ARNOLD AND KADJAN - Key Persons
Mr. James represents employee benefit plan trust funds in ERISA collection actions. Prior to joining Arnold and Kadjan, LLP in 2018, he worked in the contracts department at a major health insurance company in Chicago. In addition, Mr. James has extensive experience assisting law firms and other companies through discovery review in large-scale litigation cases, including corporate divestment, antitrust, fraudulent marketing, and patent infringement.
While in law school, he served as a law clerk at a bankruptcy firm in Highland, Indiana and as a Certified Legal Intern at the Marion County Prosecutor's Office in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Job Titles:
- Partner
- Counsel to the OPCMIA Local 692
Mr. Schwartz is union counsel to the OPCMIA Local 692, Bricklayers Local 4 and Glaziers Local 27 in all areas of labor law, including picketing, collective bargaining and labor board matters. He is Fund counsel to the Indiana State Council of Plasterers and Cement Masons Funds, Bricklayers Indiana Retirement Fund and Glaziers Local 27 Pension and Welfare Funds' delinquency and ERISA matters. He also represents numerous Funds in delinquency and related ERISA matters.
Mr. Schwartz was lead counsel in Glaziers Funds v. Glass Masters where the Seventh Circuit concluded that a contractor may be required to pay two Funds for the same work when the company signs two collective bargaining agreements covering the same work.
He was lead counsel in the Seventh Circuit case of Laborers Funds v. Concrete Structures where the court imposed liability on the general contractor for unpaid benefits of its subcontractor despite ambiguous language in the subcontracting clause of the collective bargaining agerement. He was lead trial counsel in Painters Funds v. Royal International where the trial court entered judgment for the funds after an eight-day trial on where a "material audit" was a legitimate basis to hold an allegedly delinquent contractor liable for unpaid benefits. This was a landmark case of first impression in the country regarding how Funds may proceed to prove liability against a contractor that maintains faulty time cards. Mr. Schwartz has litigated over 50 alter ego cases seeking to prevent union signatory contractors from operating non -signatory related entities.
Mr. Schwartz joined Arnold and Kadjan, LLP in 1988 and has been a partner since 1994.
Mr. Piechocinski concentrates his practice in Labor Law and ERISA. Mr. Piechocinski has experience in ERISA fringe benefit contribution collection actions, alter ego/successorship liability actions, employment discrimination actions, and employee-discipline arbitrations.
Before joining Arnold and Kadjan, LLP, Mr. Piechocinski interned for the U.S. Department of Labor where he assisted with OSHA mediations. During law school, Mr. Piechocinski attended the Peggy Browning Fund Workers' Rights Conference. Mr. Piechocinski also worked for the Illinois Education Association as a law clerk. During his time with the IEA, Mr. Piechocinski researched various public sector labor and employment issues.
Mr. Anderson represents employee benefit plan trust funds in ERISA collection actions, including federal courts, resulting in the collection of millions of dollars. He is experienced in preparing and representing labor arbitration cases for labor before joint boards and arbitrators, along with Fair Labor Standards Act wage and hour cases. Mr. Anderson joined Arnold and Kadjan, LLP attorneys in a case of first impression, Chicago Painters v. Royal Decorating, 2004 WL 1459553 (N.D. Ill. 2004), where the court entered judgment in favor of the benefit funds based upon a "material audit." The audit compared the amount of hours it should have taken for an employer to finish-tape drywall to hours actually reported by the employer and recovered the deficiency. This was affirmed by the Seventh Circuit 493 F.3d 782 in 2007.
Before joining Arnold and Kadjan, LLP in 1992, Mr. Anderson represented employees in employment discrimination matters.
Job Titles:
- Partner
- Member of the Illinois
- Partner, Leading Lawyer
Mr. Toomey has concentrated his practice in the labor field for 44 years, 42 with Arnold and Kadjan, LLP where he has served as counsel to various labor organizations in the public and private sectors. His legal expertise includes labor arbitration, collective bargaining, union election campaigns and other proceedings before the National Labor Relations Board and the U. S. Department of Labor, employment contracts, wage and hour matters, and other employment-related issues.
He is a frequent speaker on practical labor relations topics, and conducts seminars on such issues. His Taft-Hartley experience extends to fiduciary duty litigation; party in interest transactions; collection and withdrawal liability litigation; and Apprentice Plan administration under the Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training.
Mr. Toomey is a skilled trial and appellate practitioner and served as special counsel to the Will County State's Attorney. He has argued issues before the Illinois Supreme Court and Federal circuits across the country and briefed cases before the U. S. Supreme Court.
He has been named one of the Leading Lawyers in Illinois, based on a statewide survey of lawyers. Leading Lawyers comprise less than 5% of all lawyers in the state who have named him one of the Top Ten Labor Union attorneys in Chicago and a Who's Who Directory of Top Attorneys in America.
Mr. Toomey is a member of the Illinois and Chicago Bar Associations and the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans.
Mr. Egan concentrates his practice in plaintiff's personal injury, medical malpractice, workers' compensation, ERISA litigation, and subrogation recoveries of benefits paid for members and their dependents. He also is experienced as a trial attorney for criminal, real estate, traffic and domestic relations matters.
As a trial attorney with Arnold and Kadjan, LLP Mr. Egan has tried numerous successful jury trials and obtained successful settlements that have resulted in millions of dollars for the firm's clients. He successfully obtained a nearly $3.5 million jury verdict for an injured union laborer hurt on the job through the negligence of the general contractor. He obtained a $3 million settlement for the wrongful electrocution death of a laborer.
Prior to joining the firm in 2001, Mr. Egan was employed as a trial attorney for a large insurance defense firm where he tried more than 50 jury trials to verdict. He handled all aspects of litigation, including depositions, arbitrations, mediations and bench and jury trial.
Mr. McDowell concentrates on ERISA matters, advising boards of trustees and staff of multi-employer pension and welfare plans and handling various types of plan litigation. He also assists plans in compliance with Department of Labor and Internal Revenue Service requirements. Mr. McDowell has extensive experience in appellate litigation, having argued cases before the United States Supreme Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, the Wisconsin Supreme Court, the Iowa Supreme Court and the Illinois Appellate Court.