Partner

Julie is a partner in SmithAmundsen’s St. Charles office and a member of the firm’s Labor and Employment Practice Group. Julie concentrates her practice in both employment litigation and traditional labor issues. She has extensive experience representing employers in federal, state and administrative venues, including a trial practice at the Illinois Human Rights Commission, National Labor Relations Board and Department of Labor. Her trial experience ranges from discrimination and retaliation to non-competition/non-solicitation, wage, hour and unfair labor practices issues. Julie also actively assists employers and human resource professionals in the legal pitfalls of the employment relationship including the hiring process, policies and procedures, employee handbooks, employment agreements and the termination/separation process.

Prior to joining SmithAmundsen, Julie worked in the Human Resources Department of Northern Illinois University as the Assistant Director of Affirmative Action and Legal Compliance. In this role, she conducted numerous internal investigations, reviewed policies and procedures for legal compliance, and developed training programs aimed at preventing employment litigation and liability. While in law school, Julie also gained experience in employment law while working in the litigation division of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Julie most recently worked for a Midwest based labor and employment firm representing employers in a wide variety of labor and employment claims.

Julie is admitted to practice in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois, and the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois Trial Bar. She has been selected by her peers for inclusion on the 2011 and 2013 Illinois Super Lawyers magazine list of "Rising Stars^SM"*, a designation published by Thomson Reuters. In 2012, Julie was named one of the top 40 Under 40 attorneys to watch in Illinois by the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin and the Law Bulletin Publishing Company.

*The selection of attorneys to the Rising Stars list does not guarantee a positive client outcome in any specific legal matter or engagement nor constitute a representation by the firm of SmithAmundsen about the caliber of legal work performed by any other attorney not selected as part of this list.