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J. Kevin Hennessy

Shareholder

T: 312-609-7868
F: 312-609-5005

Chicago

Chair, Traditional Labor Group

J. Kevin Hennessy has represented management for over 25 years spanning all aspects of labor and employment law, including successfully handling employment litigation, collective bargaining, labor arbitrations, mergers and acquisitions, non-compete litigation and union organizing campaigns. Mr. Hennessy’s overall approach emphasizes practical solutions to employment relations issues in alignment with management’s immediate and long range goals. Mr. Hennessy has been recognized by his peers as an Illinois Leading Lawyer and is ranked in the "Top 100" Labor Attorneys in the United States by the Labor Relations Institute Inc. Mr. Hennessy is a Fellow of The College of Labor and Employment Lawyers.

Mr. Hennessy has litigated successfully on behalf of companies across the country from single plaintiff cases to enterprise-wide class actions involving thousands of employees, and successfully tried many cases to verdict. He has secured landmark decisions in the Courts of Appeals on sexual harassment, NLRB bargaining orders, wrongful discharge and enforcement of employment arbitration agreements.

Mr. Hennessy is a frequent presenter at seminars on successful labor arbitration, the Employee Free Choice Act and EEO issues in the workplace. He is considered an innovator in the field of cost-effective management and supervisory education with the original development of a highly regarded tool chest of interactive multi-media workshops including: Employment Law Solutions Programs and a multi-phase, Successful Arbitration Workshop Series.

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Hennessy

Legal Challenges in the Coming Decade (Doubletree Hotel, Chicago, August 2010)

Labor and Employment Issues in Mergers and Acquisitions (Association of Corporate Counsel, June 2010)

Ethics Roundtable for In-House Employment Counsel, Moderator (Standard Club of Chicago, March 2010)
Labor-Management Relations (38th Annual Institute on Employment Law, University of Chicago, October 2009)
Big Changes on the Horizon for Employers (Community Bankers Association, September 2009)
Update on the Employee Free Choice Act (Standard Club of Chicago and Sofitel Hotel, May 2009)
Preparing for Change: The Employee Free Choice Act (Dallas, February 2009)
Workplace Investigations: Why, When and How to Do Them Right (WestLegalEd Center Webinar, December 2008)
Legal and Practical Considerations in Handling Downsizing and Reductions-In-Force (WestLegalEd Center Webinar, October 2008)
The Employee Free Choice Act: The Most Significant Change in Labor Relations in 75 Years (Oak Brook Hills Marriott Resort, October 2008)
Developments in ADR Law (Westin Tabor Center in Denver, September 2008)
Recent Developments in Labor and Employment Law (Standard Club of Chicago and Sofitel Hotel, May 2008)
How to Manage Your Workforce (Chicago, November 2007)
Remedies in Arbitration (Grande Naples, Florida, February 2007)
The Multinational Workforce-Immigration Law Issues (Standard Club of Chicago, June 2006)
Working with FMLA (Gaylord Texan Conference Center, May 2006)
Training Workshops: HR Survival in the Millennium (Los Angeles, Baltimore, Orlando- Spring 2006)

J.D., Loyola University of Chicago
B.A., University of Illinois

Illinois, 1976
U.S. Supreme Court
U.S. Court of Appeals: 2nd Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals: 4th Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals: 5th Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals: 6th Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals: 7th Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals: 9th Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals: 11th Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals: D. of Columbia
U.S. District Court of Connecticut
U.S. District Court for the E.D. of Wisconsin
U.S. District Court for the Northern and Central Districts of Illinois

Fellow, College of Labor and Employment Lawyers
Member, Chicago Regional Liaison Division of the EEO Committee of the Section of Labor and Employment Law, ABA
Member, American Bar Association (Equal Employment Opportunity Law, ADR and Employment and Labor Relations Law Committees)
Member, Illinois State Bar Association
Member, Trial Bar for the Northern District of Illinois