Atty. Kristin E. Michaels
Kristin is a partner in the Labor & Employment practice group. She focuses her practice on all aspects of labor and employment law and has extensive experience in the areas of labor relations, employment litigation, employment advice and counseling, and mergers and acquisitions.
Profile Summary
About Kristin E. Michaels at a glance
Kristin E. Michaels is a employment attorney based in Chicago, Illinois, practicing at Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg LLP. Admitted to practice in Illinois, Illinois State Bar Association. Educated at Northwestern University (J.D., 1991) and Marquette University (B.A., 1988). Recognitions include Best Lawyers in America — Employment Law - Management (2026), Best Lawyers in America — Labor Law - Management (2026), and Best Lawyers in America — Additional Areas of Practice: (2026). Serands clients in Chicago, IL and the surrounding metropolitan area.
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About
- Kristin is a partner in the Labor & Employment practice group
- She focuses her practice on all aspects of labor and employment law and has extensive experience in the areas of labor relations, employment litigation, employment advice and counseling, and mergers and acquisitions
- Kristin has particularly deep experience in the area of traditional labor law, where she has handled numerous unfair labor practice cases and litigation, strikes and injunctions, collective bargaining negotiations, organizing drives, representation cases and hearings, Section 301 litigation, the labor law aspects of mergers and acquisitions, and arbitrations
- Kristin has been the chief spokesperson in more than fifty collective bargaining negotiations, all of which resulted in successful collective bargaining agreements
- She has successfully handled issues in arbitration or before the NLRB as varied as scope of recognition, outsourcing, transfer of work, impasse and implementation upon impasse, reductions in force, accretion, and unilateral changes in terms and conditions of employment, among others
- Along with a colleague, Kristin handled one of the largest strikes in U.S. history, successfully overturning the NLRB's finding of an unfair labor practice strike
- Regarding employment litigation, she has handled hundreds of cases involving claims of harassment and discrimination, wage and hour violations, and breaches of restrictive covenants
- She has experience litigating cases involving the gamut of labor and employment issues, from Title VII of the Civil Rights Act through the Fair Labor Standards Act, and also encompassing assorted state and federal statutes
- She also routinely provides legal counsel with respect to company investigations of claims of harassment and discrimination
- Clients nationwide have come from a wide range of industries, including media, health care, hospitality, technology, manufacturing, staffing, telecommunications, retail and utilities
- Her clients rely on her ability to solve problems and develop strategies to achieve their business objectives
Practice Areas Explained
Kristin E. Michaels's Areas of Practice
Each practice area below reflects the types of cases Kristin E. Michaels handles, with a brief overview of what that area of law covers.
Employment lawyers represent workers in wrongful termination, discrimination, harassment, wage & hour disputes, and severance negotiations.
Kristin E. Michaels is one of 169,120 employment attorneys indexed nationally. Browse employment attorneys in Illinois →
Jurisdictional Context
Why local counsel matters in Illinois
Practicing law in Illinois. Legal matters in Illinois are governed by state-specific rules of civil and criminal procedure, statutes of limitations, and substantive law. Cases originating in Chicago are typically filed in the local municipal court or the appropriate Illinois state district court, depending on subject matter and amount in controversy. An attorney licensed in Illinois brings working knowledge of local procedural deadlines, judicial practices in this andnue, and the substantive law that applies to cases brought here. Out-of-state attorneys generally cannot represent clients in Illinois courts without local counsel or pro hac vice admission.
Looking for additional Illinois attorneys? Browse all attorneys in Chicago or all attorneys in Illinois.
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