Profile - Joseph M. Gagliardo

Company Information

Company

Laner Muchin Ltd
515 N State St Ste 2800
Chicago, IL 60654-4688

Phone

(312) 320-2232

Member Bio

OVERVIEW
Joe Gagliardo served as the Managing Partner of Laner, Muchin, Ltd., from 2005-2017, after joining the Firm as a Partner in 1988, and serving as the Chair of the Litigation Department from 1988-2017. Joe is currently Of Counsel with the Firm and is a Judge on the Illinois Court of Claims. In a career that has spanned 40 years, Joe has counseled and represented private and public employers in a broad range of employment and labor matters. His experience includes litigating complex individual and class action claims in the state and federal courts and before administrative agencies, labor boards and arbitrators. Joe also serves as an arbitrator in employment and commercial disputes.
Joe previously served as First Deputy Corporation Counsel for the City of Chicago. During his ten years in the Office of the Corporation Counsel, serving five Mayors, he counseled the City’s forty departments in all aspects of municipal law, including labor and employment relations and represented the City and its officers and employees in litigation matters pending in the state and federal courts.
Joe has been recognized numerous times, including being listed multiple times as one of the Top 10 Illinois Super Lawyers, and he was selected as Best Lawyers’ 2012 Chicago-Litigation-Labor & Employment Lawyer of the Year. Joe frequently speaks and writes regarding current employment issues, including a monthly article for the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin, and he has taught numerous arbitrators on behalf of the American Arbitration Association.
EXPERIENCE
Joe’s experience in advising and defending employers involves a wide variety of issues, including:
Age, race, color, gender, religious, pregnancy, and national origin discrimination, harassment and retaliation.
Constitutional issues, such as freedom of speech and association, search and seizure, due process, equal protection, and impairment of contract.
Disability and reasonable accommodation.
Whistleblower, defamation, interference with contract/prospective advantage, intentional/negligent infliction of emotional distress, and other intentional and negligent tort claims.
Breach of employment contracts, trade secrets, covenants not to compete and other restrictive covenants.
Wage/hour matters.
Actions seeking injunctions and other extraordinary relief.
Conducting internal investigations, and providing related legal advice.
PRACTICE AREAS
Private and Public Sector Employment Litigation
Class Actions/EEOC Pattern and Practice
Discrimination, Retaliation and Harassment
Employment Contract Disputes
ERISA, Disability and Leave Laws
Individual, Class and Collective Wage and Hour Actions
Non-Compete/Trade Secrets
EDUCATION
John Marshall Law School, J.D., Chicago 1977
DePaul University, B.S. in Commerce, 1974, with High Honors
ADMISSIONS
Illinois
U.S. Supreme Court
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
U.S. District Court for the Northern, Central and Southern Districts of Illinois
Trial Bar of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
HONORS, MEMBERSHIPS AND PUBLICATIONS
Voted one of the Top 10 Attorneys in Illinois, Super Lawyer poll - Chicago Magazine, 2011, 2012 and 2015
Voted one of the Top 100 Attorneys in Illinois Super Lawyer poll - Chicago Magazine, 2007-21
Named as Chicago-Litigation-Labor & Employment Lawyer of the Year, Best Lawyers’ 2012
Recognized by the American Academy of Trial Attorneys (AATA) as one of 100 premier trial attorneys in the State of Illinois
Recognized by Intercontinental Finance Magazine in 2013, as one of the Top 500 lawyers in the world
Selected as a Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America
Repeatedly named one of the Leading Lawyers in Illinois in the area of labor and employment law
Selected as one of America’s Leading Lawyers for Business by the Chambers USA in its Guide to America’s Leading Business Lawyers and therein described as “bright,” “thorough” and “hard-driving”
Elected Fellow/Member of The College of Labor and Employment Lawyers
Included in Who’s Who Legal USA -- Management, Labor and Employment, and International Who’s Who of Business Lawyers
Maintains highest Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Rating for ethical standards and legal ability
Listed in “Who’s Who in American Law,” “Emerging Leaders in America” and “Who’s Who Among Rising Young Americans”
Distinguished Service Award from The John Marshall Law School
Award of Excellence from the Justinian Society of Lawyers
A Guiding Star Award from Windows of Opportunity
Leadership Awards from the Illinois Legislature, Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County, Cook County Board of Commissioners and City of Chicago
Peacemaker and Humanitarian Awards from the Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans. The Peacemaker Award was based on Joe’s skills in resolving disputes. The Humanitarian Award was based on his commitment and efforts to promote diversity and human relations initiatives.
Recognized in 2017, as an Illinois State Bar Association Laureate. The Laureate Award honors lawyers who have established and maintained the highest principles of the legal profession as demonstrated by their pervasive record of service to the law and the public.
American Bar Association (1977-2018)
Illinois State Bar Association, Past Chair of the ISBA Labor Law Section Council
Chicago Bar Association (1977-2018)
Federal Bar Association (through 2018), Past President, Chicago Chapter
Justinian Society of Lawyers, Past President
Women’s Bar Association of Illinois (through 2018)
Chicago Council of Lawyers (through 2017)
Defense Research Institute
Past member of International Association of Defense Counsel
Pat Member Litigation Counsel of America
Served as Trustee, The John Marshall Law School
Magistrate Judge Merit Review Panel, Northern District of Illinois, by appointment of the Chief Judge of the U. S. District Court
Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans, Past President
Served for over ten (10) years as a Director of Windows of Opportunity. Windows is a non-profit organization that creates partnerships to link all of Chicago’s public and assisted housing residents to resources that will improve their quality of life
Served as a Director of Age Options (2009-2015), an organization dedicated to connecting senior citizens with resources and options for care to allow them to live their lives to the fullest
Served on the Board of Directors of the Better Business Bureau, Chicago, Illinois
Has been active with Chicago United, Just the Beginning Foundation, and the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity, organizations that support and promote sustainable diversity in law and business

Firm Information

Laner Muchin, founded in 1945, is one of the oldest law firms in Chicago concentrating exclusively in representing private and public sector employers in the fields of labor relations, employment litigation, employee benefits and business-related immigration. Our Firm has a client base that runs throughout the United States, and includes national corporations, sports teams, media organizations and other large and medium-sized companies in virtually every category of business and industry. A representative client list is included in the enclosed materials.

The Firm is comprised of forty-two (46) attorneys and seven (7) paralegals, all of whom concentrate in representing employers in labor and employee relations and related matters. Because of the Firm’s singular focus on labor and employment law, every aspect of our business operation is dedicated to providing our clients with practical, responsive, cost-effective representation in their labor and employment matters. Client service is so important to us that you will see the Firm’s Two-Hour Commitment referenced on our website and in the attached materials. This Two-Hour Commitment is an institutional commitment to return every client call within two hours -- a service commitment that we believe is without peer in our profession.

With regard to the labor and employment legal services provided by Laner Muchin, we represent our clients in litigation involving such issues as: state and federal civil rights and constitutional claims; whistleblower claims; sexual, racial and other unlawful harassment; retaliatory discharge and other tort-based claims; employment discrimination (age, race, sex, disability, national origin, religion, etc.); breach of employment contract; actions seeking injunctive relief; claims arising under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act or otherwise involving employee benefits; claims arising under the Fair Labor Standards Act and other wage claims; covenants not to compete; enforcement of arbitration awards; class actions; and prevention of violent or unlawful picketing. Our attorneys are experienced in all aspects of litigation ranging from pre-trial discovery and motions, to bench and jury trials, and appeals. We also represent our clients before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, National Labor Relations Board, and state and local employment commissions, civil rights agencies, and departments of labor.

Further, the Firm provides a full range of labor and employee relations services to clients representing a cross-section of private and public sector employers, a number of whom are unionized. We provide day-to-day counseling, training and other preventative services; we represent clients in collective bargaining negotiations, as well as assisting in contract administration; and we handle grievances from their inception, through the appeal stages, and in arbitration.
Our Firm also represents and provides counsel to employers with respect to all types of qualified retirement, health and welfare, and executive nonqualified deferred compensation plans and trusts. The services we provide include the development and design of incentive and other benefits intended to attain specific organizational goals; their documentation, operation and compliance with changing and extensive legal and regulatory requirements under state and federal law; responding to audits; and obtaining governmental agency approvals.

Laner Muchin is also available to provide a full range of employment-based immigration services to our clients, including all nonimmigrant and immigrant visa processing procedures, I-9 audits, training and compliance, and immigration and relocation policies and procedures.
As a Firm, Laner Muchin is committed to diversity, and has an ongoing diversity program. Our Firm believes that, in today’s global marketplace, a diverse workforce is a crucial ingredient in providing excellent labor and employment services to our clients. In this regard, the Firm was recently awarded the Minority Corporate Counsel Association’s 2007 Thomas L. Sager Award for the Midwest Region in recognition of its accomplishments in the area of diversity.

In performing our services, we place the greatest priority on preventative, practical and creative approaches to problem-solving and improved employer, employee and union relations. We communicate with client representatives, employees, and union representatives in their language; and we relate to them in a manner that merits their respect. We provide not only a legal answer to matters but also practical recommendations for future action.

We are sensitive to the cost concerns of the private and public sector clients we represent. While legal services have historically been billed on an hourly basis, we pioneered the successful use of alternative fee arrangements -- including full-service retainer relationships -- which are consistent with many of our clients’ unique needs.

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Practice Areas
Alternative Dispute Resolution
Civil Rights
Director & Officers Liability
Employment Law
ERISA, Life, Health & Disability
Governmental Liability
Labor Law
Lawyers' Professionalism & Ethics
Professional Liability

DRI Committees
Alternative Dispute Resolution
Diversity and Inclusion
Employment and Labor Law
Litigation Skills

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Profile - Joseph M. Gagliardo - Bio

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