Since 1978, Bennett L. Epstein has practiced exclusively in the area of labor and employment law. He has a practical approach to solving workplace issues. However, when a dispute cannot be resolved through dialogue, he aggressively litigates on behalf of clients. Bennett is a partner in the firm’s Labor & Employment Practice.
Bennett’s practice is national in scope. He has litigated jury trials across the country and has extensive agency and arbitration experience, with particular experience in resolving disputes between executives and their employer.
Bennett began his legal career as a trial attorney with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). He continues to represent management in union negotiations, labor relations, arbitrations, and matters before the NLRB.
His experience includes representation of both public and private employers, with clients including advertising agencies, media, entertainment, distribution, financial services, park districts, engineering, and manufacturing companies.
Media Counseling and Litigation
Bennett represents national and regional newspapers, radio stations, radio content producers, and podcast producers regarding a broad range of issues including defamation, FCC compliance, privacy, content ownership, and contract negotiations with staff, artists, content providers, and distributors. Bennett serves as outside general counsel for a variety of public radio content providers including This American Life and Science Friday and represents prominent podcasts.
Labor Negotiations
Bennett regularly represents employers in regards to negotiating initial collective bargaining agreements and the renewal of the agreements. Specific industry experience includes hotels and hospitality, healthcare, food and beverage, theater management, manufacturing and transportation.
Awards and Recognition
- Peer Review Rated as AV Preeminent®, the highest performance rating in the Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Review Ratings™ system
- Selected for inclusion in the 2009-2018 Illinois Super Lawyers® lists
- Selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America© since 2012 in the field of Litigation – Labor & Employment*
Thought Leadership
Bennett has lectured and written extensively on employment practices and labor law. He has developed a training course to acquaint managers and employees with the fundamentals of employment law and practical methods to successfully implement employment practices, including anti-harassment training. Bennett is regularly invited to speak before trade associations and other industry groups.