Jeffrey A. Risch, Shareholder

JEFFREY A. RISCH has gained extensive experience through the litigation of numerous employment and labor law cases in state and federal courts as well as representing employers before local, state and federal administrative agencies throughout the United States.  He has also taken several cases successfully through the appellate process. Mr. Risch concentrates his practice on representing employers in employment discrimination and retaliation claims as well as matters involving employee wage and hour claims (with a major emphasis on prevailing wage and overtime disputes). He also represents clients in litigation involving the FMLA, ERISA, the ADA, OSHA matters, contract disputes (with a particular emphasis on non-compete agreements), independent contractor and contingent workforce issues as well as traditional labor law matters. He also presents tailored in-house compliance training programs to managers and supervisors of small and large companies alike. 

Mr. Risch obtained substantial experience in various areas of employment law and traditional labor law as Director of Legal Affairs for a leading industrial equipment distributor and service provider, with multiple locations throughout the Midwest. During his in-house experience, Mr. Risch successfully controlled the operations of both a union and non-union mechanic workforce, oversaw wage/hour compliance, assessed employee benefits programs, implemented workplace safety initiatives, developed personnel best practices, marketed and sold operator forklift training and proactively managed litigation disputes. Mr. Risch's in-house personnel initiatives garnered national attention from the Material Handling Equipment Distributors Association.  Mr. Risch received his Juris Doctor degree, with Highest Honors, from the University of Tulsa. In addition to the many academic awards and accolades earned, Mr. Risch served on the editorial board for the Tulsa Law Journal. Upon graduation from law school, Mr. Risch gained extensive courtroom experience through defending employers and professional service providers in multiple bench and jury trials as a litigation associate for a prominent Tulsa, Oklahoma law firm.

Currently, Mr. Risch serves as Chairman of the Employment Law and Litigation Committee for the Illinois Chamber of Commerce where he is actively engaged in legislation impacting Illinois employers. The Illinois Chamber also appointed Mr. Risch to serve as its labor/employment attorney in helping businesses comply with personnel related issues, including serving as its retained counsel for the Chamber's nationally recognized Drug-Free Illinois Workplace Program. Mr. Risch also serves as Chapter Attorney for the Associated Builders and Contractors of Illinois --- one of the leading merit shop associations in the construction industry. 

Mr. Risch has written numerous articles that have been published throughout the United States, and is a contributing author to the award winning Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education's Treatise entitled: Conducting the Employment Practices Audit, IICLE (2004 ed.) and (2007 ed.).  He is also the lead Author and Editor for the Illinois Chamber's Employment Law Handbook --- one of the leading legal compliance resources for Illinois employers.  He has also authored The Legal Rights Manual for the Associated Builders and Contractors of Illinois, Inc. --- a prominent strategy and guidance manual for merit shop construction contractors. 

Mr. Risch is also a frequent speaker before employer groups and human resource professionals on a variety of employment and labor law topics and has been repeatedly named an Outstanding Speaker by Lorman Education Services. Through his many contacts at the Illinois Chamber, the Associated Builders and Contractors as well as various HR and trade associations, Mr. Risch has attracted a local, regional and national client base. He has been quoted by Motor Age Magazine, has appeared on Fox News Chicago, has testified on behalf of employers at the Illinois State Capital and has contributed to numerous newspaper and trade magazine articles --- on a wide variety of cutting edge labor and employment law topics.  Mr. Risch has also recorded several audio CDs, through Masterpiece Audio Productions, designed to help educate employers on a variety of hot-button issues including but not limited to: Prevailing Wage; the Illinois Employee Classification Act; Overtime; Harassment Investigations; HR Audits; Performance Evaluations; and Job Descriptions.

Current Employment Position(s):

Senior Attorney, Shareholder
Executive Committee Member
Co-Chair: Independent Contractor Legal Services Practice Group
Chair: Prevailing Wage Task Force
Illinois Editor: W&P Client Alert Newsletter