William J Wortel

Practice Areas

William (Bill) Wortel is the former leader of the firm's Global Employment & Labor Practice Group and the current co-leader of the firm’s Non-Compete, Trade Secret and Employee Unfair Competition Team. He has over 25 years of experience litigating complex cases in a variety of litigation in federal and state courts and in the U.S. Courts of Appeals. His lead counsel experience includes high-stakes non-competition and trade secret litigation, defense of wage and hour class actions, and defense of actions alleging violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Reconstruction Act of 1866, the Labor Management Relations Act, ERISA, and the Illinois Human Rights Act. He has also defended employers against claims of retaliatory discharge, breach of contract, defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, fraud, negligent retention, negligent supervision, public disclosure of private facts, and intrusion upon the seclusion of another.

Bill has extensive experience drafting and negotiating executive employment agreements, drafting restrictive covenant agreements for use throughout the United States, and negotiating the resolution of sensitive disputes between employers and their C-suite executives.

Bill oversees and conducts a wide range of workplace investigations, often involving sensitive subject matters and high-level executives. In addition, Bill assists employers in avoiding litigation through the development, implementation, and application of harassment, drug testing, and other personnel policies and employee handbooks.