NELA-ILLINOIS - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Bell Law LLC Attorney at Law / Arlington Heights, IL
"A fierce lawyer with a big heart", is how one would describe Chiquita Hall-Jackson. Chiquita is a practicing attorney in Chicago, IL. Chiquita practices in the areas of employment and family law, and has covered criminal cases as well. She concentrates her practice on public law and servicing those at a disadvantage. Chiquita is devoted to philanthropic work; always with a legal focus. Influenced by her mother's career as a Juvenile Correctional Officer, Chiquita spends her spare time educating youth on their legal rights. She believes that taking preventative measures through acquiring knowledge is the only way to transcend.
Job Titles:
- Attorney
- Partner
- Title / Attorney
Job Titles:
- Second Vice President
- Practice on Employee
Gail Schnitzer Eisenberg focuses her practice on employee's rights. She approaches each matter with a pragmatic, empathetic lens rooted in legal analysis. Gail assists clients in a range of employment disputes related to race, gender, and other forms of workplace discrimination, harassment, and retaliation. Gail has experience with all phases of litigation and administrative proceedings as well as employment contracts, trainings, handbooks, and severance agreements. Her partnerships allow Gail to represent individuals in associated complex shareholder and partnership disputes.
Gail was appointed 2021-2022 co-chair and 2022-2023 chair of the Chicago Bar Association's Labor and Employment Committee and serves on the Board of Directors for the National Employment Lawyers Association - Illinois. In 2023, Gail was appointed Continuing Legal Education Committee Vice Chair for the Chicago Bar Association.
The American Bar Association named Gail to its 2021 Top 40 Lawyers On the Rise list, which recognizes ABA young lawyer members who exemplify a broad range of high achievement, innovation, vision, leadership, and legal and community service. She was also named a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation and a was a 2021-2023 Fellow of the Technology and Employment Law Committee of the Labor and Employment Law Section ABA. Leading Lawyers has named Gail an Emerging Lawyer in Employment Law, and Super Lawyers named Gail as an Illinois Super Lawyers Rising Star in Employment Litigation, one of less than 2.5% of Illinois attorneys under the age of 40 given that distinction, every year since 2017. She had previously been named a Rising Star in Class Action litigation. Gail was also named to the 2015 Chicago Jewish 36 Under 36 List by the Jewish United Fund.
Gail is active in the community. In 2021, the residents of New Trier Township in the northern suburbs of Chicago elected Gail Township Supervisor after completing a four-year term as trustee, in which position she helps oversees the communities social safety net and social programs. Gail also currently sits on the Administrative and Government Affairs Committees of the Jewish United Fund, co-chairs the Legislative Committee of the Decalogue Society of Lawyers, serves on the Quality Jobs Council for Women Employed, on her school district's Community Review Community, on her synagogue's board, and as a Girl Scout Brownie Leader, and on the Triage Cancer Legal Advisory Council. She is passionate about fighting prematurity and was selected to the inaugural class of Gretchen Carlson March of Dimes Advocacy Fellows in 2018 and now serves on the March of Dimes' North Suburban Leadership Council and Illinois Government Affairs Committee.
Before joining Loftus and Eisenberg, Gail practiced employees' civil rights law at Stowell & Friedman, Ltd., which was named top law firm for employee rights and race discrimination matters by the National Law Journal. Before that, Gail worked as a Managing Associate at Dentons' Litigation and Dispute Resolution practice, where she focused on class action defense and other complex litigation primarily in the insurance, financial services, gaming, and media industries. Gail emphasizes pro bono service volunteering legal services with the Domestic Violence Legal Clinic, ACLU of Illinois' Judicial Bypass Coordination Project, the National Immigrant Justice Center, and Equip for Equality. She also has worked directly with children through the Girl Scouts Legal Track and the Constitutional Rights Foundation's Lawyers in the Classroom Project.
Gail began her legal career as a Staff Law Clerk to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, where she worked on criminal and civil appeals as well as requests for leave to appeal the denial of petitions for habeas corpus. Gail also taught Appellate Advocacy at Loyola University Chicago School of Law.
During law school, Gail served as a judicial extern for the Hon. Joan Humphrey Lefkow for the Northern District of Illinois and as a Civil Procedure teaching assistant for Prof. Ron Allen. She also served as a Legal Extern at the United States Attorney's Office, Northern District of Illinois, and as a Civil Appeals Division Law Clerk at the Office of the Attorney General of Illinois Lisa Madigan. Gail represented clients in immigration proceedings as a part of the Bluhm Legal Clinic's Children and Family Justice Center at Northwestern Law, served as the Symposium Editor of the Journal of Law & Social Policy, and on the Miner Moot Court Board. Prior to attending law school, Gail served as a Civic Leadership Fellow at the Anti-Defamation League of Greater Chicago/Upper Midwest Region.
Attorney J. Bryan Wood has represented small businesses, Fortune 500 companies, as well as individuals and classes of employees ranging from entry level workers to C-Suite executives on a wide variety of employment issues, including . His years of experience, legal ability and work ethic have earned him designation on lists of notable attorneys, including "Super Lawyers," the nation's Premier Employment Lawyers and America's Top 100 High Stakes Litigators®, and AV+ Martindale Hubbel rating from his peers and the judiciary.
Job Titles:
- Chicago Workers Collaborative Staff Attorney / Waukegan, IL
Job Titles:
- Legal Aid Chicago Equal Justice Works Fellow
Job Titles:
- Attorney at Law, LLC Attorney
Job Titles:
- Recording Secretary
- LLC Founding Member
Matt Singer is a successful civil rights litigator and magna cum laude Harvard Law School graduate with a passion for helping his clients navigate the legal system, fight mistreatment by their employers, and seek justice.
Matt has deep experience representing employees at all levels and in all types of industries-including Fortune-500 C-Suite executives and blue collar workers-who have faced discrimination, retaliation, or other illegal conduct in the workplace.
Matt opened his own law practice after working at Stowell & Friedman, Ltd., one of America's foremost plaintiffs' civil rights and employment law firms. At Stowell & Friedman, Matt established a winning track record. He achieved numerous key victories for his clients both in trial court and on appeal. Among many other things, he successfully defeated numerous motions to dismiss and for summary judgment, convincing courts to reject employers' efforts to dispose of claims without a trial. He also served as lead appellate counsel in a case at the Seventh Circuit and won reversal of the dismissal of his client's claims-a complete appellate victory.
Matt's tenacity in the courtroom has enabled him to drive hard bargains at the negotiating table. Matt has achieved excellent settlements, leveraging his ability to write and speak persuasively to convince neutral mediators and even his opposing counsel of the merits of his clients' claims.
While Matt is proud of his successes, he is even more proud of the relationships he has built with his clients. Matt communicates honestly and clearly, breaking through the unnecessary complexity of the legal system and empowering his clients to be informed decision-makers in their cases.
Earlier in his career, Matt was an attorney at Novack and Macey LLP, a Chicago litigation boutique, where he helped clients achieve successful outcomes in various commercial disputes and, in particular, assisted clients challenging onerous non-competition agreements.
Before entering the private practice of law, Matt spent two years as a staff law clerk at the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, which is a federal appeals court one level below the Supreme Court, covering Illinois, Wisconsin, and Indiana.
Matt has repeatedly been selected by his peers as both an "Emerging Lawyer" and "Rising Star," accolades awarded to only a small percentage of lawyers. While Matt appreciates these recognitions, he is more proud of the work he has done helping his clients and doing his small part to fight systemic injustice and inequality in our society.
Job Titles:
- Founding Member of Lázaro Law Group, LLC
- Lazaro Law Group Owner
Rafael E. Lázaro is a founding member of Lázaro Law Group, LLC. With a particular emphasis on sexual harassment, Mr. Lázaro has dedicated his career to improving the workplace.