James B. Sherman Minnetonka, Minnesota
| Managing Shareholder of Minneapolis office Chair of Firm's Executive Committee | |
| phone | (952) 746-1700 |
| fax | (952) 746-1704 |
| jasherman@wesselssherman.com | |
JAMES B. SHERMAN has practiced exclusively in the field of labor and employment law since 1987. He has over 20 years of experience counseling businesses and acting as lead counsel in complex litigation involving all aspects of human resource and workplace law - from Title VII, to ADA and ADEA, FLSA and ERISA, along with most every kind of wrongful discharge and other state contract and tort law claims between employers and their employees.
Licensed for more than two decades to practice law in the state courts of three states - MN, WI and IL - Mr. Sherman has successfully litigated many ground-breaking and precedent-setting federal and state court cases (see representational cases, below).
Mr. Sherman has represented employers of all sizes before a wide array of federal and state administrative agencies in over 20 states, including the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), the Minnesota and Illinois Departments and Commissions on Human Rights, the Wisconsin Equal Rights Division and Labor and Industry Review Commission, among many others. He has also arbitrated many cases under union labor agreements as well as non-union employment contracts.
Other areas of concentration in Mr. Sherman's practice involve training and educating management and supervisors in all areas of human resources and employment law; union organizing; and drafting, reviewing and enforcing non-competition and other restrictive employment agreements for his business clients.
- Bar Admissions:
- Minnesota, 1987
- Wisconsin, 1987
- Illinois, 1992
- U.S. District Court District of Minnesota, 1987
- U.S. District Court Eastern District of Wisconsin, 1987
- U.S. District Court Western District of Wisconsin, 1987
- U.S. District Court Northern District of Illinois, 1989
- U.S. District Court Southern District of Indiana, 1995
- U.S. District Court Central District of Illinois, 2001
- U.S. District Court Southern District of Illinois, 2007
- U.S. Court of Appeals 8th Circuit, 1988
- U.S. Court of Appeals 7th Circuit, 1988
- U.S. Supreme Court, 1997
- Education:
- Marquette University Law School, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Juris Doctor
Honors: Thomas More scholar - University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, Minnesota
Bachelor of Arts
Major: Business Administration - Throughout his education James Sherman held various jobs each summer and often during the school year, to help pay for his education. Jim calls this having some "skin in the game" and intends to impart this principle to his children, though perhaps not so much as he had to do having been the youngest of eight children.
- Representative Cases:
- Yancick v. Hanna Steel Corporation, 653 F. 3d 532 (7th Cir. 2011)
- Gilman v. Schwan's Home Service, Inc., 565 F. Supp. 2d 1050 (D.C. Minn 2008)
- RSM McGladrey v. Midtlyng (Polk Co. IA Circuit Court 2008)
- Trustees of Twin Cities Bricklayers Fringe Benefit Funds, et. al. v. McArthur Tile Co., 351 F. Supp. 2d 921 (D.C. Minn. 2005)
- Swords Veneer v. Stasi and Hooper (Cir. Ct. Rock Island, IL 2004)
- Giese/South Side Lumber (MN Department of Labor 2003)
- John Honeycutt, Trustee of UFCW Local 431 and Employers Health & Welfare Plan v. Eagle Food Centers (D.C. Ill. 2002)
- Fastenal, Inc., NLRB (Minnesota 2001)
- Cadena v. Medallion Kitchens, Inc. (D.C. Minn. 2000)
- Yorktowne Cabinetry, NLRB (Pennsylvania 1999)
- Cernohous v. The Lutheran Home: River Falls (D.C. W.D. WI 1998)
- Cudia v. Aurora University (Cir. Ct. Cook County IL 1996)
- EEOC v. AIC Security Investigations, 55 F.3d 1276 (7th Cir. 1995)
- Calco, Ltd. v. Hinchman and Hinchman (Cook County Il Circuit Court 1994)
- Larson v. Wal-Mart (WI ERD 1992)
- Pryner v. Tractor Supply Co., 109 F.3d 354 (7th Cir. 1990)
- Hill v. Wal-Mart (IHRC 1990)
- Geo. A. Hormel & Co. v. Asper, 428 N.W.2d 47 (S. Ct. 1988)
- Classes/Seminars Taught:
- Accommodating Disabilities without Compromising Productivity
- Do's and Don'ts of Employee Handbook Drafting
- Hitting Employment Law Curveballs (at Target Field)
- Responding to EEOC Investigations, Minnesota Employment Law Institute
- EEOC's Final Regulations Implementing Amendments to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
- ADA Soup: Spooning Through the EEOC's New Regulations on Disabilities, Helping Employers in a Tough Economy
- Avoiding Litigation Through Sound and Lawful Documentation, Disciplinary and Discharge Procedures
- 2010 Updates on Employment Law - the fun way!, Winona SHRM
- ADAAA/FMLA, University of St. Thomas
- Professional Associations and Memberships:
- Minnesota State Bar Association, Labor and Employment Law Section
- Member
- Illinois State Bar Association, Labor and Employment Law Section
- Member
- State Bar of Wisconsin, Labor and Employment Law Section
- Member
- Hennepin County Bar Association, Labor and Employment Law Section
- Member
- American Bar Association Section of Labor & Employment Law
- State Labor and Employment Law Developments Committee






