James S. Barber
Partner
Super Lawyers® 2013
James S. Barber is a partner with Clausen Miller P.C. Mr. Barber is chair of CM's Employment Practice Group.
Mr. Barber is a Fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers. He is a member of the Legislative Committee of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). Mr. Barber is the Treasurer of SHRM and a member of its Board of Directors.
Mr. Barber also provides advice on corporate governance and conducts corporate investigations. He counsels and represents clients before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Illinois Department of Human Rights and other state and local agencies. He counsels clients on Public Accommodation issues. Mr. Barber represents management before the National Labor Relations Board and state labor departments and agencies. Mr. Barber also defends employers before the Department of Labor and in court on wage and hour claims. He also represents clients before many other federal, state and local agencies.
For the last seven consecutive years, Mr. Barber has been recognized by Crain's Chicago as a Leading Lawyer in Employment Law. This special recognition was based on a state wide survey of the opinions of other lawyers who practice Employment Law. For the fifth consecutive year, Mr. Barber has been recognized as an Illinois Super Lawyer by Law & Politics. He has an AV® Preeminent™ rated with Martindale-Hubbell indicating the highest ranking in legal ability and ethical standards as determined by his peers in the legal community.
Mr. Barber is an accomplished author and lecturer. Most recently, Mr. Barber is the award winning co-author of Anti-discrimination and Harassment Policies and Training, Chapter 7, in IICLE's book, Conducting the Employment Practice Audit, 2004 edition. The book was awarded the Outstanding Achievement Award by the Association of Continuing Legal Education.
Mr. Barber is a 1977 graduate of DePaul University School of Law, where he was an editor on the law review. Mr. Barber also has a Master of Business Administration degree from the DePaul Graduate School of Business, 1974. Mr. Barber received his bachelor's degree from DePaul University in 1967.
Mr. Barber also counsels clients on corporate governance, board of director duties, business decisions and business litigation related to the following businesses and professions:
Accounting Firms, Architects, Banks, Brokerage Firms, Colleges, Corporations, Trade and Professional Associations, Not-for-Profit Corporations, Directors, Doctors, Educators, Financial Institutions, Local Governmental Bodies, Health Care Industry, Hotels, Hospitals, Insurance Companies, Law Firms, Manufacturers, Municipalities, Officers, Partnerships, Police, Retailers, Real Estate Developers, Restaurants, Schools, Service Industries, Sole Proprietorships, Teachers and Universities.
Mr. Barber has extensive experience in injunction actions. In this regard, he also represents clients in disputes related to the enforcement of covenants not to compete, confidentiality agreements and trade secrets.
He also has written other articles and spoken on the topics of:
- Sexual Harassment
- Employment Discrimination
- Wage & Hour Class Actions
- Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) Investigations
- Retaliation Claims under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act
- Employment Practices
- Corporate Compliance
- Corporate Governance
- Fiduciary Duties: Officers, Board of Directors and Employers
- Violence in the Workplace
- The Americans with Disabilities Act
- The Family and Medical Leave Act
- The Duty of Loyalty to One's Employer
- Covenants Not to Compete
- Confidentiality Agreements
- Trade Secrets
- Whistleblower Litigation
- Social Media, Internet Use
- The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)
- Social Networking and Media
Mr. Barber also is the author/contributing editor of chapters on covenants not to compete, trade secrets and employee duty of loyalty in three separate volumes published by the Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. (BNA) in conjunction with the American Bar Association.
Education
- J.D. DePaul University College of Law, 1977
- M.B.A. DePaul University, 1974
- B.A. DePaul University, 1967
Bar Admissions
- Illinois
Court Admissions
- U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois, 1977
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Court, 1977
Organization Affiliations
- Chicago Bar Association (CBA) (Member, Committees on Labor and Employment and Corporate Law Department
- American Bar Association (ABA) (Member, Advisory Panel)
- American Bar Association (ABA) (Member, Labor and Employment Committee and Business Law Committee, Employment Rights and Responsibilities Committee)
- Illinois State Bar Association
- DuPage County Bar Association (Former Chair of the Labor and Employment Committee)
- Union League Club of Chicago (ULC) (Past Officer and Director)
- Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) (Board Member, Treasurer)
- Illinois Leading Lawyer in Employment Law (Chicago Law Bulletin)
- Illinois Super Lawyer
View this attorney's Reported Decisions, Verdicts and Judgments.
