Steven J. Pearlman is a partner in the Labor & Employment Law Department and co-head of the Firm’s Whistleblowing & Retaliation Group. Steven’s practice covers the full spectrum of employment law.
He has successfully tried cases to verdict in Illinois, Florida and California, and defended what is reported to be the largest Illinois-only class action in the history of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
He routinely conducts investigations arising from myriad types of whistleblower complaints (reporting to boards of directors, their audit committees and corporate counsel) and has testified in defense of these investigations in federal court.
Steven was one of five U.S. lawyers selected by Law 360 as a “Rising Star Under 40” in the area of employment law and one of “40 Illinois Attorneys Under Forty to Watch” selected by Law Bulletin Publishing Company.
He has been recognized in Chambers USA (describing him as an “outstanding lawyer” who is “very sharp and very responsive;” and also noting that “Pearlman is an expert on whistleblower matters regularly representing clients in high-stakes cases.
He also handles discrimination and wage and hour suits. One satisfied client reports that ‘he is phenomenal – beyond great.’”) Steven is a 2014 Burton Award Winner (U.S. Library of Congress) for “Distinguished Legal Writing.”
He has also been recognized by Ethisphere, the U.S. Legal 500, Illinois Super Lawyers and Benchmark Litigation. In addition, he served on Law 360’s Employment Editorial Advisory Board.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has engaged Steven to serve as lead counsel on amicus briefs to the U.S. Supreme Court and federal circuit courts. He was appointed to serve as a Special Assistant Attorney General for the State of Illinois in employment litigation matters.
A sought-after commentator, Steven has appeared on Bloomberg News (television and radio) and Yahoo! Finance, is regularly quoted in leading publications such as The Wall Street Journal and has presented alongside the Solicitor of the DOL, the Acting Chair of the EEOC, an EEOC Commissioner and heads of the government (SEC, CFTC and OSHA) whistleblower programs.
In addition, the RAND Corporation, one of the world’s leading think-tanks, selected Steven to speak at an exclusive symposium comprised of some of the most influential thought leaders and policy makers, including top officials at the Securities and Exchange Commission, on whistleblower laws and related policy issues on the eve of the issuance of the regulations to the Dodd-Frank whistleblower provisions.
Education :
- University of California, Los Angeles, School of Law, J.D., 1998
- University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, B.A., 1994
Admissions & Qualifications : California, Illinois
Court Admissions :
- Court Admissions
- U.S. District Court, Michigan, Eastern District
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit
- Illinois Supreme Court
- California Supreme Court
- U.S. District Court, Illinois, Central District
- U.S. Supreme Court
Memberships :
- Society of Corporate Compliance & Ethics
- Society of Corporate Secretaries and Governance Professionals
- Anti-Defamation League (Co-Chair of Civil Rights Committee for the Greater Chicago / Upper Midwest Region, Executive Committee, Washington Affairs Committee, Advisory Board of Directors); Leadership 2020 initiative
- Illinois Bar Association
- Chicago Bar Association
Cost
Rate : $$$