Fern Trevino

Fern Trevino has earned the highest rating for legal ability and ethics from the highly respected attorney rating service, Martindale Hubbell.  The Law Bulletin Board selected her as one of the top 50 female attorneys in Illinois for individual consumers of legal services.  Since 1993, Ms. Trevino's peers have selected her as a Leading Illinois Lawyer.  She has also earned recognition as a SuperLawyer and a Top Lawyer.  In 1997, she was selected as one of 100 women making a difference by Today's Chicago Magazine.

Ms. Trevino has been invited to speak on employment law issues for the Chicago Bar Association's Speaker's Bureau and as a guest lecturer.  She has appeared on radio and television programs to discuss employment law issues.  In 1999, she served as a Faculty Member at the Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education.

Ms. Trevino has 25 years of practicing employment law.  Before she launched her firm, she represented small-to-medium sized businesses and international corporations in federal and state court and before civil rights agencies, thus bringing a comprehensive perspective to each case.  Since 1992, she has limited her practice exclusively to the representation of employees, and has rejected all requests from employers for defense representation.

Within the employment law field, Ms. Trevino concentrates in certain areas, including whistleblower actions, discrimination (gender, pregnancy, race, national origin, age, religious, and disability), sexual harassment, retaliation for having complained of discrimination (also known as retaliatory discharge), Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), and severance and non-compete agreements.  She also counsels employees on how to handle difficult work place issues.

Ms. Trevino's adversaries have included large corporations such as Pepsi Americas, Motorola, Northern Trust, Weyerhaueser, Schneider National Carriers, Worldwide Flight Services, and many others.

In addition to an active litigation practice, Ms. Trevino frequently mediates and negotiates on behalf of her clients.  A creative and aggressive negotiator, she has successfully negotiated hundreds of severance, separation, and non-compete agreements.  She is recognized among mediators and opposing counsel as a professional, firm, and tough negotiator.

Ms. Trevino has extensive experience counseling senior executives and other professionals as well as salaried and hourly employees on various employment issues.  She understands that employees in transition require individualized, prompt service.  She prides herself on helping clients make informed, well-reasoned decisions by guiding them through the available options, explaining the pros and cons of each option, and developing and implementing a strategic plan of action.  Whether she aggressively litigates, negotiates, counsels behind the scenes or merely recommend changes to a severance agreement depends on the client's goals, as well as the facts and the law.  Her mission is to achieve a successful resolution for every client.

Other Languages: Ms. Trevino is fluent in Spanish.

Bar Admissions:
Illinois, 1983
U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois, 1983
Trial Bar, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois, 1990
U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, 1992
U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit, 1998

Education: Loyola University of Chicago, J.D., 1983; B.A., 1968.

Past Employment:

-        Associate, Banta Cox & Hennessey, 1990-1992.

-        Employment Law Attorney, Regional Counsel's Office, Internal Revenue Service, 1987-1990 (received merit service awards, 1988 and 1989).

-        Assistant Corporation Counsel, City of Chicago, Employment Litigation Division, 1983-1987.

Professional/Bar Association Memberships:

-        National Employment Lawyer's Association (Co-Chair, Programs Committee, 1997-1999)

-        National Employment Lawyer's Association, Illinois Chapter

-        Chicago Bar Association (Labor and Employment Law Committee & Speaker's Bureau)

-        National Association of Women's Business Owners, Chicago Chapter (Member, 1992-1999; Board of Directors, 1993-1995; Membership Retention Committee, Chair, 1993-1995; Member, Program Council, 1998-1999).