Heather A. Bailey

Heather credits her experience working full-time in office administration and human resources during law school for her seamless transition into management-side labor and employment law. The skills she developed as a legal secretary and office manager help strengthen her appreciation and understanding of clients’ concerns today and gave her the tools to be efficient, respectful and meticulous in her role as an attorney.

For 24 years, Heather has concentrated her practice in employment and labor counseling and litigation, including discrimination and trade secret / non-compete lawsuits, FLSA class actions, labor negotiations and arbitrations, affirmative action, OFCCP/DOL audits, BIPA and FINRA issues. She counsels on day-to-day operations, human resources, and management decisions regarding employees, practices and policies. Heather also works comfortably with FMLA/ADA, sexual harassment, affirmative action, union avoidance and other types of employee and management training. Her clients operate across the U.S. in industries like vending, health care, transportation, parking, automotive repair, construction, staffing, hospitality (restaurants/taverns), banking, nonprofits, IT, and manufacturing to name a few.

As co-chair of the firm's Labor & Employment & Benefits Service Group and as a thought leader in the labor and employment industry, Heather regularly contributes to the firm’s Labor & Employment Law Update, the vending industry’s National Automatic Merchandising Association, Vending Times and Vending Market Watch quarterly publications, and the Illinois Chamber of Commerce’s human resources advisory blog. She co-authored the 2019 Illinois Chamber of Commerce’s Illinois Employment Law Handbook, and frequently presents at the Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education, Clear Law Institute, Chicago Bar Association, Lorman Education Services and NAMA-related conventions across the U.S.

As a prior co-chair of the firm’s Committee for Diversity and Inclusion, Heather managed a team charged with not only creating diversity awareness within the firm and its clients, but also executing strategies to recruit, retain and mentor attorneys and staff of all backgrounds. Additionally, Heather provides incomparable leadership to the firm’s younger attorneys; taking the time to mentor them and help them to develop into exceptional attorneys.