Steven J. Pearlman

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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 and the Restrictive Covenants, Trade Secrets & Unfair Competition Group.

Steven’s practice covers the full spectrum of employment law, with a focus on defending companies against claims of discrimination, retaliation and harassment; whistleblower retaliation; restrictive covenant violations; theft of trade secrets; and wage-and-hour violations. He has successfully tried cases in multiple jurisdictions, and defended one of the largest Illinois-only class actions in the history of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. He also secured one of only a few ex parte seizures orders that have been issued under the Defend Trade Secrets Act, and obtained a world-wide injunction in federal litigation against a high-level executive who jumped ship to a competitor.

Reporting to boards of directors, their audit committees, CEOs and in-house counsel, Steven conducts sensitive investigations and has testified in federal court. His investigations have involved complaints of sexual harassment involving C-suite officers; systemic violations of employment laws and company policies; and fraud, compliance failures and unethical conduct.

Steven was recognized as Lawyer of the Year for Chicago Labor & Employment Litigation in the 2023 edition of The Best Lawyers in America. He is a Fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers. Chambers describes Steven as an “outstanding lawyer” who is “very sharp and very responsive,” a “strong advocate,” and an "expert in his field." Chambers also reports that "He is someone who can navigate the twists and turns of litigation without difficulty. Steve is great with brief-writing, crafting arguments, and making sure the client is always happy.” 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."

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 whistleblower reports involving claims of myriad types of fraud, unethical conduct and compliance issues.
Restrictive covenant and trade secret misappropriation matters, including, for example: obtaining an ex parte seizure order under the Defend Trade Secrets Act (reportedly only 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 and theft of trade secrets.
Cage v. Harper, et al. (7th Cir.) (affirming dismissal of due process and First Amendment whistleblower retaliation claims)
Schwendeman, et al. v. Cross Country Staffing, Inc., et al. (Cal. Ct. App., 1st Dist.) (affirming order extending coverage of arbitration agreement to non-signatory on equitable estoppel grounds)
Schwartz, et al. v. UBS Financial Services (N.D. Ill.) (defense of putative nationwide Fair Credit Reporting Act class action)
Rodriguez, et al. v. Sprint Corporation, et al. (N.D. Ill.) (defense of putative nationwide Fair Credit Reporting Act class action)
Creighton, et al. v. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. (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. (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(N.D. Ill.) (defeated motion for nationwide collective action certification)
Williamson, et al. v. United Air Lines, Inc. (S.D. Ind.) (defense of putative class action alleging WARN Act violations; putative class size > 900)
Filipowski v. SilkRoad Technology, Inc. (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.] (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] (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. (N.D. Ill.) (7th Cir.) (summary judgment on internal counsel’s age and disability discrimination claims; affirmed on appeal)
Reed, et al. v. Freedom Mortgage Corp., 869 F.3d 543 (N.D. Ill.) (7th Cir.) (affirming order granting summary judgment on employment discrimination claims)
McShane v. Chemtrade Solutions LLC (Somerset Cty., NJ) (defense of antitrust whistleblower claims under NJ CEPA); McShane v. Reichl, et al., (Cook County, IL) (defense of qui tam claims under Chicago False Claims Act); McShane v. Reichl, et al. (defense of qui tam claims under Illinois False Claims Act)
Rimini v. J.P Morgan Securities (D. Mass.) (1st Cir.) (dismissal of SOX whistleblower claim)
Mart v. Berkshire Hathaway Inc., et al. (N.D. Ind.) (dismissal of SOX whistleblower claim against corporate defendants and top executive)
Schlicksup v. Caterpillar, Inc., et al. (C.D. Ill.) (defense of SOX whistleblower claims against company and top executives)
Simkus v. United Airlines (N.D. Ill.) (dismissal of SOX whistleblower claim)
DuBose v. PepsiCo, Inc., et al. (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 and Steven J. Pearlman