Preview
Hearing Date: No hearing scheduled
Location: <>
Judge: Calendar, 6
FILED
9/5/2023 5:29 PM
IRIS Y. MARTINEZ
CIRCUIT CLERK
COOK COUNTY, IL
FILED DATE: 9/5/2023 5:29 PM 2019CH12933
2019CH12933
Calendar, 6
24245886
EXHIBIT 5
IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS
COUNTY DEPARTMENT, CHANCERY DIVISION
FILED DATE: 9/5/2023 5:29 PM 2019CH12933
SEYON R. HAYWOOD and ROBERT )
STEWART, individually and on behalf of )
similarly situated individuals, )
) Case No. 2019 CH 12933
Plaintiffs, )
v. ) Judge Gamrath
)
FLEX-N-GATE LLC; FLEX-N-GATE ) Zoom Meeting ID: 928 4730 2982
PLASTICS, LLC; and FLEX-N-GATE )
CHICAGO, LLC, ) Password: 411367
)
Defendants. )
AFFIDAVIT OF DAVID FISH
I swear under penalty of perjury that the following information is true:
1. My name is David Fish. I am over the age of twenty-one and I am competent to
make this Affidavit and I have personal knowledge of the matters set forth herein.
2. I graduated #2 in my law school class from Northern Illinois University College of
Law in 1999. Prior to starting my own firm, I was employed by other law firms engaged in
litigation in and around Chicago, Illinois including, Jenner & Block in Chicago as a summer
associate, Klein, Thorpe & Jenkins in Chicago as an associate and The Collins Law Firm, P.C. as
an associate.
3. I have extensive experience representing employees and employers in labor and
employment disputes. I have handled disputes with the Illinois Department of Labor, the United
States Department of Labor, the Illinois Department of Human Rights, the National Labor
Relations Board, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and in the state and federal
courts in Illinois. I have litigated dozens of cases in the United States District Court for the
Northern District of Illinois.
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4. My law firm’s resume is attached hereto.
5. I am the former chair of the DuPage County Bar Association’s Labor and
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Employment Committee and served on the Illinois State Bar Association’s Labor and Employment
Committee Section Council. I also am a member of the National Employment Lawyers
Association.
6. I have, on several occasions, lectured at educational seminars for lawyers and other
professionals. I moderated a continuing legal education panel of federal magistrates and judges on
the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure through the Illinois State Bar Association. I have presented
on electronic discovery rules and testified before the United States Judicial Conference in Dallas,
Texas regarding electronic discovery issues. I have provided several CLE presentations on issues
relating to labor and employment law.
7. The proposed Settlement Agreement provides an excellent result for the Class
Members. It provides Class members a definite recovery and was entered into at a time when the
outcome was uncertain.
8. This case was filed in November 2019. BIPA cases had a lot of uncertainty at that
time. While the case law has turned out favorable, at the time the case was filed the outcome was
far from certain. Plaintiffs’ Counsel took this case on a contingent fee basis and assumed the risk
that they would receive no fee for their services.
9. The excellent result Plaintiffs’ Counsel achieved in this case supports the requested
fee. The settlement provides for settlement payments to Plaintiff and the class when there was no
absolute certainty any recovery would occur. In fact, when we take matters on a contingency basis,
some cases are successful and there are some where we do not get a fee.
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10. The settlement in this case was more difficult than most BIPA cases we have
litigated. We began actively discussing settlement in or about March 2022 and did not have a
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signed settlement agreement until November 2022.
11. The administration of the settlement in this case was particularly difficult—it has
lasted nearly 10 months already. The reason for the difficulty is that the Defendant did not have
records of many of the Class Members’ addresses. Rather than relying upon the inadequate contact
information in Defendant’s possession (which would have meant less effective notice), Plaintiffs’
counsel issued subpoenas to six different third parties (temporary staffing agencies) to track down
the best possible contact information for Class Members.
12. Plaintiffs’ Counsel requested to review the Class List directly, and sharing the Class
List data was agreed upon, Plaintiffs’ Counsel used their experience in Class Actions to help
retrieve information for temporary staffing agencies, communicate with staffing agencies directly,
and coordinate communication with the Settlement Administrator to compile the most
comprehensive address information possible.
13. To further get the best notice possible, Plaintiffs’ Counsel filed a Petition for Rule
to Show Cause because one of the staffing agencies, Integrity Staffing Solution, initially failed to
comply with the subpoena.
14. After Defendant was unable locate sufficient data from the temporary staffing
agencies, Plaintiffs’ Counsel requested to review the Class List directly. Sharing the Class List
data on a confidential basis was agreed upon. Plaintiffs’ Counsel used their experience in Class
Actions to help retrieve information for temporary staffing agencies, communicate with staffing
agencies directly, and coordinate communication with the Settlement Administrator to compile
the most comprehensive address information possible. Plaintiffs’ Counsel also worked closely
3
with the Settlement Administrator, provided input, and kept apprised of the advanced address
searches conducted to locate additional class member address information (where the temporary
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staffing agencies were unable to supply it).
15. Our work on this case will not be done until 2025. Paragraph 42 (b) of the
Settlement Agreement provides for payments to be made over three installments with the last at
the beginning of 2025. My experience when payments are made over time is that Class Members
contact our office asking when the next payment will be made, some try to get loans against the
payments, and they otherwise ask about the status. Furthermore, if the Defendant defaults, we
have assumed a risk to enforce payment for our clients.
16. Our law firm incurred costs of $568.81. The expenses are summarized as follows:
Postage / Copies /Subpoena Expenses: $136.45, Filing Fees: $399.21, Travel: $30.50, Westlaw:
$2.65.
17. The Class Representatives, Seyon Haywood and Robert Stewart, were helpful in
prosecuting this case. While they did not sit for depositions, I believe their participation warrants
an incentive award because of the risk they took by sticking out their neck for their co-workers.
In particular, if a prospective employer in the future does a background check that raises civil cases
filed (as many do), the employer will see that these individuals sued their past employer. Many
employers do not want to hire people who would initiate a class action lawsuit. This is particularly
true for low wage workers (like my Class Representatives here) when there are many other people
they can hire. Furthermore, we decided to utilize two different class representatives here because
of the two different defendants—I wanted one who worked at each entity.
4
18. Our law firm spent approximately 193 hours on this case with a lodestar of
$75,307.50. The time is broken down as follows and the experience of each professional is detailed
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on our attached Resume:
Professional Hours Rate Total
David Fish 65 $595 $38,675
John Kunze 2 $375 $750
Kimberly Hilton .1 $325 $32.50
Mara Baltabols 75.40 $375 $28,275
Paralegal/Legal 50.50 $150 $7,575
Assistants
Under penalties as provided by law pursuant to Section 1-109 of the Code of Civil
Procedure (735 ILCS 5/1-109), the undersigned certifies that the statements set forth in this
instrument are true and correct. FURTHER AFFIANT SAYETH NOT.
______/s/ David Fish________________
Dated: September 5, 2023
5
FISH POTTER BOLANOS, P.C.
FILED DATE: 9/5/2023 5:29 PM 2019CH12933
FIRM OVERVIEW
Fish Potter Bolaños, P.C. represents workers in labor and employment disputes. Our
lawyers have also handled hundreds of class action cases for employees to recover unpaid wages,
fight workplace discrimination and harassment, and protect workplace privacy rights. Our
lawyers regularly practice before the Department of Labor, the Illinois Department of Human
Rights, the National Labor Relations Board, the EEOC, and in state and federal courts. Our
lawyers have recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for our clients. Our attorneys are known
for their knowledge of labor and employment matters and have been asked to present and publish
in various classrooms and online publications to educate others on how this area of the law
works.
We also have an active pro bono practice and provide employment counseling for no
charge to dozens of low-income and elderly clients each year through a partnership with Prairie
State Legal Services. In 2022, we were awarded the Illinois State Bar Association’s pro bono
award for our outstanding commitment to public service.
ATTORNEY PROFILES
MARA BALTABOLS
Mara is an accomplished civil litigator and class action attorney with a wide range of
experience litigating in state and federal court. Mara was recognized as an Illinois Super Lawyer
Rising Star in Civil Defense Litigation in 2013, and in Consumer Law in 2016-2019. Mara is a
strong believer in taking the best cases to trial. She served as a primary attorney in a case brought
Chicago Office Suburban Office
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by a senior citizen against a major loan servicer, Hammer v. RCS, that resulted in a $2,000,000
jury verdict upheld on post-trial motions. She was a featured speaker at NACBA’s 23rd Annual
Convention discussing effective adversary proceedings and successfully preparing cases for trial.
Mara previously worked as an attorney at Bock, Hatch, Lewis & Oppenheim, LLC (f/k/a
Bock & Hatch, LLC) and at Sulaiman Law Group, Ltd. d/b/a Atlas Consumer Law.
Mara obtained her J.D. from the University of South Carolina in 2009, and her
undergraduate degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 2003. Mara is a member of
the Illinois Bar and admitted to practice in the Northern and Southern federal district courts in
Illinois. She is also admitted to the Eastern District of Wisconsin and Eastern District of
Michigan.
MARIA DE LAS NIEVES BOLAÑOS
Ms. Bolaños was influenced from a young age by the work and activism of her single
mother who worked to provide health care and educational services to Central Washington’s
Yakima Valley, including through work with migrant farmworkers and community
organizations. It was this background that created Ms. Bolaños’ interest in employment law and
drew her to her first legal job with mentor and workers’ rights activist Robin Potter, who later
became her law partner.
Ms. Bolaños represents workers in wage and hour, False Claims Act, and employment
discrimination and retaliation and litigation. She has significant litigation experience at the State
and Federal level, as well as with local administrative agencies, including Equal Employment
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Chicago Office J Suburban Office
111 East Wacker Drive 312-861-1800 200 East 5th Avenue
@)
Suite 1600 www.fishlawfirm.com Suite 115
Chicago, Illinois 60601 Naperville, Illinois 60653
Opportunity Commission, the Illinois Department of Human Rights and the Illinois Education
Labor Relations Board. Ms. Bolaños’ experience includes representation of single plaintiffs,
class and large class action cases with exceptional results, including a $14 million dollar
settlement in a class action sexual harassment case in Brown, et al. v. Cook County, et al., No.
17-cv-8085 (N.D. III. 2020).
Ms. Bolaños is a 2009 graduate of DePaul University College of Law. She serves on the
Executive Board of the National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA) and is VP of
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion on its Executive Committee. She also chares NELA’s Low
Wage Worker Practice Group and serves on its Legislative Action Committee and is a member
of NELA’s Illinois affiliate, the Illinois State Bar Association, and the National Lawyers Guild’s
Chicago Labor and Employment Committee. Ms. Bolaños serves on the ARISE Chicago Legal
Advisory Board and serves on the Board for In These Times Magazine.
Ms. Bolaños frequently lectures on various employment law matters, including NELA’s
Annual Conventions, NELA Illinois’ Seventh Circuit Conference, the Decalogue Society,
Illinois Legal Services Committee for Immigrants, and a variety of other organizations. Ms.
Bolaños co-authored a brief on behalf of amici curiae Steve Viscelli, Domingo Avalos, Gabriel
Procel, Brion Gray, James Zuber, Hector Zelaya, Desiree Ann Wood, the Wage Justice Center
and Real Women in Trucking, Inc., in the case, New Prime Inc. v. Oliveira, 139 S.Ct. 532, 202
L.Ed. 2d 536 (2019).
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Chicago Office J Suburban Office
111 East Wacker Drive 312-861-1800 200 East 5th Avenue
@)
Suite 1600 www.fishlawfirm.com Suite 115
Chicago, Illinois 60601 Naperville, Illinois 60653
ALENNA BOLIN
For thirty years, Ms. Bolin has advocated for employees from all walks of life and
diverse backgrounds, in workplace civil rights, FMLA, sexual harassment, discrimination,
retaliation and retaliatory discharge, and related employment matters. Her creative litigation
strategies and advanced writing abilities combine to make her a skilled advocate for her clients.
She treats clients with respect and compassion while guiding them through the legal process.
She has served as Of Counsel to the firm (formerly Potter Bolaños LLC and Robin Potter
& Associates) since 2010.
Ms. Bolin previously practiced in the areas of civil rights, contracts, securities,
commodities, and fraud, in addition to employment law. She was part of the two-lawyer trial
team that won a $500,000 jury verdict on workplace intentional infliction of emotional distress, a
verdict that was later upheld on appeal in Naeem v. McKesson Drug Co., 444 F.3d 59 (7th Cir.
2006). She was extensively involved in researching and drafting the winning briefs in Walters v.
Metropolitan Educational Enterprises, Inc., 519 S.Ct. 202 (1997), in which the U.S. Supreme
Court issued a decision favorable to employees. More recently, she participated in case
development and discovery on the legal team that achieved a $14 million dollar settlement in a
class action sexual harassment case in Brown v. Cook County, et al., No. 17-cv-8085 (N.D. III.
2020). She has served as a contributing author for the Midwinter Report of FMLA Cases,
published by the FMLA subcommittee of the Section of Labor and Employment Law of the
American Bar Association.
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Chicago Office J Suburban Office
111 East Wacker Drive 312-861-1800 200 East 5th Avenue
@)
Suite 1600 www.fishlawfirm.com Suite 115
Chicago, Illinois 60601 Naperville, Illinois 60653
Ms. Bolin received her J.D. from the University of California, Davis, School of Law, and
her B.A., cum laude, from Northern Illinois University. During law school, she authored an
article that won awards for excellence in writing and was published as the Pease Environmental
Law Review. Along with her J.D., she received a Public Interest Law Program Certificate. Ms.
Bolin is an active member of the National Employment Lawyers Association.
PATRICK COWLIN
Mr. Cowlin is an experienced attorney who primarily represents employees in wage and
hour, discrimination, disparate impact, harassment, retaliation, FMLA, and other employment
and qui tam cases. He has successfully litigated and negotiated cases involving individual
plaintiffs, as well as class actions and collective actions. He has also represented union members
in contract arbitration and administrative proceedings, and public school parents and students in
class litigation.
Mr. Cowlin was recognized as a top-rated employment litigation attorney in Illinois from
2017-2021, earning a “Rising Star” designation from Illinois Super Lawyers. He graduated with
a B.B.A. in Finance from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and graduated cum laude from
DePaul University College of Law in 2012.
Mr. Cowlin is admitted to the Illinois Bar and the U.S. District Court for the Northern
District of Illinois. He is a member of the National Employment Lawyers Association
(“NELA”), NELA-Illinois, and the National Lawyers Guild. He is a part of NELA-Illinois’
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@)
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Chicago, Illinois 60601 Naperville, Illinois 60653
Legislative Action Committee, which works to ensure Illinois Law appropriately protect
employees’ rights.
DAVID FISH
For over two decades, Mr. Fish has counseled clients in labor and employment disputes.
He originally represented employers and then found, after representing a client in a terrible
sexual harassment dispute, that he preferred to represent workers. Representing employees is
now his passion and his love of his work has helped him recover hundreds of millions of dollars
for his clients.
For years, Mr. Fish has also volunteered almost every week to provide pro bono legal
services to low income and elderly clients at Prairie State Legal Services. His firm was presented
with the Illinois State Bar Association’s pro bono award in 2022.
Mr. Fish has, on several occasions, lectured at educational seminars for lawyers and other
professionals. He has moderated a continuing legal education panel of federal magistrates and
judges on the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, he has presented before the Illinois State Bar
Association on electronic discovery rules, and he testified before the United States Judicial
Conference in Dallas, Texas regarding electronic discovery issues.
Mr. Fish’s publications include: “Enforcing Non-Compete Clauses in Illinois after
Reliable Fire”, Illinois Bar Journal; “Top 10 wage violations in Illinois”, ISBA Labor and
Employment Newsletter (August, 2017); “Physician Non-Complete Agreements in Illinois:
Diagnosis—Critical Condition; Prognosis- Uncertain” DuPage County Bar Journal (October
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Chicago Office J Suburban Office
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Suite 1600 www.fishlawfirm.com Suite 115
Chicago, Illinois 60601 Naperville, Illinois 60653
2002); “Are your clients’ arbitration clauses enforceable?” Illinois State Bar Association, ADR
Newsletter (October 2012); “The Legal Rock and the Economic Hard Place: Remedies of
Associate Attorneys Wrongfully Terminated for Refusing to Violate Ethical Rules”, of W. Los
Angeles Law Rev. (1999); “Zero-Tolerance Discipline in Illinois Public Schools” Illinois Bar
Journal (May 2001); “Ten Questions to Ask Before Taking a Legal-Malpractice Case” Illinois
Bar Journal (July 2002); “The Use Of The Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct to Establish
The Standard of Care In Attorney Malpractice Litigation: An Illogical Practice”, Southern
Illinois Univ. Law Journal (1998); “An Analysis of Firefighter Drug Testing under the Fourth
Amendment”, International Jour. Of Drug Testing (2000); “Local Government Web sites and the
First Amendment”, Government Law, (November 2001, Vol. 38).
KIMBERLY HILTON
Ms. Hilton has worked in the legal field for over twenty years as an attorney, legal
assistant, paralegal, and law clerk. Ms. Hilton’s primary focus throughout her career has been in
the area of labor and employment. Ms. Hilton has litigated in the state and federal courts and
before agencies such as the Illinois Department of Human Rights, the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission, the Illinois Human Rights Commission, and the American Arbitration
Association.
Ms. Hilton graduated cum laude from The John Marshall Law School, Chicago, Illinois
in 2010. Ms. Hilton received her Bachelor of Arts in English and Political Science from Cornell
College, Mt. Vernon, Iowa in 2003. During law school, Ms. Hilton worked as a judicial extern
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111 East Wacker Drive 312-861-1800 200 East 5th Avenue
@)
Suite 1600 www.fishlawfirm.com Suite 115
Chicago, Illinois 60601 Naperville, Illinois 60653
for the Illinois Appellate Court, First District in Chicago, wrote and edited articles for The John
Marshall Law Review, and participated in John Marshall’s Moot Court program.
Ms. Hilton is a member of the National Employment Lawyers Association – Illinois and
the Illinois State Bar Association. Ms. Hilton has also presented two CLE classes for the
DuPage County Bar Association one about the EEOC and IDHR claim procedure and the other
about COVID-19 and the new laws that were enacted in light of the pandemic.
JAMES GREEN
Mr. Green represents individuals denied workers’ compensation, social security or other
disability benefits, and unions and union members in labor negotiations and arbitrations, unfair
labor practices and dismissal cases.
For more than thirty years Mr. Green has successfully represented hundreds of
individuals in claims for Workers’ Compensation benefits. He has assisted injured workers in a
wide range of employment settings, including the airline industry, healthcare institutions and
public schools, to obtain the full benefits they are entitled to receive under the Illinois Workers’
Compensation Statute. He also represents clients who have been denied Social Security
Disability Benefits. He is available to assist claimants in guiding them through the entire maze of
the bureaucratic process from filing an application to representing them in a hearing before an
Administrative Law Judge if their claims are denied.
Mr. Green has worked closely with the Chicago Teachers Union for the last ten years. He
has represented it in labor arbitrations and unfair labor practice charges before the Illinois Labor
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@)
Suite 1600 www.fishlawfirm.com Suite 115
Chicago, Illinois 60601 Naperville, Illinois 60653
Relations Board. He has also represented individual teachers in statutory dismissal hearings and
workers’ compensation claims. Mr. Green previously serves as the General Counsel for
Teamsters Local 726 from 1994-2009, negotiating contracts and representing the Union in all
aspects of its operations.
Mr. Green has deep roots in the labor movement prior to practicing law. He began his
career organizing child-care workers in Chicago, then worked as a staff director of a local union,
and managed a Health, Welfare and Pension fund for the Midwest Region for the International
Ladies Garment Workers Union.
Mr. Green is an active member of the Chicago Bar Association, the Workers’
Compensation Lawyers’ Association, and the AFL-CIO Union Labor Alliance. Mr. Green
graduated cum laude from the John Marshall Law School.
JOHN KUNZE
John C. Kunze was born and raised in the south-west side of Chicago and graduated from
The University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in History. Mr.
Kunze graduated cum laude from The John Marshall Law School in Chicago, Illinois. While at
John Marshall John was a member of Law Review, co-founded The Video Game Law Society,
and was the founding editor of the Society’s Newsletter.
Mr. Kunze is a member of the National Employment Lawyers Association and the
Illinois State Bar Association. He has worked in employment and class action litigation since
2016 and is the Class Action Department Leader at Fish Potter Bolaños, P.C.
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Chicago Office J Suburban Office
111 East Wacker Drive 312-861-1800 200 East 5th Avenue
@)
Suite 1600 www.fishlawfirm.com Suite 115
Chicago, Illinois 60601 Naperville, Illinois 60653
SETH MATUS
For more than twenty years, Mr. Matus has worked as a lawyer serving businesses
ranging from start-ups and family companies to high-tech firms, professional organizations,
retailers, and temporary labor services. Mr. Matus has repeatedly saved employers facing class-
action overtime lawsuits from multi-million dollar liability and obtained favorable outcomes for
general contractors entangled in complex construction disputes.
Mr. Matus is a leader in developing and implementing innovative policies and procedures
to protect confidential information and trade secrets and in ensuring that businesses comply with
applicable law after breaches involving personal data. He has been certified as an information
privacy professional in US private-sector law by the International Association of Privacy
Professionals and has presented several seminars on information privacy topics to business
owners and human resources professionals. Mr. Matus also presented a CLE to the DuPage
County Bar Association about the laws enacted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the
implications for small businesses in response.
Mr. Matus received his JD from the University of Colorado in 1996 and his B.A. from
Rutgers in 1992. He is a member of the Illinois, Colorado, and New Mexico bars.
THALIA PACHECO
Thalia serves as the leader of our employment discrimination department where she
litigates the rights of workers. She received her B.A. from Northern Illinois University (DeKalb,
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111 East Wacker Drive 312-861-1800 200 East 5th Avenue
@)
Suite 1600 www.fishlawfirm.com Suite 115
Chicago, Illinois 60601 Naperville, Illinois 60653
Illinois) and received her J.D. from DePaul University College of Law (Chicago). At DePaul,
Thalia was the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Women, Gender & Law.
While attending law school, Thalia focused her studies in labor and employment law and
interned at C-K Law Group: The Law Offices of Chicago-Kent in its Plaintiff’s Employment
Law Clinic and Chicago Public Schools in its Labor and Employee Discipline Department.
Thalia has worked at a number of Chicago employment law firms in the area, including Siegel
and Dolan, The Case Law Firm, and employment defense firm Franczek PC. Thalia is a member
of the Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois and the American Bar Association. Thalia is
fluent in Spanish. Thalia has presented a CLE for the DuPage County Bar Association about the
leave laws related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
ROBIN POTTER
Robin Potter moved to Chicago in 1978, where she has built a nationwide private practice
trying and litigating Labor & Employment, Discrimination, Sex Harassment, Whistleblower,
Wage & Hour and False Claims Ac (FCA) individual and class action cases. Her FCA cases
have returned ten of millions of dollars to the U.S. treasury and private carriers. She has been
proud to serve as counsel to the Chicago Teacher’s Union, union members and leadership
working to reform their unions and increase democracy equity and justice in the workplace.
Robin served as a government supervisor in overseeing and conducting elections in the
Laborers’ International Union (LIUNA). She was also the court-appointed Claims Administrator
in Smith v. NIKE, Case No. 03 C 9110 (N.D. Ill., J, Shadur), a class action rase discrimination
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111 East Wacker Drive 312-861-1800 200 East 5th Avenue
@)
Suite 1600 www.fishlawfirm.com Suite 115
Chicago, Illinois 60601 Naperville, Illinois 60653
case and was the Special Master in EEOC v. The Dial Corporation, Case No. 99 C 3356
(N.D.IL.), a pattern and sexual harassment case.
Robin has frequently lectured, including at the following venues: American Bar
Association Midyear, annual, labor & employment, and EEOC meetings; Illinois State Bar
Association (Labor Section); National Employment Lawyers’ Association, Association of Trial
Lawyers of America (Civil Rights and Individual Employee Rights Sections); the Taxpayers
Against Fraud (lawyers representing plaintiffs in Qui Tam litigation); the American Federation
of Teacher and American Federation of Labor Lawyers’ Coordinating Committee; and the
Practicing Law Institute.
In 2013, the National Lawyers’ Guild, Chicago honored Robin and her firm s co-
recipients of the Arthur Kinoy People’s Law Award, “in recognition of tireless advocacy on
behalf of the Chicago Teachers Union and Chicago Public School students, parents, and
employees.” Also in 2016, Robin was a finalist for the Public Justice Trial Lawyer of the Year
Award for “outstanding contribution to the public interest” for her work in the case United States
and State of Illinois, ex rel Absher v. Momence Meadows Nursing Center, Inc. The Chicago
Democratic Socialists of America honored Robin at their 2014 Debs-Thomas-Harrington Dinner
for her work supporting the labor movement and employees’ rights.
Robin helped found the Nation Employment Lawyers Association and its Illinois chapter,
NELA-Illinois, and remains an active member of both organizations. She is also a member of
Taxpayers Against Fraud, the Chicago Bar Association, and the American Bar Association
Litigation and Labor and Employment Section. She is on the Board of Directors of Advocates for
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Chicago Office J Suburban Office
111 East Wacker Drive 312-861-1800 200 East 5th Avenue
@)
Suite 1600 www.fishlawfirm.com Suite 115
Chicago, Illinois 60601 Naperville, Illinois 60653
Justice, a New York City based group engaged in nationwide advocacy and litigation, in public
education and other areas of law reform.
Robin is a 1977 graduate of the University of Iowa Law School.
MARTIN STAINTHORP
Martin has over a decade of experience advocating for workers’ rights, both as a union
organizer and representative, and as an employment law attorney since 2021. He primarily
represents employees in wage and hour, discrimination, harassment, retaliation, FMLA, and
other employment cases. He has litigated in the Chicago state and federal courts and before
agencies such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Illinois Department of
Human Rights, and the Illinois Department of Employment Security.
Martin received his B.A. from the University of Richmond in 2007 and graduated cum
laude from Chicago-Kent College of Law in 2021 with a certificate in Labor and Employment
Law.
Martin is a member of the National Employment Lawyers Association – Illinois. He is
admitted to the Illinois State Bar and the United States District Court for the Northern District of
Illinois.
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Chicago Office J Suburban Office
111 East Wacker Drive 312-861-1800 200 East 5th Avenue
@)
Suite 1600 www.fishlawfirm.com Suite 115
Chicago, Illinois 60601 Naperville, Illinois 60653
REPRESENTATIVE CASES
Some examples of class, collective, and/or employment litigation in which Fish Potter
Bolaños, P.C. (or our prior firms, The Fish Law Firm PC, Potter Bolaños, LLC, and Robin Potter
& Associates) has served as counsel include:
a. Brown v. Cook County, No. 17-C-8085, 332 F.R.D. 229 (N.D.Ill.) ($14 million
sexual harassment recovery for class of 532 assistant public defenders and law clerks certified in
suit alleging hostile work environment due to egregious harassment by pre-trial detainees).
b. Chicago Teachers Union v. Board of Education of City of Chicago, Case No.
15-cv-08149 (N.D. Ill.)($9.25 million race discrimination class action settlement for black teachers
and paraprofessionals arising out of closure of Chicago schools).
c. U.S.A. ex rel. Lokesh Chandra, M.D. v. Sushil A. Sheth, M.D., Case No. 06 C
2191 (N.D. Ill.) (False Claims Act case; $20 million settlement with the United States
government).
d. Nelson v. UBS Global Management, No. 03-C-6446, 04 C 7660 (N. D.
Ill.)(ERISA class action on behalf of thousands of BP Amoco employees who had Enron debt
purchased as part of their money market fund; recovery of approximately $7 million).
e. Franzen v. IDS Futures Corporation, 06 CV 3012 (N. D. Ill. 2006)(recovery
of millions of dollars for more than 1,000 limited partners in an investment fund that lost value as
a result of the Refco bankruptcy).
f. Kuhl v. Guitar Center, Case No. 07 C 214 (J. Gottschall)(nation-wide FLSA
and Rule 23 class for commissioned sales force; class settlement of $2,870,000 - 9000 class
members)
g. Pope v. Harvard Bancshares, 06 CV 988, 240 F.R.D 383 (N. D. Ill. 2006)(class
action recovery of $1.3 million for former shareholders of community bank who had stock
repurchased in a reorganization).
FILED DATE: 9/5/2023 5:29 PM 2019CH12933
Chicago Office J Suburban Office
111 East Wacker Drive 312-861-1800 200 East 5th Avenue
@)
Suite 1600 www.fishlawfirm.com Suite 115
Chicago, Illinois 60601 Naperville, Illinois 60653
h. Biometric Class Action Settlements: See, e.g., Crumpton v. Octapharma
Plasma, 19-cv-8402 (N.D. Ill) ($9.9 million); Philips v. Biolife Plasma, 2020 CH 5758, (Cir. Ct.
Cook Cnty.) ($5.98 million); O’Sullivan, et. al. v. WAM Holdings, Inc., 2019-CH-11575 (Cir. Ct.
Cook Cnty.) ($5.85 million); Davis v. Heartland Emp. Servs., No. 19-cv-00680, dkt. 130 (N.D.
Ill.) ($5.4 million); Johnson v. Resthaven/Providence Life Servs., 2019-CH-1813 (Cir. Ct. Cook
Cnty.) ($3 million); Burlinski v. Top Golf USA, No. 19-cv-06700, dkt. 103 (N.D. Ill.) ($2.6
million); Diller v. Ryder Integrated Logistics, 2019-CH-3032 (Cir. Ct. Cook Cnty.) ($2.25
million); Jones v. Rosebud Rests., Inc., 2019 CH 10620 (Cir. Ct. Cook Cnty.) ($2.1 million);
Barnes v. Aryzta, LLC, 288 F. Supp. 3d 834 (N.D. Ill and Cook County)($2.9 million class action
recovery under BIPA); Ralph/Memoli v. Get Fresh Produce Inc., 2019CH2324 ($675,000
settlement on a class wide basis for claims under Biometric Information Privacy Act); Parker v.
DaBecca Natural Foods, 2019CH1845 ($999,975 settlement on a class wide basis for claims under
Biometric Information Privacy Act)
i. Cesarz et al v. Wynn Las Vegas LLC et al, 2:13-cv-00109 (Nevada)($5.6 million
FLSA settlement against Wynn Las Vegas casino workers)
j. Cruz v. Unilock Chicago, Inc., (J. Colwell) 383 Ill. App. 3d 752; 892 N.E.2d
78; 322 Ill. Dec. 831 (1st Dist. 2008)(certified class of 300 plant employees under IMWL and
IWPCA; class-wide settlement of $1,600,000)
k. Canas v. Smithfield Foods, 2020CV4937($7.75 million recovery under FLSA
and IMWL for COVID-19 pandemic related bonuses)
l. Balonek et al v. Safeway et al., No. 14-cv-01457 (N.D.Ill.) (class action
settlement under FLSA and IMWL for $1.7 million on behalf of General Merchandise Managers
and Assistant General Merchandise managers who worked in Illinois at Dominick’s)
m. Blount v. Stroud, et al., 01 L 2330 (Cook County, IL)($3.1 million verdict for
retaliatory discharge and retaliation under 42 U.S.C. §1981, November 2005; 376 Ill. App. 3d 935,
877 N.E.2d 49 (1st Dist. 2007)(verdict rev’d. on IDHR preemption grounds); PLA recon. granted
to Illinois Supreme Court - 232 Ill. 2d 302, 904 N.E.2d 1 (2008)(reversing and remanding to
Appellate Court), 395 Ill. App. 3d 8; 915 N.E.2d 925; 2009 Ill. App. LEXIS 553; 333 Ill. Dec.
FILED DATE: 9/5/2023 5:29 PM 2019CH12933
Chicago Office J Suburban Office
111 East Wacker Drive 312-861-1800 200 East 5th Avenue
@)
Suite 1600 www.fishlawfirm.com Suite 115
Chicago, Illinois 60601 Naperville, Illinois 60653
854; 106 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 1163 (1st Dist. - Oct. 6, 2009);(denying remaining post-
trial appeals and reinstating jury verdict); Rehearing den., 2009 Ill. App. LEXIS 1051 (Ill. App.
Ct. 1st Dist., Oct
Preview
Hearing Date: No hearing scheduled Location: <> Judge: Calendar, 6 FILED 9/5/2023 5:29 PM IRIS Y. MARTINEZ CIRCUIT CLERK COOK COUNTY, IL FILED DATE: 9/5/2023 5:29 PM 2019CH12933 2019CH12933 Calendar, 6 24245886 EXHIBIT 5 IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT, CHANCERY DIVISION FILED DATE: 9/5/2023 5:29 PM 2019CH12933 SEYON R. HAYWOOD and ROBERT ) STEWART, individually and on behalf of ) similarly situated individuals, ) ) Case No. 2019 CH 12933 Plaintiffs, ) v. ) Judge Gamrath ) FLEX-N-GATE LLC; FLEX-N-GATE ) Zoom Meeting ID: 928 4730 2982 PLASTICS, LLC; and FLEX-N-GATE ) CHICAGO, LLC, ) Password: 411367 ) Defendants. ) AFFIDAVIT OF DAVID FISH I swear under penalty of perjury that the following information is true: 1. My name is David Fish. I am over the age of twenty-one and I am competent to make this Affidavit and I have personal knowledge of the matters set forth herein. 2. I graduated #2 in my law school class from Northern Illinois University College of Law in 1999. Prior to starting my own firm, I was employed by other law firms engaged in litigation in and around Chicago, Illinois including, Jenner & Block in Chicago as a summer associate, Klein, Thorpe & Jenkins in Chicago as an associate and The Collins Law Firm, P.C. as an associate. 3. I have extensive experience representing employees and employers in labor and employment disputes. I have handled disputes with the Illinois Department of Labor, the United States Department of Labor, the Illinois Department of Human Rights, the National Labor Relations Board, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and in the state and federal courts in Illinois. I have litigated dozens of cases in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. 1 4. My law firm’s resume is attached hereto. 5. I am the former chair of the DuPage County Bar Association’s Labor and FILED DATE: 9/5/2023 5:29 PM 2019CH12933 Employment Committee and served on the Illinois State Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Committee Section Council. I also am a member of the National Employment Lawyers Association. 6. I have, on several occasions, lectured at educational seminars for lawyers and other professionals. I moderated a continuing legal education panel of federal magistrates and judges on the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure through the Illinois State Bar Association. I have presented on electronic discovery rules and testified before the United States Judicial Conference in Dallas, Texas regarding electronic discovery issues. I have provided several CLE presentations on issues relating to labor and employment law. 7. The proposed Settlement Agreement provides an excellent result for the Class Members. It provides Class members a definite recovery and was entered into at a time when the outcome was uncertain. 8. This case was filed in November 2019. BIPA cases had a lot of uncertainty at that time. While the case law has turned out favorable, at the time the case was filed the outcome was far from certain. Plaintiffs’ Counsel took this case on a contingent fee basis and assumed the risk that they would receive no fee for their services. 9. The excellent result Plaintiffs’ Counsel achieved in this case supports the requested fee. The settlement provides for settlement payments to Plaintiff and the class when there was no absolute certainty any recovery would occur. In fact, when we take matters on a contingency basis, some cases are successful and there are some where we do not get a fee. 2 10. The settlement in this case was more difficult than most BIPA cases we have litigated. We began actively discussing settlement in or about March 2022 and did not have a FILED DATE: 9/5/2023 5:29 PM 2019CH12933 signed settlement agreement until November 2022. 11. The administration of the settlement in this case was particularly difficult—it has lasted nearly 10 months already. The reason for the difficulty is that the Defendant did not have records of many of the Class Members’ addresses. Rather than relying upon the inadequate contact information in Defendant’s possession (which would have meant less effective notice), Plaintiffs’ counsel issued subpoenas to six different third parties (temporary staffing agencies) to track down the best possible contact information for Class Members. 12. Plaintiffs’ Counsel requested to review the Class List directly, and sharing the Class List data was agreed upon, Plaintiffs’ Counsel used their experience in Class Actions to help retrieve information for temporary staffing agencies, communicate with staffing agencies directly, and coordinate communication with the Settlement Administrator to compile the most comprehensive address information possible. 13. To further get the best notice possible, Plaintiffs’ Counsel filed a Petition for Rule to Show Cause because one of the staffing agencies, Integrity Staffing Solution, initially failed to comply with the subpoena. 14. After Defendant was unable locate sufficient data from the temporary staffing agencies, Plaintiffs’ Counsel requested to review the Class List directly. Sharing the Class List data on a confidential basis was agreed upon. Plaintiffs’ Counsel used their experience in Class Actions to help retrieve information for temporary staffing agencies, communicate with staffing agencies directly, and coordinate communication with the Settlement Administrator to compile the most comprehensive address information possible. Plaintiffs’ Counsel also worked closely 3 with the Settlement Administrator, provided input, and kept apprised of the advanced address searches conducted to locate additional class member address information (where the temporary FILED DATE: 9/5/2023 5:29 PM 2019CH12933 staffing agencies were unable to supply it). 15. Our work on this case will not be done until 2025. Paragraph 42 (b) of the Settlement Agreement provides for payments to be made over three installments with the last at the beginning of 2025. My experience when payments are made over time is that Class Members contact our office asking when the next payment will be made, some try to get loans against the payments, and they otherwise ask about the status. Furthermore, if the Defendant defaults, we have assumed a risk to enforce payment for our clients. 16. Our law firm incurred costs of $568.81. The expenses are summarized as follows: Postage / Copies /Subpoena Expenses: $136.45, Filing Fees: $399.21, Travel: $30.50, Westlaw: $2.65. 17. The Class Representatives, Seyon Haywood and Robert Stewart, were helpful in prosecuting this case. While they did not sit for depositions, I believe their participation warrants an incentive award because of the risk they took by sticking out their neck for their co-workers. In particular, if a prospective employer in the future does a background check that raises civil cases filed (as many do), the employer will see that these individuals sued their past employer. Many employers do not want to hire people who would initiate a class action lawsuit. This is particularly true for low wage workers (like my Class Representatives here) when there are many other people they can hire. Furthermore, we decided to utilize two different class representatives here because of the two different defendants—I wanted one who worked at each entity. 4 18. Our law firm spent approximately 193 hours on this case with a lodestar of $75,307.50. The time is broken down as follows and the experience of each professional is detailed FILED DATE: 9/5/2023 5:29 PM 2019CH12933 on our attached Resume: Professional Hours Rate Total David Fish 65 $595 $38,675 John Kunze 2 $375 $750 Kimberly Hilton .1 $325 $32.50 Mara Baltabols 75.40 $375 $28,275 Paralegal/Legal 50.50 $150 $7,575 Assistants Under penalties as provided by law pursuant to Section 1-109 of the Code of Civil Procedure (735 ILCS 5/1-109), the undersigned certifies that the statements set forth in this instrument are true and correct. FURTHER AFFIANT SAYETH NOT. ______/s/ David Fish________________ Dated: September 5, 2023 5 FISH POTTER BOLANOS, P.C. FILED DATE: 9/5/2023 5:29 PM 2019CH12933 FIRM OVERVIEW Fish Potter Bolaños, P.C. represents workers in labor and employment disputes. Our lawyers have also handled hundreds of class action cases for employees to recover unpaid wages, fight workplace discrimination and harassment, and protect workplace privacy rights. Our lawyers regularly practice before the Department of Labor, the Illinois Department of Human Rights, the National Labor Relations Board, the EEOC, and in state and federal courts. Our lawyers have recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for our clients. Our attorneys are known for their knowledge of labor and employment matters and have been asked to present and publish in various classrooms and online publications to educate others on how this area of the law works. We also have an active pro bono practice and provide employment counseling for no charge to dozens of low-income and elderly clients each year through a partnership with Prairie State Legal Services. In 2022, we were awarded the Illinois State Bar Association’s pro bono award for our outstanding commitment to public service. ATTORNEY PROFILES MARA BALTABOLS Mara is an accomplished civil litigator and class action attorney with a wide range of experience litigating in state and federal court. Mara was recognized as an Illinois Super Lawyer Rising Star in Civil Defense Litigation in 2013, and in Consumer Law in 2016-2019. Mara is a strong believer in taking the best cases to trial. She served as a primary attorney in a case brought Chicago Office Suburban Office 111 East Wacker Drive r 312-861-1800 200 East 5th Avenue Suite 2300 (@ www.fishlawfirm.com _ _ __ Suite 115 Chicago, Illinois 60601 Naperville, Illinois 60653 by a senior citizen against a major loan servicer, Hammer v. RCS, that resulted in a $2,000,000 jury verdict upheld on post-trial motions. She was a featured speaker at NACBA’s 23rd Annual Convention discussing effective adversary proceedings and successfully preparing cases for trial. Mara previously worked as an attorney at Bock, Hatch, Lewis & Oppenheim, LLC (f/k/a Bock & Hatch, LLC) and at Sulaiman Law Group, Ltd. d/b/a Atlas Consumer Law. Mara obtained her J.D. from the University of South Carolina in 2009, and her undergraduate degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 2003. Mara is a member of the Illinois Bar and admitted to practice in the Northern and Southern federal district courts in Illinois. She is also admitted to the Eastern District of Wisconsin and Eastern District of Michigan. MARIA DE LAS NIEVES BOLAÑOS Ms. Bolaños was influenced from a young age by the work and activism of her single mother who worked to provide health care and educational services to Central Washington’s Yakima Valley, including through work with migrant farmworkers and community organizations. It was this background that created Ms. Bolaños’ interest in employment law and drew her to her first legal job with mentor and workers’ rights activist Robin Potter, who later became her law partner. Ms. Bolaños represents workers in wage and hour, False Claims Act, and employment discrimination and retaliation and litigation. She has significant litigation experience at the State and Federal level, as well as with local administrative agencies, including Equal Employment FILED DATE: 9/5/2023 5:29 PM 2019CH12933 Chicago Office J Suburban Office 111 East Wacker Drive 312-861-1800 200 East 5th Avenue @) Suite 1600 www.fishlawfirm.com Suite 115 Chicago, Illinois 60601 Naperville, Illinois 60653 Opportunity Commission, the Illinois Department of Human Rights and the Illinois Education Labor Relations Board. Ms. Bolaños’ experience includes representation of single plaintiffs, class and large class action cases with exceptional results, including a $14 million dollar settlement in a class action sexual harassment case in Brown, et al. v. Cook County, et al., No. 17-cv-8085 (N.D. III. 2020). Ms. Bolaños is a 2009 graduate of DePaul University College of Law. She serves on the Executive Board of the National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA) and is VP of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion on its Executive Committee. She also chares NELA’s Low Wage Worker Practice Group and serves on its Legislative Action Committee and is a member of NELA’s Illinois affiliate, the Illinois State Bar Association, and the National Lawyers Guild’s Chicago Labor and Employment Committee. Ms. Bolaños serves on the ARISE Chicago Legal Advisory Board and serves on the Board for In These Times Magazine. Ms. Bolaños frequently lectures on various employment law matters, including NELA’s Annual Conventions, NELA Illinois’ Seventh Circuit Conference, the Decalogue Society, Illinois Legal Services Committee for Immigrants, and a variety of other organizations. Ms. Bolaños co-authored a brief on behalf of amici curiae Steve Viscelli, Domingo Avalos, Gabriel Procel, Brion Gray, James Zuber, Hector Zelaya, Desiree Ann Wood, the Wage Justice Center and Real Women in Trucking, Inc., in the case, New Prime Inc. v. Oliveira, 139 S.Ct. 532, 202 L.Ed. 2d 536 (2019). FILED DATE: 9/5/2023 5:29 PM 2019CH12933 Chicago Office J Suburban Office 111 East Wacker Drive 312-861-1800 200 East 5th Avenue @) Suite 1600 www.fishlawfirm.com Suite 115 Chicago, Illinois 60601 Naperville, Illinois 60653 ALENNA BOLIN For thirty years, Ms. Bolin has advocated for employees from all walks of life and diverse backgrounds, in workplace civil rights, FMLA, sexual harassment, discrimination, retaliation and retaliatory discharge, and related employment matters. Her creative litigation strategies and advanced writing abilities combine to make her a skilled advocate for her clients. She treats clients with respect and compassion while guiding them through the legal process. She has served as Of Counsel to the firm (formerly Potter Bolaños LLC and Robin Potter & Associates) since 2010. Ms. Bolin previously practiced in the areas of civil rights, contracts, securities, commodities, and fraud, in addition to employment law. She was part of the two-lawyer trial team that won a $500,000 jury verdict on workplace intentional infliction of emotional distress, a verdict that was later upheld on appeal in Naeem v. McKesson Drug Co., 444 F.3d 59 (7th Cir. 2006). She was extensively involved in researching and drafting the winning briefs in Walters v. Metropolitan Educational Enterprises, Inc., 519 S.Ct. 202 (1997), in which the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision favorable to employees. More recently, she participated in case development and discovery on the legal team that achieved a $14 million dollar settlement in a class action sexual harassment case in Brown v. Cook County, et al., No. 17-cv-8085 (N.D. III. 2020). She has served as a contributing author for the Midwinter Report of FMLA Cases, published by the FMLA subcommittee of the Section of Labor and Employment Law of the American Bar Association. FILED DATE: 9/5/2023 5:29 PM 2019CH12933 Chicago Office J Suburban Office 111 East Wacker Drive 312-861-1800 200 East 5th Avenue @) Suite 1600 www.fishlawfirm.com Suite 115 Chicago, Illinois 60601 Naperville, Illinois 60653 Ms. Bolin received her J.D. from the University of California, Davis, School of Law, and her B.A., cum laude, from Northern Illinois University. During law school, she authored an article that won awards for excellence in writing and was published as the Pease Environmental Law Review. Along with her J.D., she received a Public Interest Law Program Certificate. Ms. Bolin is an active member of the National Employment Lawyers Association. PATRICK COWLIN Mr. Cowlin is an experienced attorney who primarily represents employees in wage and hour, discrimination, disparate impact, harassment, retaliation, FMLA, and other employment and qui tam cases. He has successfully litigated and negotiated cases involving individual plaintiffs, as well as class actions and collective actions. He has also represented union members in contract arbitration and administrative proceedings, and public school parents and students in class litigation. Mr. Cowlin was recognized as a top-rated employment litigation attorney in Illinois from 2017-2021, earning a “Rising Star” designation from Illinois Super Lawyers. He graduated with a B.B.A. in Finance from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and graduated cum laude from DePaul University College of Law in 2012. Mr. Cowlin is admitted to the Illinois Bar and the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. He is a member of the National Employment Lawyers Association (“NELA”), NELA-Illinois, and the National Lawyers Guild. He is a part of NELA-Illinois’ FILED DATE: 9/5/2023 5:29 PM 2019CH12933 Chicago Office J Suburban Office 111 East Wacker Drive 312-861-1800 200 East 5th Avenue @) Suite 1600 www.fishlawfirm.com Suite 115 Chicago, Illinois 60601 Naperville, Illinois 60653 Legislative Action Committee, which works to ensure Illinois Law appropriately protect employees’ rights. DAVID FISH For over two decades, Mr. Fish has counseled clients in labor and employment disputes. He originally represented employers and then found, after representing a client in a terrible sexual harassment dispute, that he preferred to represent workers. Representing employees is now his passion and his love of his work has helped him recover hundreds of millions of dollars for his clients. For years, Mr. Fish has also volunteered almost every week to provide pro bono legal services to low income and elderly clients at Prairie State Legal Services. His firm was presented with the Illinois State Bar Association’s pro bono award in 2022. Mr. Fish has, on several occasions, lectured at educational seminars for lawyers and other professionals. He has moderated a continuing legal education panel of federal magistrates and judges on the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, he has presented before the Illinois State Bar Association on electronic discovery rules, and he testified before the United States Judicial Conference in Dallas, Texas regarding electronic discovery issues. Mr. Fish’s publications include: “Enforcing Non-Compete Clauses in Illinois after Reliable Fire”, Illinois Bar Journal; “Top 10 wage violations in Illinois”, ISBA Labor and Employment Newsletter (August, 2017); “Physician Non-Complete Agreements in Illinois: Diagnosis—Critical Condition; Prognosis- Uncertain” DuPage County Bar Journal (October FILED DATE: 9/5/2023 5:29 PM 2019CH12933 Chicago Office J Suburban Office 111 East Wacker Drive 312-861-1800 200 East 5th Avenue @) Suite 1600 www.fishlawfirm.com Suite 115 Chicago, Illinois 60601 Naperville, Illinois 60653 2002); “Are your clients’ arbitration clauses enforceable?” Illinois State Bar Association, ADR Newsletter (October 2012); “The Legal Rock and the Economic Hard Place: Remedies of Associate Attorneys Wrongfully Terminated for Refusing to Violate Ethical Rules”, of W. Los Angeles Law Rev. (1999); “Zero-Tolerance Discipline in Illinois Public Schools” Illinois Bar Journal (May 2001); “Ten Questions to Ask Before Taking a Legal-Malpractice Case” Illinois Bar Journal (July 2002); “The Use Of The Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct to Establish The Standard of Care In Attorney Malpractice Litigation: An Illogical Practice”, Southern Illinois Univ. Law Journal (1998); “An Analysis of Firefighter Drug Testing under the Fourth Amendment”, International Jour. Of Drug Testing (2000); “Local Government Web sites and the First Amendment”, Government Law, (November 2001, Vol. 38). KIMBERLY HILTON Ms. Hilton has worked in the legal field for over twenty years as an attorney, legal assistant, paralegal, and law clerk. Ms. Hilton’s primary focus throughout her career has been in the area of labor and employment. Ms. Hilton has litigated in the state and federal courts and before agencies such as the Illinois Department of Human Rights, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Illinois Human Rights Commission, and the American Arbitration Association. Ms. Hilton graduated cum laude from The John Marshall Law School, Chicago, Illinois in 2010. Ms. Hilton received her Bachelor of Arts in English and Political Science from Cornell College, Mt. Vernon, Iowa in 2003. During law school, Ms. Hilton worked as a judicial extern FILED DATE: 9/5/2023 5:29 PM 2019CH12933 Chicago Office J Suburban Office 111 East Wacker Drive 312-861-1800 200 East 5th Avenue @) Suite 1600 www.fishlawfirm.com Suite 115 Chicago, Illinois 60601 Naperville, Illinois 60653 for the Illinois Appellate Court, First District in Chicago, wrote and edited articles for The John Marshall Law Review, and participated in John Marshall’s Moot Court program. Ms. Hilton is a member of the National Employment Lawyers Association – Illinois and the Illinois State Bar Association. Ms. Hilton has also presented two CLE classes for the DuPage County Bar Association one about the EEOC and IDHR claim procedure and the other about COVID-19 and the new laws that were enacted in light of the pandemic. JAMES GREEN Mr. Green represents individuals denied workers’ compensation, social security or other disability benefits, and unions and union members in labor negotiations and arbitrations, unfair labor practices and dismissal cases. For more than thirty years Mr. Green has successfully represented hundreds of individuals in claims for Workers’ Compensation benefits. He has assisted injured workers in a wide range of employment settings, including the airline industry, healthcare institutions and public schools, to obtain the full benefits they are entitled to receive under the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Statute. He also represents clients who have been denied Social Security Disability Benefits. He is available to assist claimants in guiding them through the entire maze of the bureaucratic process from filing an application to representing them in a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge if their claims are denied. Mr. Green has worked closely with the Chicago Teachers Union for the last ten years. He has represented it in labor arbitrations and unfair labor practice charges before the Illinois Labor FILED DATE: 9/5/2023 5:29 PM 2019CH12933 Chicago Office J Suburban Office 111 East Wacker Drive 312-861-1800 200 East 5th Avenue @) Suite 1600 www.fishlawfirm.com Suite 115 Chicago, Illinois 60601 Naperville, Illinois 60653 Relations Board. He has also represented individual teachers in statutory dismissal hearings and workers’ compensation claims. Mr. Green previously serves as the General Counsel for Teamsters Local 726 from 1994-2009, negotiating contracts and representing the Union in all aspects of its operations. Mr. Green has deep roots in the labor movement prior to practicing law. He began his career organizing child-care workers in Chicago, then worked as a staff director of a local union, and managed a Health, Welfare and Pension fund for the Midwest Region for the International Ladies Garment Workers Union. Mr. Green is an active member of the Chicago Bar Association, the Workers’ Compensation Lawyers’ Association, and the AFL-CIO Union Labor Alliance. Mr. Green graduated cum laude from the John Marshall Law School. JOHN KUNZE John C. Kunze was born and raised in the south-west side of Chicago and graduated from The University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in History. Mr. Kunze graduated cum laude from The John Marshall Law School in Chicago, Illinois. While at John Marshall John was a member of Law Review, co-founded The Video Game Law Society, and was the founding editor of the Society’s Newsletter. Mr. Kunze is a member of the National Employment Lawyers Association and the Illinois State Bar Association. He has worked in employment and class action litigation since 2016 and is the Class Action Department Leader at Fish Potter Bolaños, P.C. FILED DATE: 9/5/2023 5:29 PM 2019CH12933 Chicago Office J Suburban Office 111 East Wacker Drive 312-861-1800 200 East 5th Avenue @) Suite 1600 www.fishlawfirm.com Suite 115 Chicago, Illinois 60601 Naperville, Illinois 60653 SETH MATUS For more than twenty years, Mr. Matus has worked as a lawyer serving businesses ranging from start-ups and family companies to high-tech firms, professional organizations, retailers, and temporary labor services. Mr. Matus has repeatedly saved employers facing class- action overtime lawsuits from multi-million dollar liability and obtained favorable outcomes for general contractors entangled in complex construction disputes. Mr. Matus is a leader in developing and implementing innovative policies and procedures to protect confidential information and trade secrets and in ensuring that businesses comply with applicable law after breaches involving personal data. He has been certified as an information privacy professional in US private-sector law by the International Association of Privacy Professionals and has presented several seminars on information privacy topics to business owners and human resources professionals. Mr. Matus also presented a CLE to the DuPage County Bar Association about the laws enacted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the implications for small businesses in response. Mr. Matus received his JD from the University of Colorado in 1996 and his B.A. from Rutgers in 1992. He is a member of the Illinois, Colorado, and New Mexico bars. THALIA PACHECO Thalia serves as the leader of our employment discrimination department where she litigates the rights of workers. She received her B.A. from Northern Illinois University (DeKalb, FILED DATE: 9/5/2023 5:29 PM 2019CH12933 Chicago Office J Suburban Office 111 East Wacker Drive 312-861-1800 200 East 5th Avenue @) Suite 1600 www.fishlawfirm.com Suite 115 Chicago, Illinois 60601 Naperville, Illinois 60653 Illinois) and received her J.D. from DePaul University College of Law (Chicago). At DePaul, Thalia was the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Women, Gender & Law. While attending law school, Thalia focused her studies in labor and employment law and interned at C-K Law Group: The Law Offices of Chicago-Kent in its Plaintiff’s Employment Law Clinic and Chicago Public Schools in its Labor and Employee Discipline Department. Thalia has worked at a number of Chicago employment law firms in the area, including Siegel and Dolan, The Case Law Firm, and employment defense firm Franczek PC. Thalia is a member of the Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois and the American Bar Association. Thalia is fluent in Spanish. Thalia has presented a CLE for the DuPage County Bar Association about the leave laws related to the COVID-19 pandemic. ROBIN POTTER Robin Potter moved to Chicago in 1978, where she has built a nationwide private practice trying and litigating Labor & Employment, Discrimination, Sex Harassment, Whistleblower, Wage & Hour and False Claims Ac (FCA) individual and class action cases. Her FCA cases have returned ten of millions of dollars to the U.S. treasury and private carriers. She has been proud to serve as counsel to the Chicago Teacher’s Union, union members and leadership working to reform their unions and increase democracy equity and justice in the workplace. Robin served as a government supervisor in overseeing and conducting elections in the Laborers’ International Union (LIUNA). She was also the court-appointed Claims Administrator in Smith v. NIKE, Case No. 03 C 9110 (N.D. Ill., J, Shadur), a class action rase discrimination FILED DATE: 9/5/2023 5:29 PM 2019CH12933 Chicago Office J Suburban Office 111 East Wacker Drive 312-861-1800 200 East 5th Avenue @) Suite 1600 www.fishlawfirm.com Suite 115 Chicago, Illinois 60601 Naperville, Illinois 60653 case and was the Special Master in EEOC v. The Dial Corporation, Case No. 99 C 3356 (N.D.IL.), a pattern and sexual harassment case. Robin has frequently lectured, including at the following venues: American Bar Association Midyear, annual, labor & employment, and EEOC meetings; Illinois State Bar Association (Labor Section); National Employment Lawyers’ Association, Association of Trial Lawyers of America (Civil Rights and Individual Employee Rights Sections); the Taxpayers Against Fraud (lawyers representing plaintiffs in Qui Tam litigation); the American Federation of Teacher and American Federation of Labor Lawyers’ Coordinating Committee; and the Practicing Law Institute. In 2013, the National Lawyers’ Guild, Chicago honored Robin and her firm s co- recipients of the Arthur Kinoy People’s Law Award, “in recognition of tireless advocacy on behalf of the Chicago Teachers Union and Chicago Public School students, parents, and employees.” Also in 2016, Robin was a finalist for the Public Justice Trial Lawyer of the Year Award for “outstanding contribution to the public interest” for her work in the case United States and State of Illinois, ex rel Absher v. Momence Meadows Nursing Center, Inc. The Chicago Democratic Socialists of America honored Robin at their 2014 Debs-Thomas-Harrington Dinner for her work supporting the labor movement and employees’ rights. Robin helped found the Nation Employment Lawyers Association and its Illinois chapter, NELA-Illinois, and remains an active member of both organizations. She is also a member of Taxpayers Against Fraud, the Chicago Bar Association, and the American Bar Association Litigation and Labor and Employment Section. She is on the Board of Directors of Advocates for FILED DATE: 9/5/2023 5:29 PM 2019CH12933 Chicago Office J Suburban Office 111 East Wacker Drive 312-861-1800 200 East 5th Avenue @) Suite 1600 www.fishlawfirm.com Suite 115 Chicago, Illinois 60601 Naperville, Illinois 60653 Justice, a New York City based group engaged in nationwide advocacy and litigation, in public education and other areas of law reform. Robin is a 1977 graduate of the University of Iowa Law School. MARTIN STAINTHORP Martin has over a decade of experience advocating for workers’ rights, both as a union organizer and representative, and as an employment law attorney since 2021. He primarily represents employees in wage and hour, discrimination, harassment, retaliation, FMLA, and other employment cases. He has litigated in the Chicago state and federal courts and before agencies such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Illinois Department of Human Rights, and the Illinois Department of Employment Security. Martin received his B.A. from the University of Richmond in 2007 and graduated cum laude from Chicago-Kent College of Law in 2021 with a certificate in Labor and Employment Law. Martin is a member of the National Employment Lawyers Association – Illinois. He is admitted to the Illinois State Bar and the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. FILED DATE: 9/5/2023 5:29 PM 2019CH12933 Chicago Office J Suburban Office 111 East Wacker Drive 312-861-1800 200 East 5th Avenue @) Suite 1600 www.fishlawfirm.com Suite 115 Chicago, Illinois 60601 Naperville, Illinois 60653 REPRESENTATIVE CASES Some examples of class, collective, and/or employment litigation in which Fish Potter Bolaños, P.C. (or our prior firms, The Fish Law Firm PC, Potter Bolaños, LLC, and Robin Potter & Associates) has served as counsel include: a. Brown v. Cook County, No. 17-C-8085, 332 F.R.D. 229 (N.D.Ill.) ($14 million sexual harassment recovery for class of 532 assistant public defenders and law clerks certified in suit alleging hostile work environment due to egregious harassment by pre-trial detainees). b. Chicago Teachers Union v. Board of Education of City of Chicago, Case No. 15-cv-08149 (N.D. Ill.)($9.25 million race discrimination class action settlement for black teachers and paraprofessionals arising out of closure of Chicago schools). c. U.S.A. ex rel. Lokesh Chandra, M.D. v. Sushil A. Sheth, M.D., Case No. 06 C 2191 (N.D. Ill.) (False Claims Act case; $20 million settlement with the United States government). d. Nelson v. UBS Global Management, No. 03-C-6446, 04 C 7660 (N. D. Ill.)(ERISA class action on behalf of thousands of BP Amoco employees who had Enron debt purchased as part of their money market fund; recovery of approximately $7 million). e. Franzen v. IDS Futures Corporation, 06 CV 3012 (N. D. Ill. 2006)(recovery of millions of dollars for more than 1,000 limited partners in an investment fund that lost value as a result of the Refco bankruptcy). f. Kuhl v. Guitar Center, Case No. 07 C 214 (J. Gottschall)(nation-wide FLSA and Rule 23 class for commissioned sales force; class settlement of $2,870,000 - 9000 class members) g. Pope v. Harvard Bancshares, 06 CV 988, 240 F.R.D 383 (N. D. Ill. 2006)(class action recovery of $1.3 million for former shareholders of community bank who had stock repurchased in a reorganization). FILED DATE: 9/5/2023 5:29 PM 2019CH12933 Chicago Office J Suburban Office 111 East Wacker Drive 312-861-1800 200 East 5th Avenue @) Suite 1600 www.fishlawfirm.com Suite 115 Chicago, Illinois 60601 Naperville, Illinois 60653 h. Biometric Class Action Settlements: See, e.g., Crumpton v. Octapharma Plasma, 19-cv-8402 (N.D. Ill) ($9.9 million); Philips v. Biolife Plasma, 2020 CH 5758, (Cir. Ct. Cook Cnty.) ($5.98 million); O’Sullivan, et. al. v. WAM Holdings, Inc., 2019-CH-11575 (Cir. Ct. Cook Cnty.) ($5.85 million); Davis v. Heartland Emp. Servs., No. 19-cv-00680, dkt. 130 (N.D. Ill.) ($5.4 million); Johnson v. Resthaven/Providence Life Servs., 2019-CH-1813 (Cir. Ct. Cook Cnty.) ($3 million); Burlinski v. Top Golf USA, No. 19-cv-06700, dkt. 103 (N.D. Ill.) ($2.6 million); Diller v. Ryder Integrated Logistics, 2019-CH-3032 (Cir. Ct. Cook Cnty.) ($2.25 million); Jones v. Rosebud Rests., Inc., 2019 CH 10620 (Cir. Ct. Cook Cnty.) ($2.1 million); Barnes v. Aryzta, LLC, 288 F. Supp. 3d 834 (N.D. Ill and Cook County)($2.9 million class action recovery under BIPA); Ralph/Memoli v. Get Fresh Produce Inc., 2019CH2324 ($675,000 settlement on a class wide basis for claims under Biometric Information Privacy Act); Parker v. DaBecca Natural Foods, 2019CH1845 ($999,975 settlement on a class wide basis for claims under Biometric Information Privacy Act) i. Cesarz et al v. Wynn Las Vegas LLC et al, 2:13-cv-00109 (Nevada)($5.6 million FLSA settlement against Wynn Las Vegas casino workers) j. Cruz v. Unilock Chicago, Inc., (J. Colwell) 383 Ill. App. 3d 752; 892 N.E.2d 78; 322 Ill. Dec. 831 (1st Dist. 2008)(certified class of 300 plant employees under IMWL and IWPCA; class-wide settlement of $1,600,000) k. Canas v. Smithfield Foods, 2020CV4937($7.75 million recovery under FLSA and IMWL for COVID-19 pandemic related bonuses) l. Balonek et al v. Safeway et al., No. 14-cv-01457 (N.D.Ill.) (class action settlement under FLSA and IMWL for $1.7 million on behalf of General Merchandise Managers and Assistant General Merchandise managers who worked in Illinois at Dominick’s) m. Blount v. Stroud, et al., 01 L 2330 (Cook County, IL)($3.1 million verdict for retaliatory discharge and retaliation under 42 U.S.C. §1981, November 2005; 376 Ill. App. 3d 935, 877 N.E.2d 49 (1st Dist. 2007)(verdict rev’d. on IDHR preemption grounds); PLA recon. granted to Illinois Supreme Court - 232 Ill. 2d 302, 904 N.E.2d 1 (2008)(reversing and remanding to Appellate Court), 395 Ill. App. 3d 8; 915 N.E.2d 925; 2009 Ill. App. LEXIS 553; 333 Ill. Dec. FILED DATE: 9/5/2023 5:29 PM 2019CH12933 Chicago Office J Suburban Office 111 East Wacker Drive 312-861-1800 200 East 5th Avenue @) Suite 1600 www.fishlawfirm.com Suite 115 Chicago, Illinois 60601 Naperville, Illinois 60653 854; 106 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 1163 (1st Dist. - Oct. 6, 2009);(denying remaining post- trial appeals and reinstating jury verdict); Rehearing den., 2009 Ill. App. LEXIS 1051 (Ill. App. Ct. 1st Dist., Oct