Linda D. Friedman

Founding and Managing Partner, 1989

Linda D. Friedman is a founding partner of Stowell & Friedman, Ltd. where she has practiced law since 1989. The firm has experienced considerable success in discrimination cases in which Ms. Friedman has been involved, including recovering well over $600 million for victims in settlements or verdicts.

Ms. Friedman was lead counsel on the statistical evidence hearing held in the case of Cremin v. Merrill Lynch, which resulted in a finding of class-wide pattern and practice of gender discrimination. The result was a settlement process that led to the ultimate recovery of hundreds of millions of dollars for women.

Ms. Friedman also has been counsel in other high-profile significant class and multiple plaintiff verdicts. In Biondo v. City of Chicago, four jury trials in a class-action race discrimination suit led to the recovery of full back pay, pension losses and promotions. In Dornbos v. County of Cook, a collective jury trial for violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act led to the recovery of wages for the county's bomb squad. In Roche v. City of Chicago, a collective action successfully challenged the City of Chicago's mandatory age requirement policy for approximately 50 plaintiffs who recovered lost wages. Finally, Martens v. Smith Barney, a national sexual harassment class action, recovered in excess of $100 million, including a diversity fund of $15 million.

"I believe her ability to communicate with the jury stems from the fact that she thinks like a person sitting in the jury box…on a level that is so understandable, so straightforward and so credible…Whenever she comes into my courtroom, I know the case will be handled well and her clients will receive the best representation possible" -- U.S. District Court Judge James F. Holderman

Ms. Friedman has represented clients nationwide, including in private mediation and arbitration, EEOC arbitration, Merit System Protection Board, federal district court jury and bench trials and appeals. She is a frequent speaker at bar association functions and Continuing Legal Education seminars. These have included the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals Judicial Conference on alternative dispute resolution and the Practicing Law Institute in New York on ethical considerations in maintaining a multi-state or cross-border national law practice. She has been a speaker for presentations with the EEOC, ABA (subcommittee on securities litigation in New York and employment discrimination), SPIDER (Washington, D.C.) Insurance Bar, CBA, NELA and other organizations and academic institutions (Northwestern Business School, DePaul Law School, Vassar College).

Ms. Friedman also has appeared on CNBC and CNN and is a continuing commentator on legal stories for The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Fortune, Dow Jones, Reuters and Bloomberg, among others.

Ms. Friedman started her legal career as the first law clerk to the Honorable Harry D. Leinenweber, U.S. District Court for the Northern District.

Ms. Friedman is most proud of the firm she founded where attorneys are not only trained in representing plaintiffs in civil rights litigation, but also acknowledge the importance of giving back to the community through pro bono services. For example, the firm represented a class of workers from Harvey, IL on a pro bono basis in a class action civil rights suit, which resulted in a settlement following a month-long difficult trial and appeal.

The firm also has participated with clients in lobbying for legislative change in Washington, D.C. for important civil rights laws such as the CRTRA and the Ledbetter bill. Ms. Friedman is pro bono counsel to the WNBA Chicago Sky Basketball team and a supporter of numerous charitable organizations which contribute to the development of civil rights and support disadvantaged persons.

Ms. Friedman has been selected as an Illinois Super Lawyer by Super Lawyers Magazine. She has been recognized as an Illinois Leading Lawyer by Leading Lawyers Network and voted by Leading Lawyers Network, as one of the "Top 50 Women Lawyers in Illinois," "Top 100 Leading Consumer Lawyers in Illinois" and "Top 10 Plaintiff's Employment Lawyers in Illinois." American Lawyer Media named Ms. Friedman one of the "Ten Most Influential Women Lawyers in Illinois." Ms. Friedman was recognized by Women Employed as one of 35 Champions for Change and the DePaul University College of Law Women's Alumni Association. She also formerly served on the Dean's Council to DePaul University College of Law. Ms. Friedman is AV Peer Review Rated by Lexis/Nexis Martindale-Hubbell – the highest possible rating for both ethical standards and legal ability.

Mary Stowell

Founding Partner, Of Counsel

Mary Stowell is a founding partner of Stowell & Friedman, Ltd. and remains of Counsel to the Firm.

Ms. Stowell has handled single and multiple plaintiff cases and class actions and has obtained judgments and/or substantial settlements for clients on claims for age, race, sex, and pregnancy violations, First Amendment and Due Process Constitutional claims, W.A.R.N. Act, disability discrimination, sexual harassment, retaliation, wrongful discharge, Fair Labor Standards Act, breach of contract and defamation actions.

Further, she has developed a concentration in sex discrimination, sexual harassment, pregnancy and glass ceiling issues in the securities industry. Ms. Stowell successfully represented thousands of plaintiffs in civil rights actions, including the landmark nationwide sex discrimination class action lawsuits Cremin, et al. v. Merrill Lynch and Martens et al. v. Smith Barney.

Prior to founding Stowell & Friedman, Ltd., Ms. Stowell was an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Northern District Court of Chicago for the criminal division, spending the last years in the Special Prosecutions Divisions investigating and trying complex financial and political corruption cases, including complex RICO conspiracy, commodity, bank, tax and mail fraud cases.

Ms. Stowell has taught at both the Advocacy Institute, sponsored by the Department of Justice, while an Assistant U.S. Attorney, and the National Institute of Trial Advocacy, and is a member of the prestigious American College of Trial Lawyers.

Ms. Stowell has been recognized multiple times as an Illinois "Super Lawyer" by Super Lawyers Magazine. She has been recognized as an Illinois "Leading Lawyer" by Leading Lawyers Network and has been voted by Leading Lawyers Network as one of the "Top 100 Consumer Lawyers in Illinois," "Top 100 Leading Women Consumer Lawyers in Illinois" and "Top 10 Plaintiff's Employment Lawyers in Illinois." American Lawyer Media named Ms. Stowell one of the "Ten Most Influential Women Lawyers in Illinois." Ms. Stowell is AV Peer Review Rated by Lexis/Nexis Martindale-Hubbell – the highest possible rating for both ethical standards and legal ability.

Brenda H. Feis

Partner

Brenda H. Feis is a partner with Stowell & Friedman, Ltd. and is engaged in a broad-based employment law practice, with emphasis on complex employment litigation. She joined Stowell & Friedman, Ltd. in 2010, having previously been a partner with the law firm of Seyfarth Shaw, where she practiced management-side employment law for 25 years. Her experience representing both employees and employers has given her a unique perspective to fully assess the merits of each case. In addition to practicing law, Ms. Feis is an Adjunct Professor at Loyola Law School where she teaches employment litigation.

Ms. Feis has recovered millions of dollars for individual employees who have been damaged by unlawful employment practices. Ms. Feis' notable victories include negotiation of a multi-tiered nationwide settlement of sexual harassment claims involving thousands of female employees; representation of the Hooters restaurant chain in a highly publicized nationwide class action challenge to the restaurant's female-only hiring policy; and dismissal of all nationwide class claims in a reverse hiring sex discrimination case against Jillian's Entertainment Corp. Ms. Feis also successfully tried the first sexual harassment case to a jury after juries were authorized in Title VII cases upon the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1991.

Ms. Feis is a frequent lecturer on employment law issues, particularly retaliation and sexual harassment, and has conducted extensive sexual harassment training throughout the country. She has also served as defense counsel in mock sexual harassment jury trials in numerous educational programs. Her lectures in this area include presentations to the American Bar Association Equal Employment Opportunity Committee annual meeting, ABA National Institute on Sexual Harassment, the National Employment Law Institute, Management Association of Illinois, Illinois Institute of Continuing Legal Education, Chicago Bar Association, Northwestern University Law School Feminist Symposium, Chicago-Kent College of Law Sexual Harassment Forum, Women's Leadership Coalition Symposium, and numerous client seminars.

Lectures have included topics such as "Jury Trials In Sexual Harassment Cases," "The Use of Psychological Experts in Sexual Harassment Litigation," "Litigating Sexual Harassment Cases," "Investigating Sexual Harassment Claims," "Evidence of Plaintiff's Provocative Behavior in Sexual Harassment Cases," "Responding to Agency Investigations," "Changes in the Law Since Ellerth and Faragher," and annual updates on sexual harassment and retaliation law.

She also has served on the faculty of the National Institute of Trial Advocacy and as a judge for the National Appellate Advocacy Competition. Ms. Feis was a principal collaborator on Seyfarth Shaw LLP's national sexual harassment video training program, "At Issue." She also co-authored IICLE's Sexual Harassment Policy Guidelines. In 1996, Ms. Feis was named in Illinois Legal Times as one of the "Top 15 Rising Star Litigators" in Chicago. In 2007, 2008 and 2009, Ms. Feis has been named as an Illinois Leading Lawyer in the field of Employment Law every year since 2007.

Ms. Feis has searved on the boards of directors of Midwest Young Artists, a nationally acclaimed youth orchestra program, and Jewish Vocational Services, a not-for-profit organization providing job counseling and training to assist individuals in obtaining employment, including seniors, youth, persons with disabilities and the disadvantaged. She is also the Co-Chair of the New Trier Ethical Conduct Global Citizenship Committee.

Suzanne E. Bish

Partner

Suzanne E. Bish is a partner with Stowell & Friedman, Ltd.. Suzanne represents employees seeking to vindicate their civil rights as part of her unwavering commitment to eliminating discrimination in the workplace and in society.

Suzanne has successfully represented victims of discrimination, harassment and retaliation in court and in arbitration, including in trials that resulted in multi-million dollar verdicts for her clients. Suzanne represents employees as individuals and in groups, and has extensive class action litigation experience. Recognizing that the best outcome is often one that avoids litigation, Suzanne regularly assists clients in attaining favorable out-of-court resolutions that further their career and personal goals. Suzanne routinely counsels employees through career issues and transitions and negotiates employment and severance agreements.

Prior to joining Stowell & Friedman, Ltd., Suzanne worked at Sidley Austin LLP, representing corporate and individual clients in large, complex financial and commercial litigation in federal and state court, as well as in arbitration. Much of Suzanne's practice involved representing plaintiffs in financial fraud matters. Suzanne also represented individual executives and board members in governmental and corporate internal investigations and represented criminal defendants and grand-jury targets in white-collar matters.

Suzanne served as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Elaine E. Bucklo, United States District Judge for the Northern District of Illinois from 1999-2000.

Prior to attending law school, Suzanne worked as a Certified Public Accountant and auditor for a Big 4 accounting firm in New York, NY.

Suzanne currently serves on the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals Electronic Discovery Pilot Program and recently served as Chair of the Labor & Employment Committee of the Chicago Bar Association.

Suzanne is deeply committed to issues of civil rights and economic justice and has served as a volunteer or board member with a number of organizations dedicated to fair housing, civil rights, and ensuring that all children have safe homes and equal access to educational opportunities.

Jennifer Schoen Gilbert

Partner

Jennifer Schoen Gilbert is a partner with Stowell & Friedman, Ltd. focusing on employment litigation and representing clients in court as well in arbitration and mediation proceedings. Ms. Gilbert helps her clients get the results they desire both in and out of court.

Her experience is deep and broad, having counseled and represented clients in an array of complex matters, including litigation and/or negotiation regarding claims of discrimination based on race, sex, age, disability and pregnancy as well as representing clients over severance and executive compensation agreements.

Areas of the law in which Ms. Gilbert has successfully prosecuted cases include Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age and Discrimination Employment Act, The Americans with Disabilities Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act and common law claims.

Ms. Gilbert's clients include top Fortune 500 Chief Executive Officers, Chief Operating Officers, top-level managers, brokers and many other individuals whom she has represented. Before joining the Firm, Ms. Gilbert practiced at a nationally recognized Chicago law firm in their Securities & Commodities practice group and was involved in the representation of broker/dealers with respect to a wide range of investor and employee disputes.

Ms. Gilbert works to combine her training and experience in both sides of the industry to help her clients obtain favorable results with the least amount of disruption to their businesses and personal lives.

Ms. Gilbert spends a great deal of her spare time working as an Officer of Teb's Troops, Inc. (www.tebstroops.org) a not-for-profit organization dedicated to funding the fight against melanoma cancer.

George S. Robot

Partner

George S. Robot is a partner with Stowell & Friedman, Ltd. specializing in employment discrimination. He has represented and counseled hundreds of female and minority clients in a wide range of discrimination matters, including landmark lawsuits against Merrill Lynch and Smith Barney.

Originally trained as an engineer, George not only brings legal and trial expertise to plaintiffs' cases, but also technical and analytical expertise critical to winning discrimination cases in today's legal environment.

As electronic discovery has become increasingly prevalent today, not only are plaintiffs confronted with potentially massive amounts of data, but employment discrimination in many instances also has become less overt. Successful prosecution not only requires strong legal and litigation skills but also the technical ability to identify and analyze increasingly large data sets to prove discrimination. George brings unmatched expertise to this aspect of employment law.

As part of his practice, George also regularly represents clients in private arbitration and mediation proceedings as well as before administrative agencies including the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Illinois Department of Labor and Human Rights and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).

Tom Shin

Associate

Tom Shin has been an associate with Stowell & Friedman, Ltd. since 2002, assisting clients in a range of employment disputes related to race, gender and other forms of discrimination in the workplace.

In an era of electronically stored information, more and more emphasis has been placed on electronic discovery in litigation. Because extremely large quantities of data are now routinely accessed, collected, reviewed, produced and analyzed, it is essential law for firms to have firm grasp of this electronic discovery process. As a former IT professional with Arthur Andersen, Tom's technical expertise complements his legal training to provide valuable resources to the firm in evaluating data produced during the e-discovery process. These skills are often essential to successfully litigate workplace discrimination.

Tom serves on the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals Electronic Discovery Pilot Program.

Tom has a strong interest in IT networks for which he has received several certifications from Cisco.