Seventh Circuit Victory Secured for Law Firm against former Employee

After a prominent downstate law firm had breach of contract and Illinois Wage Act claims filed against it by one of its former associates remanded to the district court by the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, the law firm turned to Pretzel & Stouffer partner, Jim Sipchen, for assistance. The former associate had claimed that under his employment agreement, he was entitled to a bonus amounting to millions of dollars from contingency fees that the firm had earned on cases the associate had worked on while employed by the firm. Jim implemented a legal strategy through discovery that enabled the law firm to successfully argue on cross-motions for summary judgment that plaintiff was not contractually entitled to the fees he was seeking, nor was the fees an earned bonus under the Wage Act. The matter was affirmed on appeal, which Jim also handled on behalf of the law firm. The decision is reported at 784 F.3d 1154 (7^thCir. 2015).