Suite 3400
Chicago IL 60606
TEL: 312.786.6155
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, 1980
- B.A., University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 1969 (political science)
Bar & Court Admissions
- Illinois
- U.S. Supreme Court
- U.S. District Courts for the Northern and Central Districts of Illinois
- U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Seventh and District of Columbia Circuits
James J. Zuehl
Jim’s practice spans most areas of labor and employment law. Jim has extensive experience representing management in labor matters, such as collective bargaining and grievance arbitrations. He also devotes substantial time to defending employers against claims of employment discrimination, including harassment charges. He assists employers in avoiding employment disputes by reviewing employment policies and procedures, training human resource staff on current legal developments, and advising on discipline and discharge issues. Jim is frequently called upon to lecture to civic and professional groups on labor and employment law topics.
Jim’s clients include both public and private sector employers. In the public sector, he represents a number of school districts, community colleges and municipalities. In the private sector, he represents numerous hotel owners and operating companies as well as a variety of other business entities.
Prior to joining the firm in 1994, Jim practiced labor and employment law at Vedder Price Kaufman & Kammholz. Before that he taught at the University of Chicago Law School for one year and at IIT Chicago Kent College of Law for three years while working on a doctorate in sociology from the University of Chicago.
As a past president, Jim serves on the executive board of the Academy of Hospitality Industry Attorneys. He is also on the executive board of the Hotel Human Resource Association of the Chicago Area. Jim is a member of the American Bar Association and the Council of School Attorneys.
As a member of the Editorial Advisory Board of Hospitality Law, Jim evaluates and comments on recent labor and employment cases of interest to the hospitality industry. His publications include: “Identifying Uniform Employment Termination Practices for Multinational Employers” (with David Sherwyn) in Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly (Vol. 42, No. 5, 2001) and “Costing Salary Schedules in Preparation for Negotiations” in Illinois Association of School Business Officials (Winter 2006).
Representative Experience click to view
- Served as negotiator between the New Haven (Connecticut) Public Schools and its American Federation of Teacher (AFT) union in a successful reform contract, heralded by the U.S. Department of Education and AFT leadership as a model contract in regards to linking teacher evaluations to student success and creating contract flexibility for individual schools.
News
- "Non-tipped Duties Cannot Exceed 20 Percent of Work"
- 28 Franczek Radelet Attorneys Named Super Lawyers & Rising Stars
Publications
- Franczek Radelet Helps Negotiate Innovative School Reform Contract
- Newsweek: Junior College Squeeze
- Rising College Costs Threaten Access to Higher Education
Events
- Union vs. Non-Union Hotels
- Negotiating Education Reform: Context, Process and Results
- Preparing Your Hotel for a DOL Wage & Hour Audit: Examining the Department of Labor's "Hotel & Motel Resort Pilot Initiative"
- 21st Century Contracts: What can districts and teaching staffs expect of each other?
- The Employee Free Choice Act: Union Issues
- View All »