michael Best Attorneys Earn Recognition in The Best Lawyers in America 2025 List

FTC Rule Banning Noncompetes Invalidated Nationwide

Benson and Quick quoted in Law360 article, “Wis. Court Ditches 2-Step Certification for Collectives”

Illinois Employment Law Update Series: Recent Amendments Expand Requirements for Temporary Labor Service Agencies and Their Clients Under the Illinois Day and Temporary Labor Services Act

Illinois Employment Law Update Series: Illinois Will Require Pay and Benefits Transparency in Job Postings Beginning January 1, 2025

Michael Best Partner Jorge Leon Recognized as a Notable Leader in Accounting, Consulting, and Law by Crain’s Chicago Business

Departments Release Final Mental Health Parity Rules

Illinois Employment Law Update Series: Extended Limitations Period and Expanded Protections Under the Illinois Human Rights Act (Including Use of Artificial Intelligence in the Workplace)

Illinois Employment Law Update Series: New Law Restricts Employers’ Use of Mandatory “Captive Audience” Meetings and Communications Regarding Politics, Religion, and Unionization

Illinois Employment Law Update Series: Illinois Makes Much-Needed Amendments to the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA)

Michael Best Adds Kris Hanson, Expands Labor & Employment Practice

Michael Best Welcomes 32 Associate Attorneys

Illinois Employment Law Update Series: 2025 Brings Expanded Pay Stub Requirements and New Obligations Regarding Production of Employee “Personnel Records”

New NLRB General Counsel Memo Urges Expansive Remedies for Unlawful Non-Compete Provisions and Declares “Stay-or-Pay” Provisions Presumptively Unlawful

Five Michael Best Practices Ranked National Tier 1 in 2025 “Best Law Firms” Rankings

NLRB Ends Employer Right to Tell Employees That Unionization Will Negatively Impact Their Relationship with Management

NLRB Finds Captive Audience Speeches During Union Campaigns to be Unlawful

Salary Threshold Rule Overturned

Illinois Employment Law Update Series: Illinois Issues New E-Verify Guidance

Employers Urged to Prepare for Increased Immigration Enforcement Activities

Owners and Contractors Urged to Prepare for Increased Immigration Enforcement Activities

President Trump Revokes Civil Rights Era Federal Contractor Equal Employment/Affirmative Action Executive Order 11246 and Warns Government Agencies and Private Employers Against Maintaining Illegal Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Practices – Part I

President Trump’s Executive Orders Targeting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion are Partially Enjoined Nationwide.  Part II

Immediate Action Required for Some Foreign Nationals to Comply with New Online Registration Requirement

Michael Best Welcomes Darren Gibson as Partner in Labor & Employment Practice Group, Co-Chair of Firm’s Higher Education Industry Team

Forty-One Michael Best Attorneys Recognized in Chambers USA 2025 Rankings

The Supreme Court Makes it Easier to Pursue Reverse Discrimination Claims

Michael Best Welcomes Seasoned Employment Litigator David Szwarcsztejn as Partner in Labor & Employment Practice Group

Michael Best Welcomes Virginia Cronin as Senior Counsel in the Labor & Employment Practice Group

Michael Best Welcomes New Associates and Staff Attorney, Congratulates Samantha Bush on Promotion

Michael Best Elevates Seven Attorneys to Partnership

No More Double Trouble: The DOL Denies Investigators the Power to Pursue Double Damages

Michael Best Attorneys Earn Recognition in The Best Lawyers in America 2026 List

Space X Convinces Fifth Circuit that NLRB Structure is Likely Unconstitutional, Throwing Board into State of Flux

Nebraska Healthy Families & Workplaces Act Takes Effect October 1, 2025 – Action Needed by September 15, 2025

EEOC to Close “Disparate Impact” Investigations

Michael Best Welcomes Rebecca Mordas as Senior Counsel in Labor & Employment Practice

Michael Best Recognized in 2026 “Best Law Firms” Rankings with Multiple National and Metropolitan Tier 1 Honors

SCCE Government Contracting Compliance & Ethics Conference

Structuring Employee Severance/Separation Arrangements: Revisiting Section 409A and Its Impact on Deferred Compensation

Standing Out from the Crowd: Immigration Options for Extraordinary Employees

(Over)time is of the Essence: How to Comply with the New DOL Salary Thresholds under the FLSA

Employment Data vs. Privacy Laws: Navigating Compliance in the Age of Emerging Technologies

Best Practices in Management of an OSHA Inspection

NLRB Update: How the New Administration May Impact Labor Laws

Navigating the New Administration’s Impact on Higher Education Institutions

Top Immigration-Related Legal Issues for Faith-Based Organizations

Labor & Employment Seminar Series

California Labor & Employment Year in Review: What Employers Need to Know for 2026

Immigration Update for Employers: ICE Enforcement and Visa Program Changes

Webinar Recap NLRB Update: How the New Administration May Impact Labor Laws

Webinar Recap Navigating the New Administration’s Impact on Higher Education Institutions

Webinar Recap: Top Immigration-Related Legal Issues for Faith-Based Organizations

Labor & Employment

Key Contacts

Trending Conversations for Labor & Employment

FTC Signals Aggressive Case‑by‑Case Enforcement on Noncompete Agreements

Ninth Circuit rules California cannot ban people from openly carrying firearms.

Landmark study on the safety of Roundup is retracted. EPA called upon to reassess the widely used chemical.

Key Contacts

Trending Conversations for Labor & Employment

FTC Signals Aggressive Case‑by‑Case Enforcement on Noncompete Agreements

Ninth Circuit rules California cannot ban people from openly carrying firearms.

Landmark study on the safety of Roundup is retracted. EPA called upon to reassess the widely used chemical.

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