Overview
Strategic Defense for Complex Employment Disputes
Michael Best’s Employment Litigation team defends employers in high-stakes matters ranging from single-plaintiff claims to sophisticated, multi-jurisdictional class and collective actions. With deep experience before administrative agencies and in state and federal courts nationwide, we pair rigorous case assessments with practical business insight to deliver efficient, defensible outcomes.
Our Approach: Tailored Litigation Strategies Aligned to Your Business Goals
Understand Your Risks and Opportunities: We start every matter with a candid, data-driven evaluation of claims, evidence, witnesses, venue and judge profiles, and potential exposure, so you have a clear view of risk and opportunity from day one.
Craft Strategic Legal Next Steps: Working shoulder-to-shoulder with in-house counsel and business leaders, we build a customized strategy that aligns legal tactics with enterprise priorities—whether that means quick, quiet resolution; targeted dispositive motions; class certification defense; or trial to verdict.
Relentlessly Pursue Your Goals: Our attorneys are adept at leveraging the full spectrum of pretrial tools and alternative dispute resolution to resolve cases efficiently, and we are relentless in pursuing decertification and defeating class certification where appropriate. When trial is warranted, clients benefit from our courtroom experience and disciplined preparation.
Legal Support that Has Your Back: We emphasize clear communication, budget predictability, and operational continuity. This allows us to manage discovery burdens, preserve privilege, safeguard brand reputation, and position matters for optimal outcomes on appeal if necessary.
Focus Areas
Services We Provide
We regularly represent clients in all types of disputes arising out of the employment relationship, concerning matters such as:
- Discrimination and harassment under federal, state, and local laws
- Whistleblower and retaliation matters
- Wage and hour class and collective actions
- Workplace safety and health (OSHA) enforcement
- Employee benefits and executive compensation disputes
- Unemployment and workers’ compensation claims
- Contractual and tort-based employment claims
- Restrictive covenants, unfair competition, and trade secrets
- Class and collective action strategy, including certification/decertification, damages modeling, and expert coordination
- Compliance counseling and risk mitigation integrated with litigation
Experience
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.
We represent a Catholic university in Chicago, providing employment counsel and litigation defense. Michael Best defended the university in litigation in the Northern District of Illinois, brought by a former adjunct professor alleging Title IX violations, 42 USC 1981 violations, Title VII violations, and multiple state law claims. The court dismissed the Title IX claims with prejudice and the Title VII and state law claims without prejudice. This decision was seminal in the legal battle of the scope of Title IX. We persuaded the court that Title IX should not extend to claims that should be covered by Title VII, even when the individual bringing the claims is barred from pursuing the Title VII claims. This is the first decision in the country we are aware of addressing this factual situation and still dismissing the Title IX claim. In addition, the court denied the plaintiff’s motion for preliminary injunction seeking to remove an article from the student newspaper website regarding accusations against the plaintiff.
