Steven J. Pearlman

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Partner

Chicago +1.312.962.3545

Steven J. Pearlman is a partner in the Labor & Employment Law Department and co-head of the Whistleblowing & Retaliation Group. Steven’s practice covers the full spectrum of employment law, with a focus on claims of discrimination, retaliation and harassment, restrictive covenant violations, wage-and-hour violations, whistleblower retaliation and breach of contract. He has successfully tried cases in multiple jurisdictions, and defended what is reported to be the largest Illinois-only class action in the history of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Reporting to boards of directors and their audit committees, he conducts sensitive investigations and has testified in defense of investigations in federal court.

Chambers describes Steven as an “outstanding lawyer” who is “very sharp and very responsive.” Steven was 1 of 12 individuals selected by Compliance Week as a "Top Mind." Earlier in his career, he was 1 of 5 U.S. lawyers selected by Law360 as a "Rising Star Under 40" in the area of employment law and 1 of "40 Illinois Attorneys Under Forty to Watch" selected by Law Bulletin Publishing Company. Steven is a Burton Award Winner (U.S. Library of Congress) for "Distinguished Legal Writing." He was elected as a Fellow to the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers.

Steven has served on Law360’s Employment Editorial Advisory Board and is a Contributor to Forbes.com. He has appeared on Bloomberg News (television and radio) and Yahoo! Finance, and is regularly quoted in leading publications such as The Wall Street Journal.

Matters

Representative Matters

Confidential investigations into scores of workplace issues and sexual harassment claims involving high-level executives and arising from whistleblower reports involving a wide range of alleged fraud (e.g., securities fraud, accounting fraud and fraud in connection with corporate transactions) and kickbacks
Restrictive covenant matters, including, for example: obtaining an ex parte seizure order under the DTSA (reportedly the fifth time such an order has been granted under the DTSA); obtaining a TRO against the former head of research and development for a large pharmaceutical company; obtaining an order significantly reducing the length of a non-competition period; and securing highly favorable settlements in matters involving alleged breaches of restrictive covenants.
Rodriguez, et al. v. Sprint Corporation, et al., No. 15 CV 10641 (N.D. Ill.) (defense of putative nationwide Fair Credit Reporting Act class action)
Creighton, et al. v. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co., No. 15 CV 08321 (S.D.N.Y.) (defense of putative nationwide race-based disparate impact discrimination class action brought by Financial Advisors)
Calibuso, et al. v. Bank of America, et al., 299 F.R.D. 359 (S.D.N.Y.) (defense of putative nationwide gender discrimination class action brought by Financial Advisors)
Arrez, et al. v. Kelly Services, Inc., No. 07 CV 1289 (N.D. Ill.) (defense of putative state-wide class action involving first-impression issues under Illinois Day and Temporary Labor Services Act and Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act; putative class size > 95,000)
Boyd, et al. v. Alutiiq Global Solutions, LLC, No. 11 CV 00753, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 88656 (N.D. Ill.) (defeated motion for nationwide collective action certification)
Williamson, et al. v. United Air Lines, Inc., No. 03 CV 01456 (S.D. Ind.) (defense of putative class action alleging WARN Act violations; putative class size > 900)
Filipowski v. SilkRoad Technology, Inc., No. 14 CH 3031 (Cook County, IL) (defense of former CEO’s claims for breach of employment contract)
Cox, et al. v. Flair Corp. of Ocala [subsidiary of SPX Corp.], No. 01 CV 322 (M.D. Fla.); aff’d 2003 U.S. App. LEXIS 19914 (11th Cir.) (defense verdict in multi-plaintiff jury trial involving race discrimination claims; affirmed by 11th Circuit)
Cobbs, et al. v. Mid City [subsidiary of Beauty Alliance], No. 06 CV 3971 (N.D. Ill.) (defense verdict on first plaintiff's sexual harassment and retaliation claims and mistrial on second plaintiff's claim)
Fleishman v. Continental Casualty Co., No. 09 CV 00414, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 134992 (N.D. Ill.), aff’d No. 11 CV 3754, 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 21719 (7th Cir.) (summary judgment on internal counsel’s age and disability discrimination claims; affirmed on appeal)
McShane v. Chemtrade Solutions LLC, No. SOM-L-933-16 (Somerset Cty., NJ) (defense of antitrust whistleblower claims under NJ CEPA); McShane v. Reichl, et al., No. 2016L011383 (Cook County, IL) (defense of qui tam claims under Chicago False Claims Act); McShane v. Reichl, et al., No. 2017L001074 (defense of qui tam claims under Illinois False Claims Act)
Rimini v. J.P Morgan Securities, No. 17-CV-10392, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 204673 (D. Mass. Dec. 13, 2017), aff’d No. 18 CV 1031 (1st Cir. Nov. 7, 2018) (dismissal of SOX whistleblower claim)
Mart v. Berkshire Hathaway Inc., et al., No. 10 CV 118, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 22780 (N.D. Ind.) (dismissal of SOX whistleblower claim against corporate defendants and top executive)
Schlicksup v. Caterpillar, Inc., et al., No. 09 CV 1208 (C.D. Ill.) (defense of SOX whistleblower claims against company and top executives)
Simkus v. United Airlines, No. 11 CV 02165 (N.D. Ill.) (dismissal of SOX whistleblower claim)
DuBose v. PepsiCo, Inc., et al., No. 2010L007676 (Cook Cty, IL) (dismissal of retaliatory discharge complaint)

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Proskauer Whistleblower Defense Blog

Highlights and updates in whistleblower defense claims

Edited by Lloyd B. Chinn, Harris M. Mufson and Steven J. Pearlman