Sheryl Jaffee Halpern

Sheryl Jaffee Halpern

Sheryl Jaffee Halpern
Principal
Phone: 312.521.2637 vCard
Fax: 312.521.2537
shalpern@muchshelist.com

PRACTICE GROUP

AT WORK

Sheryl Jaffee Halpern counsels clients on a wide range of employment matters, providing clear, direct guidance designed to promote compliance with the law, while remaining cognizant of the practical workplace realities her clients face. She regularly conducts employment practices audits; oversees personnel management (including hiring, firing and reductions in force); conducts compliance training of management and rank-and-file personnel; creates employment policies and handbooks; prepares offer letters, employment agreements, restrictive covenants and separation agreements; implements performance management, discipline and discharge protocols; and investigates employee complaints and disciplinary matters.

Sheryl also has successfully represented employers at the Illinois Department of Human Rights, the Illinois Human Rights Commission, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Illinois Department of Employment Security and the Illinois Department of Labor.

With a focus on being responsive, accurate and thorough, Sheryl provides legal advice designed to help her clients maintain peace in the workplace so they can focus on their business—rather than litigation.

Sheryl serves as Co-Chair of the firm's Women's Initiative.

IN THE PROFESSION

Prior to joining Much Shelist, Sheryl was a Partner in a small Chicago firm where she established the labor and employment practice. She is the President of the Chicago-Lincoln American Inn of Court (a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting ethics and professionalism in the legal profession) and an Executive Board Member of the Midwest Center on Law and the Deaf (a non-profit organization that helps provide better access to legal services for the deaf and hard-of-hearing community). She also is a member of the American Bar Association.

Sheryl was honored by the Junior League of Evanston-North Shore with the Outstanding Community Volunteer Award for 2010.

Sheryl speaks regularly at legal and industry conferences and seminars on a broad range of labor and employment topics. Recent presentations include "Top Ten Tactics to Avoid Litigation: An Employment Lawyer's Perspective," "He's an Independent Contractor…Or Is He," "Legal and Practical Considerations for Operating a Small Business: An Employment Law Primer for Small Businesses," "Cancer in the Workplace: A Legal Perspective," "Documentation Rules of Thumb and Common Mistakes" and "Top Ten FLSA Pitfalls."

While in law school, Sheryl served as a board member of the Moot Court Honor Society and as a legal writing teaching assistant.

BACKGROUND

Chicago-Kent College of Law
J.D., 1993

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
B.A., 1990

Sheryl is admitted to practice in Illinois and before the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, and the U.S. District Courts for the Northern and Central Districts of Illinois.