Diane E. Gianos, who has developed broad and deep expertise in labor and employment law, has joined Faegre Baker Daniels LLP as a partner in the firm’s Chicago office.
Gianos brings more than 20 years of experience serving as counsel to management for employers of all sizes, including Fortune 100 companies, closely held businesses, nonprofit organizations and partnerships. Her national practice includes litigation in federal and state courts, as well as representation of employers before governmental agencies, including the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and state human rights commissions.
Before joining Faegre Baker Daniels, Gianos was a partner in Ice Miller’s Chicago office. She also is a former partner at Foley & Lardner and worked as a tax analyst at RR Donnelly throughout law school. Gianos earned degrees from the Kent College of Law at Illinois Institute of Technology and DePaul University.
Gianos has been named to Illinois Super Lawyers five times since 2008. She has extensive employment litigation experience, including lead counsel designation representing employers in pattern and practice lawsuits brought by the EEOC and multi-plaintiff cases under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. Throughout her career, Gianos has successfully defended employers in a variety of employment disputes, including wrongful termination and discrimination claims, retaliatory discharge actions, misclassification of employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act, reasonable accommodation claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), non-compete/trade secret litigation, wage and hour audits, breach of employment contracts, and tortuous interference claims.
Gianos has successfully litigated precedent-setting employment cases and been notably successful in securing summary disposition of employment litigation and dismissal of charges before federal and state agencies. In addition to traditional litigation matters, she regularly counsels employers on statutory compliance with employment statutes, affirmative action compliance programs, union avoidance techniques, collective bargaining and arbitration matters, employee handbooks, plant closings and relocations, employment contracts, and sensitive personnel policies, including drug testing and sexual harassment, as well as other employment-related issues.
