David J. Fish

David cares greatly about the people and companies that he represents in employment law and business disputes. That is why some of his clients have said things like this about him:

“will fight till the end for the client he believes in and he surely did this for me and my company”

“always available to me, as if I was the only case he was handling” and

“reputation in the community for his thorough preparation and aggressive pursuit of his client’s interests.”

His clients are people and companies to whom he is committed to helping. David has represented a broad array of clients ranging from large publicly traded companies to small businesses and individuals and they are all important to him and his firm. David is also active in his community by, for example, serving on an advisory board for a local food pantry, supporting many charities, and providing pro bono service.

David is also well-respected in the legal community. After a finding in his client’s favor before the Illinois Human Rights Commission, one administrative law judge noted after reviewing his submitted qualifications that Mr. Fish “is particularly recognized and respected in the field, as a litigator, author, and seminar speaker.”    He has received a  “preeminent” ranking from Martindale Hubbell.

Mr. Fish graduated #2 in his law school class from Northern Illinois University College of Law after graduating from Illinois State University. Prior to starting his own firm, Mr. Fish was employed by larger law firms. (Including, Jenner & Block in Chicago, Illinois as a summer associate and Klein, Thorpe & Jenkins/Collins Law).  He is a member of the National Employment Lawyers Association which is a group of employment lawyers.

David has, on several occasions, lectured at educational seminars for lawyers and other professionals. He has moderated a continuing legal education panel of federal magistrates and judges on the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, he has presented before the Illinois State Bar Association on electronic discovery rules, and he testified before the United States Judicial Conference in Dallas, Texas regarding electronic discovery issues.

David is married, has three children, and a dog named Kelev.  He was previously the national burrito champion.   And, now, he practices yoga and meditation to counter the stress of practicing law.

His publications include:  “Enforcing Non-Compete Clauses in Illinois after Reliable Fire”, Illinois Bar Journal; “Top 10 wage violations in Illinois”, ISBA Labor and Employment Newsletter (August, 2017); “Physician Non-Complete Agreements in Illinois: Diagnosis—Critical Condition; Prognosis- Uncertain” DuPage County Bar Journal (October 2002); “Are your clients’ arbitration clauses enforceable?” Illinois State Bar Association, ADR Newsletter (October 2012); “The Legal Rock and the Economic Hard Place: Remedies of Associate Attorneys Wrongfully Terminated for Refusing to Violate Ethical Rules”,  of W. Los Angeles Law Rev. (1999); “Zero-Tolerance Discipline in Illinois Public Schools” Illinois Bar Journal (May 2001); “Ten Questions to Ask Before Taking a Legal-Malpractice Case” Illinois Bar Journal (July 2002); “The Use Of The Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct to Establish The Standard of Care In Attorney Malpractice Litigation: An Illogical Practice”, Southern Illinois Univ. Law Journal (1998); “An Analysis of Firefighter Drug Testing under the Fourth Amendment”, International Jour. Of Drug Testing (2000); “Local Government Web sites and the First Amendment”, Government Law, (November 2001, Vol. 38).

Kimberly Hilton, Employment Attorney

Kim has worked in the legal field for over ten years as an attorney, legal assistant, a paralegal, and a law clerk. Kim has experience litigating civil rights and employment discrimination issues and in other civil and criminal matters. She has litigated in the state and federal courts and before agencies such as the Illinois Department of Human Rights.

Prior to becoming an employment lawyer, Kim graduated cum laude in the top 10% of her law school class in 2010 from The John Marshall Law School, Chicago, Illinois and received her Bachelor of Arts in English and Political Science from Cornell College, Mt. Vernon, Iowa in 2003. During law school, Kim worked as a judicial extern for the Illinois Appellate Court, First District in Chicago, wrote and edited articles for The John Marshall Law Review and participated in John Marshall’s Moot Court program.

Kim has worked at several employment law firms. She is a member of the National Employment Lawyers Association – Illinois; Illinois State Bar Association; Will County Bar Association (Joliet, Illinois). She is admitted to the Illinois State Bar and the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

John C. Kunze, Employment Attorney

Seth D. Matus, Attorney

For more than twenty years, Seth has worked as a lawyer serving businesses ranging from start-ups and family companies to high tech firms, professional organizations, retailers and temporary labor services. Seth uses his experience to anticipate client issues and to develop forward-looking strategies to address complicated problems. With his expertise and thorough knowledge of the law, Seth has repeatedly saved employers facing class-action overtime lawsuits from multi-million dollar liability and obtained favorable outcomes for general contractors entangled in complex construction disputes.

Seth is a leader in developing and implementing innovative policies and procedures to protect confidential information and trade secrets and in ensuring that businesses comply with applicable law after breaches involving personal data. He has been certified as an information privacy professional in US private-sector law by the International Association of Privacy Professionals [1] and has presented several seminars on information privacy topics to business owners and human resources professionals.

Seth received his JD from the University of Colorado in 1996 and his B.A. from Rutgers in 1992.  He is a member of the Illinois, Colorado, New Mexico bars.

Seth is Of Counsel to our firm.

[1] The Supreme Court of Illinois does not recognize specialties and the above-certification is not a requirement to practice law in Illinois.

Thalia Pacheco, Employment Attorney

Labor and employment lawyer Thalia Pacheco received her B.A. from Northern Illinois University (DeKalb, Illinois) in 2014 and received her J.D. from DePaul University College of Law (Chicago) in 2018. At DePaul, Thalia was the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Women, Gender & Law.

While attending law school, Thalia focused her studies in labor and employment law and interned at C-K Law Group: The Law Offices of Chicago-Kent in its Plaintiff’s Employment Law Clinic and Chicago Public Schools in its Labor and Employee Discipline Department. Thalia clerked at a number of Chicago employment law firms in the area, including Siegel and Dolan, The Case Law Firm, and Franczek. Thalia is a member of the Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois and the American Bar Association.

Thalia is fluent in Spanish. She is passionate about helping to diversify the legal profession and enjoys mentoring others. In her spare time, Thalia enjoys spending time with her dog Jolene, attending comedy shows, and exploring new restaurants.

Nicole Sanders–Employment Law Paralegal

Nicole is an experienced legal assistant/paralegal with over 28 years’ experience in the legal field. Nicole has helped attorneys and clients in many different areas of the law including: employment law, personal injury, workers’ compensation, real estate, divorce, and estate planning.  She currently serves to support our employment attorneys and litigators.

In her free time, Nicole is busy raising her two daughters, and is active with her church, her local Parent Teacher Organization and several Auxiliary groups.

Kelev the Pup

Kelev focuses his practice in doing tricks, eating, and sleeping.  He was provided to us as a gift from a long-time client. He is available to help our employment clients who are upset.