Mr. Adelman has concentrated in labor and employment law for more than 40 years. He has represented clients ranging from small businesses with just a few employees to multibillion-dollar companies with thousands of employees.
Mr. Adelman handles the full spectrum of labor and employment relations matters. He regularly represents clients with respect to every conceivable issue relating to unions, including union avoidance, union representation (and decertification) elections, collective bargaining agreement negotiations, grievances and arbitrations, unfair labor practice investigations and hearings, strikes, and secondary boycott charges and litigation.
In addition to his vast experience on union-related matters, Mr. Adelman has also handled hundreds of discrimination-related charges filed with administrative agencies and dozens of lawsuits filed in the Federal Courts of Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, California, Texas, Louisiana, New Jersey and New York. Mr. Adelman has substantial experience in handling matters involving the FLSA, WARN and OSHA. As an early practitioner in the handling of OSHA citations, he was responsible for litigating some of the landmark cases in that area.
Currently, most of Mr. Adelman's time, for both union-represented and non-union represented clients, is devoted to advising clients on how to minimize the potential for litigation or government investigation in employee-related matters.
Mr. Adelman is a frequent writer and speaker on employment law topics. He is also the former chairman of the Chicago Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Law Committee and has served on a variety of other employment-related activities of various organizations. In 2001, he was elected as a Fellow of the prestigious College of Labor and Employment Lawyers, and he was selected by his peers for listing in The Best Lawyers in America 2013.
Education
- J.D., DePaul University College of Law, 1970
Editor-In-Chief, DePaul Law Review - B.S., University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1967
Bar Admissions
Admitted To Practice
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana
- U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, 2002
Representative Experience
Mr. Adelman has helped clients achieve their goals in a wide range of cases. For example, in just the past few years:
- For a NYSE company, he defended against allegations that a high-level corporate officer had sexually harassed his secretary. The secretary alleged that her boss had made a number of unwelcome sexual comments, including asking her to teach sexual techniques to his wife, asking her to sit on his lap, and commenting about her undergarments. She further claimed that, as a result of the sexual comments, she needed to take time off from work. Upon her return from a medical leave of absence, her employment was terminated for making disparaging comments about her boss while she was on leave. Mr. Adelman obtained summary judgment on behalf of the corporation, which avoided a public airing of these embarrassing allegations.
- A national media company was sued in Los Angeles by a former General Sales Manager who alleged that the Company President had promised to give him 2% of the value of one of the Company’s television stations. The potential award was $1.2 million. Although it appeared that the case would hinge on whether the judge believed the promise was made, Mr. Adelman developed a theory that the alleged promise was not definite enough. In light of admissions that he obtained during the deposition, Mr. Adelman obtained summary judgment in a case that appeared to be destined for trial.
- For one of Chicago’s 50 largest companies, Mr. Adelman handled a trial before the Illinois Human Rights Commission involving an African-American employee who claimed that she had been discriminatorily denied a promotion and that both she and all African-American employees in her department were regularly discriminated against on the basis of race. The three other African-American employees in the department all testified on her behalf. Following five days of hearing, the IHRC Administrative Law Judge ruled in favor of the company on all issues.
- For one of the largest hotels in Chicago, Mr. Adelman won an arbitration decision entitling the hotel to retain all increases in banquet service charges. If the Union had been successful in its challenge to the hotel’s practice, the hotel was potentially liable for several million dollars in backpay. As a result of this arbitration victory, the Union was forced to drop grievances against at least three other prestigious hotels.
- For an Association of trucking contractors operating in Central Illinois, Mr. Adelman handled the arbitration of two grievances protesting the fact that Association members were hiring trucks and drivers not covered by the collective bargaining agreement. The Teamsters Union claimed that the hiring of outside trucks constituted a violation of the contractual subcontracting clause and/or the employees' seniority rights. He was able to convince the arbitrator to deny both grievances and allow the companies to continue doing business in the manner which they deemed appropriate.
- A large energy company was being represented by a prominent labor firm in Detroit with respect to claims by the IBEW that the company failed to abide by a collective bargaining agreement. The potential damages were in the $1,000,000 range, and the company was advised that it would have to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for a settlement. Mr. Adelman was then consulted and developed a theory that the collective bargaining agreement was unlawful. As a result, the union dropped all claims.
Publications & Presentations
Professional History
- Of Counsel, Locke Lord LLP
- Partner, Keck, Mahin & Cate
Professional Affiliations & Achievements
- Recognized, Illinois Super Lawyer (2005-2013)
- Member, American Bar Association
- Member, Illinois State Bar Association
- Member, Decalogue Society of Lawyers
- Elected, Fellow of College of Labor and Employment Lawyers
- Selected, one of the Leading Labor and Employment Law Attorneys in Illinois, Leading Attorney Network, Inc.
- Listed, Who’s Who in American Law
- Listed, Who’s Who in America
- Named, The Best Lawyers in America, Employment Law/Management (2013)
Community Leadership
- Board Member, American Jewish Committee
- Board Member, Victory Gardens Theater
- Former Board Member and President, Council on Jewish Workplace Issues
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