Suite 3400
Chicago IL 60606
TEL: 312.786.6110
FAX: 312.986.9192
Practice Areas
- Education Law
- Higher Education
- K-12 Education
- Labor & Employment
- Counseling & Compliance
- Employment Litigation
- Union-Related Matters
Education
- J.D., University of Chicago Law School, 1971
- B.A., University of Notre Dame, 1968 (government)
Bar & Court Admissions
- Illinois
- U.S. Supreme Court
- U.S. Courts of Appeal for the Sixth and Seventh Circuits
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois – Trial Bar
- U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois
James C. Franczek, Jr.
James C. Franczek, Jr. is a founding partner and president of Franczek Radelet P.C. He is a member of the firm’s Labor & Employment and Education Law Practice Groups.
Jim’s clients include scores of private and public sector employers, including clients in the transportation, banking and energy industries. He is the chief labor counsel for the City of Chicago, the Chicago Public Schools, the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority (McCormick Place), the Chicago Park District and the City Colleges of Chicago.
Jim is a member of the Executive Committee of The Commercial Club of Chicago. He is also a member of The Economic Club of Chicago, the Metropolitan Planning Council’s Board of Governors, the Board of Directors of the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, and the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers. Jim is a founding member of the Institute for Law and the Workplace/Chicago-Kent College of Law.
Jim is a popular speaker on labor, employment and education law and is a former lecturer at the University of Chicago School of Business, Northwestern Business School, the Loyola University Institute of Industrial Relations, Northeastern University and IIT-Kent School of Law. He has lectured on labor law at the University of Chicago Law School and at Northwestern University School of Law. He has appeared on television as a commentator on labor topics and is frequently quoted in journals on professional and educational issues.
Awards & Recognitions
Jim is frequently honored and recognized as one of the preeminent labor and employment lawyers called upon by both public and private sector employers.
- Crain’s Chicago Business - Named to the annual list “Who’s Who in Chicago Business,” Chicago’s civic, professional and cultural leaders you need to know (2009-2011)
- The Best Lawyers in America - Named Chicago Employment Lawyer of the Year (2012); named a leading labor and employment lawyer for more than 20 years (1989-2012)
- Chambers USA – Ranked as a leading labor and employment lawyer (2003-2011)
- Super Lawyers - Listed as one of the Top 100 Illinois lawyers (2008-2012)
- Labor & Employment Relations Association - Received the Distinguished Service Award from the Chicago Chapter of LERA—the only management-side labor attorney honoree (2011)
News
- Labor & Employment Relations Association (LERA) - Chicago To Honor Jim Franczek
- Jim Franczek Named Chicago's Employment Lawyer of the Year by Best Lawyers
- Franczek Radelet Named Law Firm of the Year
- Franczek Radelet Partners Named to Best Laywers in America® 2012 List
- 28 Franczek Radelet Attorneys Named Super Lawyers & Rising Stars
Publications
- Crain's Chicago Business Names James C. Franczek, Jr. to its List of "Who's Who in Chicago Business
- Advance Illinois Releases Report Calling for Radical Reinvention of Education Policies
- Bipartisan Leaders Call for Higher Bar for Illinois Schools
- View All »