Steven J. Pearlman

Practice Areas

Steven J. Pearlman is a partner in Proskauer's Labor & Employment Law Department, where he is Head of the Restrictive Covenants, Trade Secrets & Unfair Competition Group and Co-Head of the Whistleblowing & Retaliation Group.

Employment, Restrictive Covenant & Trade Secret, and Whistleblower Practice. Steven’s national practice focuses on defending companies in federal and state courts and in arbitration fora against the full spectrum of employment-related claims, including claims of high-level executives; whistleblower retaliation under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the Dodd-Frank Act and similar state laws; restrictive covenant violations; employee raiding; theft of trade secrets; and wage-and-hour violations, including class, collective and PAGA actions.

Steven has successfully handled trials in multiple jurisdictions; prevailed in seeking and defending against applications for temporary restraining orders and preliminary injunctions in restrictive covenant and trade secret cases; defended one of the largest Illinois-only class actions in the history of the federal courts in Illinois (over 90k putative class members); and prevailed following his oral arguments before federal and state appellate courts. He brings his litigation experience (beginning in 1998) to bear in counseling clients to minimize risk and avoid or prepare for success in litigation.

Investigations. Reporting to boards of directors, their audit committees, CEOs and in-house counsel, Steven conducts sensitive investigations and has the unusual experience of testifying in federal court in connection with investigations. His investigations have involved complaints of sexual harassment involving C-suite officers; systemic violations of employment laws and company policies; and fraud, compliance failures and unethical conduct.

Thought Leadership and Accolades. Steven was named Lawyer of the Year for Chicago Labor & Employment Litigation in the 2023 edition of The Best Lawyers in America. He is a Fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers. Chambers has reported:

In 2024, Steven received the Excellence in Pro Bono Service Award from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and the Chicago Chapter of the Federal Bar Association.