Lucy Bednarek

Lucy Bednarek is an experienced litigation attorney with extensive jury trial experience in state and federal court. She has successfully tried over a dozen cases to verdict.

Litigation Practice. Lucy defends employers in all areas of employment law including discrimination, retaliation, harassment, disability discrimination and accommodation, family and medical leave, whistleblower, equal pay, wage and hour, defamation, breach of contract, and military service. She defends claims involving Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the Equal Pay Act (EPA), the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), Section 1981, and state laws.

Lucy further defends employers before state and federal administrative agencies, including the EEOC, the Illinois Human Rights Commission, the Indiana Civil Rights Commission, and the Indiana Department of Labor. Lucy also represents employers in arbitration and obtains successful arbitration awards.

Lucy also has extensive experience defending local governments, school districts, and private employers in Chicago and throughout Illinois in employment law, civil rights, and tort claims. In addition to the employment statutes, she has defended lawsuits involving Section 1983, Title IX, the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA), and state laws.

Appeals. Lucy has briefed and argued before the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, the Illinois Supreme Court, and the Illinois Appellate Court. She has led negotiations in Seventh Circuit mediations.

Workplace violence protective orders. Lucy has obtained multiple workplace violence protective orders for high profile, global companies. Orders involved physical violence and threats of physical violence by former employees as well as social media harassment.

Mediations and negotiations. Lucy achieves successful results for employers in mediation, court-ordered settlement conferences, and out-of-court negotiated settlements.

Advice and counsel. Lucy provides advice and counseling on risk management analysis, employment contracts, severance agreements, employment policies, accommodation requests, discipline and discharge, wage and hour, and unemployment benefits.