Alejandro Caffarelli (Shareholder) born Argentina; admitted to bar, 1996, Minnesota; 1997, Illinois and U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois, including Trial Bar; U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit. Education: University of Michigan (B.A., History and Spanish Literature, 1992); University of Minnesota Law School (J.D., 1996). Alejandro Caffarelli is one of the founding shareholders of Caffarelli & Siegel Ltd., a boutique employment law firm located in downtown Chicago. With over ten years of experience, he has achieved success on behalf of his clients for a range of claims, including discrimination, retaliation, wages, medical leave, employment contracts, and class actions. A native of Argentina, he is fluent in Spanish and has earned a strong reputation for vigorously defending the rights of Hispanic employees. His firm has negotiated numerous six-figure settlements, including a $920,000.00 settlement in the case of Sanchez et al. v. Stampede Meat, Inc. (N.D.Ill. No. 02C5452). What distinguishes Mr. Caffarelli from many of his peers in the plaintiffs' bar is that he also handles high level management-side work. He is a lawyer's lawyer who, along with the co-founder Marc Siegel, takes pride in representing a number of law firms in their own employment disputes. Prior to founding Caffarelli & Siegel Ltd. in 2001, he worked at a mid-size management-side only firm, where, among other things, he helped draft the successful appellate brief in support of enforcing a confidentiality agreement on behalf of Oprah Winfrey's production company, Harpo, Inc. The appellate court's decision is now viewed as one of the seminal resources for defining the proper parameters of employee confidentiality agreements. Coady v. Harpo, Inc., 719 N.E.2d. 244 (Ill. Ct. App. 1999). In 2008, the City of Chicago awarded Mr. Caffarelli the position of Special Assistants Corporation Counsel and appointed him to defend the City in two class action cases brought against the City with combined total potential damages in the millions of dollars.
Although he has successfully served as lead counsel in both jury and bench trials, Mr. Caffarelli takes particular pride in the writing and analytical abilities of his firm's litigation practice. He has successfully defeated the vast majority of his opponents' motions for summary judgment - most of them brought by large national firms. He has prevailed on many issues of first impression in federal court, such as establishing that a police chief is subject to individual liability under the Family and Medical Leave Act, and that an employees' sleeping on the job does not alone constitute a breach of fiduciary duty in Illinois. See Rasic v. City of Northlake (N.D.Ill. No. 08C0104) and Beltran v. Brentwood North Healthcare Center, LLC, (N.D.Ill. No. 05C2558) respectively.
In recognition of his achievements, Mr. Caffarelli has been awarded the highest rating for legal ability by LexisNexis' Martindale-Hubbell, one of the oldest and most respected peer-review based rating services for attorneys. According to Martindale-Hubbell, the attainment of the highest rating is "a testament to the fact that a lawyer's peers rank him or her at the highest level of professional excellence." As of 2008, Mr. Caffarelli was rated "superb", a perfect 10 out of 10 on a numerical scale, by Avvo. Avvo is an online attorney rating service with an algorithm based upon an objective mathematical model.
Mr. Caffarelli is frequently invited to speak before lawyers' groups. Recent engagements include:
· DePaul University College of Law ICE Enforcement Conference: Employment Panel, 2009.
· American Immigration Lawyers' Association Regional Conference: Employment Enforcement Alert, 2009.
· Chicago Volunteer Legal Services Foundation, YLS Lunch Seminar: The Interplay Between Employment Law and Immigration Law, 2008.
· The Labor Employment Relations Association, Lunch Seminar: The American with Disabilities Act Amendments of 2008, 2008.
· American Immigration Lawyers' Association, Regional Conference: Employment Enforcement Alert, 2007.
· Chicago Bar Association, CLE: Common Immigration Issues in Employment Law, 2006. · Chicago Bar Association, CLE: The Undocumented in America, 2006.
Mr. Caffarelli currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Illinois chapter of the National Employment Lawyers' Association and previously served on the Board of Directors for the Hispanic Lawyers' Association of Illinois. For the past several years, Mr. Caffarelli has provided pro bono services on behalf of indigent workers through the Workers' Center at the Chicago Interfaith Committee on Worker Issues. In 2001, he volunteered to provide legal assistance for the City of Chicago's immigration workshops, sponsored by Mayor Richard M. Daley, and he subsequently graduated from the United Neighborhood Organization's Metropolitan Leadership Institute ("MLI"), a workshop for Hispanic professionals.
Mr. Caffarelli received a B.A. from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, with a double major of History and Spanish Literature, and was awarded a Juris Doctor from the University of Minnesota Law School, where he served as Note & Comment Editor of the Minnesota Law Review. During that time, he authored an article on criminal asset forfeitures, which subsequently was accepted for publication. In 1995, he served as an intern for the Honorable Judge Michael Davis of the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota. Since graduation, Mr. Caffarelli has been admitted to practice law before the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, the Illinois Supreme Court, and the trial bar of the Northern District of Illinois. In 2005, Mr. Caffarelli honed his trial skills by participating in the National Institute for Trial Advocacy's Midwest Regional Workshop in St. Paul, Minnesota. Member: Chicago Bar Association; Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois; American Immigration Lawyers Association; National Employment Lawyers Association; National Employment Lawyers Association (Director, Illinois Chapter); Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois (Director). Reported Cases: Rasic v. City of Northlake (N.D.Ill. No. 08C0104); Aleman v. U-Haul Co. (N.D.Ill.No.06C0726); Watson v. ABT Electronics, Inc. (N.D.Ill.No.06C1815); Beltran v. Brentwood North Healthcare Center, LLC, (N.D.Ill. No. 05C2558); Ciampi v. CCC Information Services, Inc. (N.D.Ill. No. 05C7056). Languages: Spanish. Practice Areas: Labor and Employment; Business Immigration Law; Commercial Litigation.Email: Alejandro Caffarelli
Marc Siegel (Shareholder) admitted to bar, 1996, Illinois; U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan and U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois, including Trial Bar. Education: Duke University (A.B., cum laude, Political Science, 1993); University of Illinois College of Law (J.D., cum laude, 1996). Marc J. Siegel is one of the founding partners of Caffarelli & Siegel Ltd., and has practiced labor and employment law in Chicago for over thirteen years. Mr. Siegel has a unique labor and employment background, representing both individuals and businesses in a variety of matters.
Summary of Experience
Prior to co-founding the firm in 2002, Mr. Siegel spent approximately seven years practicing at Laner Muchin, a mid-size Chicago management-side boutique labor and employment firm. There, he advised employers on all types of employment matters, conducted audits of employment practices, ran organizing campaigns, handled collective bargaining, and defended numerous employment cases before the EEOC and unfair labor practices before the NLRB. Representative clients include Marmon Corporation, HARPO (Oprah Winfrey's company), Allied Waste, and numerous other small and medium-sized businesses.
After co-founding Caffarelli & Siegel, Mr. Siegel has focused the vast majority of his work on representing employees in employment matters. He particularly enjoys the negotiation and counseling aspects of employment law. Mr. Siegel negotiates separation packages, reviews employment agreements, and advises clients on all work-related matters. He has drafted employment agreements on behalf of chief executive officers, physicians, university faculty, and other professionals. Mr. Siegel has successfully negotiated six-figure severance packages for numerous former executives, and is especially proud of the results he has achieved for his lower-waged clients. Both Mr. Siegel and co-founder Alejandro Caffarelli are fluent in Spanish, and have the distinction to be among very few fluent labor and employment lawyers in Chicago. They are especially pleased to have successfully represented numerous Hispanic workers in wage and hour disputes and other employment-related matters.
Accolades
· Has been named as a "Super Lawyer" in the 2009 Super Lawyers publication.
· Marc J. Siegel achieved the highest rating for legal ability in Martindale-Hubbell. According to Martindale-Hubbell, the highest possible rating, achievable only after admission to the bar for at least ten years, and indicating the highest level of legal ability and ethics. The highest rating is the pinnacle of professional excellence.
· Highly respected and oft-demanded speaker for a wide variety of audiences, on emerging topics in labor and employment law.
Negotiation
Mr. Siegel has successfully negotiated employment contracts, separation agreements, and better terms and conditions of employment for his clients. He has developed a niche practice from his negotiation experience, and has spoken before hundreds of other employment lawyers about his negotiation strategies and techniques. Mr. Siegel uses a customized approach, based upon each client's unique goals, to maximize the chances for success.
Mr. Siegel has assisted executives and professionals by negotiating the terms and conditions of their employment prior to their beginning a new job. For example, he represented a surgeon, with a very unique specialty, whose employer wanted him to agree to a broad non-compete agreement as a condition of employment. This non-compete agreement would have prohibited the client from working anywhere in the state of Illinois were he to separate from employment. Mr. Siegel successfully negotiated a drastic reduction of the scope of the agreement, which gave the client the security of knowing he would be able to work again if he were to resign or was terminated. If the situation calls for it, some of Mr. Siegel's work on employment agreements involves his "working behind the scenes" to assist the client in negotiating his or her own agreement.
Mr. Siegel also works with clients who have been presented with separation or severance agreements. He has negotiated six-figure separation packages for executive clients, and has greatly increased the amount of his clients' separation pay over the amount originally offered. Further, he often negotiates non-economic changes in separation agreements, including amending the client's record to reflect that the client resigned instead of being terminated - thus ensuring that the employer does not contest unemployment; or securing outplacement services for his client. These types of non-economic changes enable Mr. Siegel's clients to transition more smoothly from their previous positions and find re-employment with greater ease. In formulating a negotiation strategy, Mr. Siegel assesses both potential legal claims and other negotiation "levers" that assist clients in meeting their goals.
Representative Litigation Matters
Mr. Siegel also litigates clients' claims in federal and state court with regularity.
Representative litigation matters for executive clients
· Obtained the prompt dismissal of counterclaims brought against his client in federal court for breach of fiduciary duty.
· Filed counterclaims against an employer who sued his client, resulting in not only the dismissal of the employer's claims against the client, but payment to the client as well.
· Filed state law claim of breach of contract to seek recovery of six-figure severance payment in complex change of control situation. Zarazinski v. ACCO Brands Corp. and General Binding Corp., Circuit Court of Cook County No. 2006-L-8297.
· Defended misappropriation of trade secrets and non-compete claims filed against clients in federal court.
Representative wage and hour matters
· Obtained a $920,000 settlement on behalf of a class of meat-processing plant workers who had not been paid for the time spent putting on and taking off required safety equipment. Sanchez et al. v. Stampede Meat, Inc., N.D. Ill. No. 02-C-5452.
· Brought national class-action opt-in suit for failure of employer to properly utilize available tip credit for sky caps. Barreda v. Prospect Airport Services, Inc., N.D. Ill. No. 08-C-3239.
· Obtained a consent judgment in favor of a group of landscaping employees who sued their employer for failure to pay overtime wages under the Fair Labor Standards Act, Illinois Minimum Wage Law, and Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act. Palmerin, et al. v. Serra Landscaping, Inc., f/k/a John Serra Landscaping, Inc., and John Serra, individually, N.D. Ill. No. 06-C-1115.
Other representative matters
· Represented an employee diagnosed with bipolar disorder and depression who had been terminated after taking a medical leave. The employee alleged that she was terminated in violation of the Family and Medical Leave Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act. The case was settled to the employee's satisfaction.
· Brought suit on behalf of a nurse suing her former employer, a nursing home, for failure to pay owed overtime and retaliation in violation of the Illinois Whistleblower Act. The case settled to the client's satisfaction.
· Obtained settlement to the satisfaction of the client in a sexual harassment and retaliatory termination case in federal court.
Speaking Engagements, 2007-08 and Publications (representative list)
· "The Flip Side Of Negotiation: Effectively Interacting With Your Client" June 2009, at the 2009 National Employment Lawyers Association National Convention in Rancho Mirage, California
· "Insight About the Management Bar: A Former Management Attorney's Inside Knowledge and How It Can Help You Represent Employees" June 2008, before 400 attendees at the 2008 National Employment Lawyers Association National Convention in Atlanta, Georgia February 2008, at the Seventh Circuit Conference in Chicago
· "Leveling the Employment Playing Field: Who's On First" July 2008, before an audience of attorneys sponsored by the Chicago Volunteer Legal Services
· "Your Employee is on FMLA Leave: Figuring Out How to Handle Benefits and Other Policy Issues," September 2007, at the 2007 FMLA Update seminar presented by the Council on Education in Management
· 'Winning the Summary Judgment Game Before It Is Played: A Unique Framework for Negotiation" June 2007, before 500 attendees as one of a panel of speakers discussing "State of the Art Negotiation and Mediation" at the 2007 NELA National Convention in San Juan, Puerto Rico
· "Hiring Latinos for Retention Success: Best Practices and Legal Guidelines" May 2007, at a seminar for human resources professionals sponsored by Graciela Kenig & Associates
· Published author in a variety of major newspapers, journals, and public records IICLE Philadelphia Inquirer Christian Science Monitor Congressional Record. Member: Chicago Bar Association. Reported Cases: Navarrette v. JQS Property Maintenance, Slip Copy (N.D.Ill. No. 07C6164); Alvarez v. Hi-Temp, Inc. (N.D.Ill. No. 03C2610). Languages: Spanish. Practice Areas: Labor and Employment; Business Immigration Law; Commercial Litigation.Email: Marc Siegel