J. Kevin Hennessy
Shareholder
T: +1 (312) 609 7868
F: +1 (312) 609 5005
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Chicago
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E:
Chair, Labor and Employment Law Practice Area
J. Kevin Hennessy is Chair of the Labor and Employment practice area at Vedder Price and a member of the firm’s Board of Directors. Mr. Hennessy has represented employers for over 25 years, spanning all aspects of labor and employment law. He focuses his practice on employment litigation, collective bargaining, labor arbitrations, non-compete litigation and response to union organizing campaigns. Mr. Hennessy provides practical solutions to employment-relations issues in alignment with management’s immediate as well as long-range goals.
Mr. Hennessy has litigated successfully on behalf of companies from single-plaintiff cases to enterprise-wide class actions involving thousands of employees. He has secured landmark decisions in the Courts of Appeals on issues of 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 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 multimedia workshops, including Employment Law Solutions programs and the multiphase Successful Arbitration Workshop series.
Mr. Hennessy’s article, "Changing the Rules of the Game: The NLRB Is Making Union Organizing Easier," was featured as the lead article in the March 30, 2011 Illinois Manufacturers’ Association’s Human Resources Memo.
Mr. Hennessy is ranked in the "Top 100" Labor Attorneys in the United States by the Labor Relations Institute Inc. and has been recognized by his peers as an Illinois Leading Lawyer. Mr. Hennessy was selected for inclusion from 2007 to 2012 in Illinois Super Lawyers. In addition, he received an "AV Preeminent" Peer Rating in Martindale-Hubbell. The Legal 500 United States guide recommends Mr. Hennessy in the Labor and Employment—Labor-Management Relations category. Mr. Hennessy is also a Fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers, a professional association honoring leading labor and employment lawyers across the country.
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- Obtained summary dismissal of a wrongful-discharge claim from the arbitrator in a JAMS-sponsored employment arbitration case in Michigan.
- Defeated aggressive union organizing campaigns on behalf of a military supply manufacturer and a beverage distributor in California.
- Created a private employment arbitration agreement program for a food distributor with over 11,000 employees.
- Obtained a 12-month TRO against an Illinois food manufacturer’s former Product Development Director.
- Obtained summary judgment in favor of a manufacturing company in Texas in a race discrimination case in which plaintiff salesperson was terminated for performance reasons within months of being awarded salesperson of the year title. Argued and won appeal in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.
- Successfully represented Chicago-area hospital in connection with Engineers Union organizing drive.
- Defeated unfair-labor-practice charges alleging wrongful termination of over 14 employees in organizing campaigns involving logistics companies in California, Massachusetts and Missouri.
- Obtained summary judgment on age and workers’ compensation retaliation claims filed by a forklift operator who tested positive for drugs but claimed he should have been given a last-chance agreement under a union contract.
Recent Speaking Engagements
- Speaker, International Food Distributors Association, "Recent Moves at the NLRB and the Impact They Will Have on Your Business," September 2011
- Speaker, "Recent Developments in Labor Law," August 2011 (O'Hare Hilton)
- Speaker, "Unions, Employers and National Labor Law: Where Is It All Headed," May 2011 (The Standard Club in Chicago and the Hilton Rosemont/O’Hare)
- Speaker, "Legal Challenges in the Coming Decade," August 2010
- Speaker, Association of Corporate Counsel, "Labor and Employment Issues in Mergers and Acquisitions," June 2010
- Moderator, Vedder Price Ethics Roundtable for In-House Employment Counsel, March 2010
- Speaker, 38th Annual Institute on Employment Law, "Labor-Management Relations," October 2009
- Speaker, Community Bankers Association, "Big Changes on the Horizon for Employers," September 2009
- Speaker, Vedder Price Employment Law Conference: Countdown to Compliance, "Update on the Employee Free Choice Act," May 2009
- Speaker, "Preparing for Change: The Employee Free Choice Act," February 2009
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- J.D., Loyola University of Chicago
- B.A., University of Illinois
- Illinois
- US District Court of Connecticut
- US District Court, Eastern District of Wisconsin
- US District Court, Northern District of Illinois
- US District Court, Central District of Illinois
- US Court of Appeals, Second Circuit
- US Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit
- US Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit
- US Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit
- US Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit
- US Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
- US Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit
- US Court of Appeals, District of Columbia
- US Supreme Court
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