Kyle Petersen

Kyle Petersen is a member of Seyfarth Shaw LLP’s Labor and Employment Department. She litigates all manner of employment disputes on behalf of employers throughout the country. As a member of the Firm’s Wage & Hour Litigation practice group, Ms. Petersen devotes a significant portion of her practice to representing employers across the United States in court litigation and administrative matters arising under federal and state wage and hour laws, and is a chapter author of the definitive treatise on wage and hour litigation, Wage & Hour Collective and Class Litigation.

In addition, Ms. Petersen is an author for Practitioner Insights, a Thomson Reuters offering on the WestlawNext legal research platform in which she provides practical, focused analysis of wage and hour issues. Ms. Petersen also provides preventative counseling and works with employers to minimize their exposure to investigation and litigation under the Fair Labor Standards Act and state wage and hour laws.

Ms. Petersen’s experience in this growing area includes second chairing a lengthy bench trial, resulting in the denial of overtime claims asserted by multiple plaintiffs against a Fortune 1000 company.  The trial came after defeating plaintiffs’ attempts to certify a class of over one thousand employees.

In addition, Ms. Petersen has successfully represented management against all types of discrimination and harassment claims, including those asserted under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Illinois Human Rights Act, and other state laws. Her experience includes litigation of non-competition agreements and other restrictive covenants, in addition to the defense of defamation claims under state law.

Ms. Petersen also regularly conducts internal investigations, negotiates and drafts employment and separation agreements, and advises employers on implementing personnel policies and mitigating risk in employment decisions. In counseling employers, she focuses not only on instituting legally compliant practices, but also on creating solutions consistent with management’s business objectives.

Education:

• J.D., Chicago-Kent College of Law, Illinois Institute of Technology (2001)
  • Order of the Coif, High Honors
• Law Review, CALI Award Winner for highest grade in Legal Writing II and Legal
  • Drafting Semifinalist, Charles Evans Hughes Moot Court Competition
• B.A., Indiana University (1995)
  • Political Science, Honors Scholar

Affiliations:

• Chicago Bar Association
• American Bar Association
• Friends of Drummond (Board Member)
• West Bucktown Neighborhood Association (Former Vice President and Board Member)
• KAM Isaiah Israel, Personnel Practices (Former Committee Chair)
• Center on Halsted, Community and Cultural Affairs Committee (Former Member)