Cheryl Blackwell Bryson represents middle-market as well as Fortune 500 companies in a variety of industries on labor and employment law and litigation issues, including pattern and practice Title VII litigation, and discrimination matters before federal and state agencies and state and federal courts.

Ms. Bryson also provides legal counsel on claim avoidance, internal investigations, alternative dispute resolution and other aspects of the defense of EEO claims. She has extensive experience advising both private and public sector employers in labor and employment matters and collective bargaining related activities, including negotiations, mediation, arbitration and contract administration.

While on leave from law firm practice, Ms. Bryson served as deputy corporation counsel for the City of Chicago's Law Department, where she established the Labor Relations Division and directed contract administration and collective bargaining for the City's 35,000 unionized employees. A frequent author and lecturer on labor and employment law issues, Ms. Bryson is a member of the Labor and Employment Law Section of the American Bar Association, the Labor and Employment Law Committee of the Chicago Bar Association and the Cook County Bar Association.

She is a 1977 graduate of The Ohio State University College of Law, where she was associate editor of the Law Journal, and a magna cum laude graduate of Morgan State University.

Areas of Practice

Labor and Employment Law

Representative Matters

Labor Relations

Represented a high level county official as chief negotiator for a first collective bargaining agreement covering 270 public sector court reporters. After reaching impasse, the public sector employer and the union invoked Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service mediation and concluded negotiations. During negotiations, defended unfair labor practice charges filed against the employer and settled them after agreement on contract terms was reached. Also, when the union threatened to strike, directed the employer's strike planning.
Represented a high level county official in responding to a union grievance challenging the interpretation of language in the collective bargaining agreement governing hours of work. When the union requested arbitration, we helped select an arbitrator and defended the employer's position in the arbitration. The matter is currently before the arbitrator.

Employment

Defended a major bank before the Chicago Commission on Human Relations against claims that a customer was denied restroom usage because of his sex. In defending this matter, used electronic and surveillance data to disprove key allegations made by the plaintiff.
Defended a Sarbanes-Oxley whistleblower claim filed before OSHA and FINRA. In defending the brokerage house, convinced OSHA it lacked jurisdiction over the client , and the claims before that agency were dismissed. The FINRA claims are proceeding.
Assisted with a multi-state employer's reduction in force and conducted adverse impact analyses to help monitor affect of terminations on protected class members.
Currently assisting a major non-unionized financial institution develop and implement an internal problem resolution system, including arbitration.

Employment Counseling

Counseled a client in the securities industry on efforts to coach senior executives on effective management strategies, reductions in force, workforce restructuring and litigation avoidance.

Professional Activities

American Bar Association
- Labor and Employment Law Section
A frequent author and lecturer on labor and employment law matters.
The Chicago Bar Association
- Labor and Employment Law Committee
Cook County Bar Association
The Association of Trial Lawyers of America

Admissions

Illinois
United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
Trial Bar for the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois

Education

The Ohio State University, Michael E. Moritz College of Law, J.D., 1977

Experience

Duane Morris LLP
- Partner, 1999-present
Holleb & Coff, Chicago, Illinois
- Partner, 1995-1999
Rivkin, Radler & Kremer, Chicago, Illinois
- Partner, 1992-1995
Bell, Boyd & Lloyd, Chicago, Illinois
- Partner, 1989-1992
City of Chicago Law Department, Chicago, Illinois
- Deputy Corporation Counsel, 1986-1989
Katten, Muchin & Zavis, Chicago, Illinois
- Associate, 1980-1989

Board Memberships

Board of Trustees, DuSable Museum of African-American History
Board of Advisors, Center for Employment Dispute Resolution (CEDR)
Board of Advisors, Public Sector Labor Law Conference Board, IIT/Chicago-Kent College of Law, 1988-1994
Board of Advisors, Loyola University of Chicago, Institute of Industrial Relations, 1986-1994
Board of Directors, YWCA Metropolitan Chicago, 1994
Board of Directors, Friends of Prentiss Women's Hospital of Northwestern Hospital, 1993

Civic and Charitable Activities

Museum of Science and Industry's Black Creativity Advisory Board
-Chair, 2001
Member and Advisor, Civil Rights Committee, Governor-elect Rod Blagojevich's Transition Team
The Neighborhood Institute Development Corporation
Pullman Task Force
Cook County Economic Development Advisory Committee
Elected Member, Economic Club of Chicago
Transition Team for Governor Blagojevich

Honors and Awards

Profiled in Leading Lawyers Network Magazine, January 2009
Recipient, Hermann Sweatt Award, National Bar Association, 2007
Named to "Top 50 Leading Women Lawyers in Illinois" and "Top 50 Leading Women Business Lawyers in Illinois" by Leading Lawyers Network Magazine, April 2006
Named an Illinois SuperLawyer for 2006
Associate Editor, The Ohio State Law Journal
Leader Luncheon, YWCA Outstanding Woman of Achievement for the Professions, 2004
Today's Chicago Woman, "100 Women Making a Difference," Chicago, Illinois, July 2001
Third Annual "25 Influential Black Women in Business," New York, New York, March 22, 2001
Rising Sun Award, Chicago, IL, August 2002

Selected Publications

"Union Unfair Labor Practices," The Labor Law Handbook, Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education, 2006
Co-author, "Untoward Employee Whistleblower Claims Under Sarbanes-Oxley," Journal of Investment Compliance, Fall 2003
"Equal Opportunity Harassers Need Not Apply," American Lawyer Media, November 17, 2000, available at www.law.com
"Employment Discrimination in the Digital Age," The National Law Journal,
October 27, 2000
"Hidden Discrimination, Risks Increased by the Digital Age, " American Lawyer Media, October 20, 2000, available at www.law.com
Co-author, "Joint Employer Liability: Ignore the Risks at Your Company's Peril," New York Law Journal, November 1, 1999
Co-author, "Caution: Shared Employees Equals Shared Liability," Connecticut Law Tribune, October 18, 1999
Co-author, "Good Business Judgment: Emerging Joint Employer Liability," Texas Lawyer, September 20, 1999
"Minimizing Your Employment Liability: Understanding the Interplay Among the ADA, FMLA and Workers' Compensation," Food Industry News, 1996
"ADA Update: Recent Decisions from the Courts," Journal of Workers' Compensation, Spring 1995
Co-author, "Limiting Employment Discrimination Litigation," ABA Practical Litigator, 1994
Co-author, "The Courts and Legislature Begin To Adopt ADR Methods To Deal with Growing Number of Employment Discrimination Claims," Northern Illinois University Law Review, 1993
"ADR - A Viable Alternative for Resolving Employment Litigation," Northern Illinois University Law Review, 1993
"The Internal Sexual Harassment Investigation: Self-Examination Without Self-Incrimination," Employee Relations Law Journal, 1990

Selected Speaking Engagements

Speaker, "FMLA, Military and Other Leaves of Absence," Practising Law Institute's 37th Annual Institute on Employment Law, Chicago, Illinois, October 27, 2008
Moderator, Duane Morris' FLSA, Family/Military Leave, and Immigration Workshop for Healthcare Industry Leaders, Chicago, September 16, 2008
Presenter, "Legal Issues Impacting Compensation Trends for Physicians and Estheticians," Society of Dermatology Skin Care Specialists 4th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, California, March 5-8, 2006
Panelist, "Wellness & Destination Health--Important Legal Trends in Caribbean Tourism Industry," Caribbean Health Tourism & Spa Symposium, Kingston, Jamaica, February 12-13, 2006
Panelist, Chicago Bar Association's Breaking Barriers/Building Bridges seminar, October 2004
"Federal/State and Related Common Law Privacy Issues," Practising Law Institute Conference, Chicago, Illinois, October 20, 2003 and October 2004
Panelist, "Rain, Rain Come My Way - - How to Recruit and Retain Clients," First Annual Midwest Summit of Black Women Lawyers, sponsored by the Black Women Lawyers' Association of Greater Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, April 26, 2002
"How to Avoid Unionization" and "Employment Related Liability," Illinois Health Care Association Conference, Springfield, Illinois, September 12, 2000
"WC, STD and LTD: The Legal Impact of Integrated Benefits" and "How to Prevent a Workers' Compensation Case from Becoming a Discrimination Case," Ninth Annual Workers' Compensation and Occupational Medicine Seminar, San Diego, California, March 29-31, 2000
Illinois Nursing Home Administrators' Association, mock hearing addressing Corporate Compliance and Labor and Employment Law Issues, Springfield, Illinois, February 15, 2000
"How to Prevent Costly Litigation and Minimize Employment Liability," presentation to Home Depot U.S.A., Arlington Heights, Illinois, February 8, 2000
"Sizing Up Your Company's Employment Practices: How to Minimize Liability," Illinois Council on Long-Term Care, Joliet, Illinois, September 1999
Panelist, "Affirmative Action in Employment and Higher Education," American Bar Association's Fall Meeting, Commission on Opportunities for Minorities in the Profession, October 1997
"The Interplay Between Workers' Compensation, the ADA and FMLA," National Conference on Benefits Forum, Atlanta, Georgia, September 1997
Moderator, "Emerging Markets," American Bar Association's Annual Meeting of Minority Partners in Majority Law Firms, August 1997
Panelist, "Affirmative Action After Proposition 209," American Bar Association, August 1997
Panelist, "The Union Corporate Campaign," National Council of Employment Lawyers, May 1997
Panelist, "ADA, 360-Degree Performance Reviews and Sexual Harassment," presented to the Chicago Association of Industrial and Organizational Psychologists, November 1996
Panelist, Mock Mediation of a Discrimination Claim, Chicago -Kent College of Law's 12th Annual Public Sector Labor Relations Program, November 1996
Panelist, "Employment Litigation Trends," National Council of Employment Lawyers, May 1996