CHICAGO, IL (December 18, 2012) – Littler Mendelson, P.C. (Littler), the world’s largest employment and labor law firm representing management, has added James (Jim) M. Witz as a shareholder to its growing ranks. Witz joins Littler from Freeborn & Peters LLP where he was a partner and head of its Non-Competition and Trade Secret practice. He will co-lead Littler’s Chicago Unfair Competition and Trade Secrets practice with Littler shareholder David Haase, in addition to continuing his general employment litigation and counseling practice.
“Jim brings with him an impressive litigation track record and employment law experience,” said Adam Wit, Chicago office managing shareholder. “We are excited to work with someone of his caliber as we continue to enhance the way we serve our clients’ needs.”
Witz has more than 20 years of experience handling high-stakes litigation matters in state and Federal courts throughout the country. He is a recognized expert in the area of non-competition and trade secret disputes and has obtained multiple seven figure trial verdicts for clients including an approximately $2.6 million judgment in a trade secret matter tried before a Florida state court jury, and a $1.9 million verdict after a bench trial before the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
“I am delighted to be working with the Littler team,” added Witz. “The firm’s national platform and depth of experience, coupled with my expertise in the increasingly complex non-competition and trade secret arena, is a powerful combination.”
Witz routinely prosecutes and defends significant trade secret and restrictive covenant litigation in courts throughout the U.S. and represents both large publicly-traded companies and small businesses in a variety of industries including insurance, printing, health care, food service and software. Furthermore, Witz counsels clients on employee hiring, termination and related matters, including the drafting and implementation of effective employment agreements, confidentiality policies and restrictive covenants. He is a frequent speaker and author on topics related to restrictive covenants and trade secrets and has been published in and provided commentary for leading legal publications on cutting-edge legal issues. Witz also handles a wide variety of other employment litigation and counseling for clients and leads internal investigations of senior employees for multiple clients.
Witz received his J.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law in 1992 and earned his B.A. from Wesleyan University in Connecticut.
About Littler Mendelson
Littler Mendelson is the world’s largest labor and employment firm exclusively devoted to representing management. With over 950 attorneys and 56 offices throughout the U.S. and globally, Littler has extensive resources to address the needs of U.S.-based and multi-national clients from navigating domestic and international employment laws and labor relations issues to applying corporate policies worldwide. Established in 1942, the firm has litigated, mediated and negotiated some of the most influential employment law cases and labor contracts on record.
