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Vicki Lafer Abrahamson
Darlene A. Vorachek
Roberta A. Levinson
Lori L. Deem
Caroline E. Rdzanek

VICKI LAFER ABRAHAMSON

Ms. Abrahamson attended the University of Michigan (B.A. with distinction, 1976; J.D. 1979).  She was admitted to the Illinois Bar in 1980 and is admitted to practice before the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois, and the Court of Appeals for the Seventh and Fourth Circuits.

Ms. Abrahamson is a founding Governor and past President of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers, an honorary organization recognizing the achievements and contributions of only those labor and employment attorneys who have proven to their peers, the bench, and the public that they possess the highest professional qualifications and ethical standards.  She is a prolific writer and national speaker on various areas of employment law, and her writing has been featured in such publications as Trial Magazine and the American Bar Association Journal.

Besides sitting on the Board of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers, Ms. Abrahamson is a member of the Board of Advisors for the Corporate Counsel=s Guide to the Americans With Disabilities Act (Business Laws, Inc.) and the Board of Editors for the Law Firm Partnership and Benefits Report (Leader Publications).  She is also one of a very few plaintiff=s employment attorneys who has been a member of the Council for the Labor and Employment Law Section of the American Bar Association.  She is past Chair of the ABA=s Employment Rights & Responsibilities Committee.

 

DARLENE A. VORACHEK

Ms. Vorachek attended the National Law Center, George Washington University, in Washington, D.C., receiving her J.D. with honors in 1982.  She is a member of the Maryland and Illinois Bars and has been admitted to practice before the United States District Courts for the District of Maryland and the Northern District of Illinois, the United States Courts of Appeals for the Seventh and Fourth Circuits, and the United States Supreme Court.  From 1982 until 1984, she clerked for the Honorable James R. Miller, Jr., United States District Court Judge for the District of Maryland.  

Ms. Vorachek is a member of the Chicago Bar Association, where she was 1999-2000 Seminar Chair, Vice Chair 2000-2001, and Chair 2001-2002 of the Labor and Employment Committee, and past Co-chair of the Subcommittee on the Illinois Department of Human Rights/Commission on Human Rights. She is also a member of the American Bar Association and its Section on Labor and Employment Law, where she is a current member and former Plaintiff Chair of the Employment Rights & Responsibilities Committee.  She is also a member of the National Employment Lawyers Association and its Illinois chapter and a Fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers.  Ms. Vorachek is a nationally known speaker and writer on various employment-related topics.

 

ROBERTA A. LEVINSON

Ms. Levinson attended University of Illinois, B.A. cum laude, 1972, Phi Beta Kappa, and the University of Illinois College of Law, J.D., 1975.  She is a member of the Illinois bar and is admitted to practice before the United States District Court, Northern District of Illinois, and the United States Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit.

Ms. Levinson is a member of the National Employment Lawyers Association, the Chicago Bar Association, and the CBA’s Labor and Employment Committee.  She is holds the following honors:  Member, Leading Lawyers Network, 2003-present; Top 50 Women Consumer Lawyers in Illinois; Top 100 Women Lawyers in Illinois in All Areas of Law; Leading Lawyers Network Magazine, March 2007.

Ms. Levinson is a nationally known speaker and writer on various employment-related topics, including:  Dinker Biddle/William & Mary, Employment Law & Litigation Forum, 2007, 2006, 2005; Council on Education in Management, FMLA Update, 2007; ABA EEO Basics Seminar, 2006, 2004.  

Ms. Levinson also has several reported cases, including:  Benders v. Bellows and Bellows, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10138 (N.D.Ill. 5/5/05); Kielczynski v. LaGrange,122 F. Supp. 2d 932 (N.D.Ill. 2000), 19 F. Supp. 2d 877 (N.D.Ill. 1998); Kahalnik v. John Hancock Funds, SAC ID No. 9810144N IL (NASD Arbitration, 1997), 1996 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3701 (N.D.Ill. 3/27/96); Soodman v. Wildman, Harrold, Allen & Dixon, 1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1495 (N.D.Ill. 2/10/97); and Mahaffey v. Amoco Corp., 1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 680 (1/17/97).

 

LORI L. DEEM

Lori L. Deem is a 1998 graduate of Loyola University Chicago School of Law, where she served as Student Articles Editor for the Loyola University Chicago School of Law Journal.

Ms. Deem primarily represents individual employees in a variety of employment-related matters, including employment discrimination, retaliatory discharge and Sarbanes-Oxley, as well as drafting and negotiation of employment contracts and separation agreements.  She has also conducted sexual harassment and other workplace investigations at the request of employers.

Ms. Deem is a member of the Illinois Chapter of the National Employment Lawyers Association and the Young Lawyers Section of the Chicago Bar Association, where she served as the Employment Law Committee’s Legislative Liaison for 2002-2003.  She is a member of the American Bar Association’s Employment Rights & Responsibilities Committee and current Co-chair of the Whistleblower Subcommittee.  She was recently named by Illinois SuperLawyers as a “2008 Illinois Rising Star.” 

Ms. Deem is a frequent speaker and writer on various employment-related topics.

 

CAROLINE E. RDZANEK

Ms. Rdzanek attended the University of Michigan, B.A. 1985, and DePaul University College of Law, J.D. 1989.  She is a member of the Illinois Bar and is admitted to practice in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and the United States Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit.  Ms. Rdzanek is also a member of the  Federal Trial Bar.

Ms. Rdzanek began her career with Abrahamson, Vorachek & Levinson (then Abrahamson & Associates) in 1993, primarily representing individual employees in a variety of employment-related matters.  She later served as in-house counsel for the Chicago Park District and as an Associate with Neal Murdock & Leroy, representing employers in court and providing counseling to employers on employee-related matters.  Ms. Rdzanek has also conducted sexual harassment training and workplace investigations at the request of employers.

Ms. Rdzanek also has several reported cases, including:  Freeman v. Chicago Park Dist., 189 F.3d 613 (1999); Milton v. Chicago Park District, 1998 U.S. App. LEXIS 17932 (July 29, 1998); Tuohey v. Chicago Park Dist., 148 F.3d 735 (1998); Wilk v. McDonough, 1997 U.S. App. LEXIS 17713 (April 10, 1997); Cruse v. Chicago Park Dist., 1996 U.S. App. LEXIS 21878 (April 10, 1996); Mendoza v. Chicago Park Dist., 2002 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18384 (Sept. 24, 2002); Markos v. Chicago Park Dist., 2002 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8420 (May 9, 2002); Doig v. Chicago Park Dist., 2002 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1839, (February 5, 2002); Porter v. Chicago Park Dist., 2001 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11666 (July 16, 2001); Czarnecki v. Chicago Park Dist., 2000 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16628 (Oct. 23, 2000); Brown v. Chicago Park Dist., 1999 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16190 (Sept. 27, 1999).

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