Akerman LLP, a top 100 U.S. law firm serving clients across the Americas, today announced the expansion of its Labor & Employment Practice Group with partners John “Pete” Morrison and John Roache in Chicago. Together they bring complementary practices counseling and defending multistate and international employers in all types of employment litigation, including class and collective actions. Morrison and Roache also enhance the firm’s significant experience in wage and hour claims, employment discrimination, non-compete and trade secret issues.
“In just over a year, Akerman’s Chicago office has attracted a formidable team of litigators, including Pete and John who have an outstanding reputation helping clients with complex employment class actions and collective actions,” said James Bramnick, chair of Akerman’s Labor & Employment Practice Group. “We look forward to leveraging their talents as we work with employers throughout the Chicago region and nationally.”
John P. “Pete” Morrison
Morrison has over 30 years of labor and employment experience. He regularly represents clients in federal and state court jury trials as well as multi-forum actions and injunction proceedings across the United States. Morrison prosecutes and defends claims for breach of non-compete agreements, breach of contract and fiduciary duty, unfair competition, fraud, defamation and trade secret misappropriation. He defends cases under The Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), as well as discrimination and harassment claims. Morrison also has substantial experience counseling employers on a range of employment and labor issues, including plant closings, discipline, internal investigations, and wage and hour laws. He negotiates collective bargaining agreements, and defends grievance arbitrations and unfair labor practice charges before the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). He has represented employers in arbitrations under the labor, commercial and construction rules of the American Arbitration Association, the New York Stock Exchange, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and the National Association of Securities Dealers. Morrison has experience working with employers in various industries including, healthcare, securities, financial and professional services, insurance, manufacturing, transportation, telecommunications, retail, direct marketing, food service, and restaurants. He has been recognized as a Super Lawyer in Illinois for Labor & Employment law and has been appointed Special Assistant Illinois Attorney General for Labor Litigation.
John T. Roache
Roache has focused his practice on employment law and class action lawsuits. He has experience in counseling and representing employers in numerous wage and hour issues arising under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and Illinois wage statutes, including in collective and class actions involving claims for off-the-clock work, employee misclassification, joint employer liability, misclassification of independent contractors, uniform maintenance, training, and entitlement to overtime. In over 20 years of practice, John has represented clients in numerous federal and state trial and appellate courts and in a wide range of cases involving wage and hour laws, employment law, civil rights, constitutional law, regulatory law, and commercial disputes.
Chicago is quickly growing into one of Akerman’s largest offices, after Miami, New York, and other major financial centers. It builds upon the momentum Akerman has experienced firm-wide, reaching a record 620 lawyers and government affairs professionals across 20 U.S. offices. The American Lawyer reported Akerman as the top U.S. law firm for lateral partner hires, with the largest percentage increase of total partnership last year.
Source: www.akerman.com
