Barnes & Thornburg LLP announced today that David B. Ritter has joined the firm’s Chicago office as a partner in the Labor & Employment Law Department. Ritter previously chaired the Labor & Employment practice group at Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg LLP, where he also served on the firm’s Executive Committee.
Ritter has nearly 30 years of experience in representing public and private companies in a variety of service and manufacturing industries. He represents clients in all aspects of labor and employment law and litigation, including complaints of discrimination and harassment, trade secret and non-compete covenants, and various disputes involving tort, contract and statutory claims by employees. Ritter handles litigation in state and federal courts nationwide.
Ritter regularly counsels high-level executives and trains employees with respect to employment issues. He represents clients before governmental agencies, including the National Labor Relations Board, the Department of Labor, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs and similar state agencies. He has also defended employers faced with claims under Sarbanes-Oxley.
“David is one of the most prominent labor and employment attorneys in Chicago,” said Mark E. Rust, managing partner of Barnes & Thornburg’s Chicago office. “He joins an already outstanding labor and employment group, which has been a longstanding pillar of strength for the firm, and will be a tremendous asset to our clients as we strategically enhance and grow those capabilities in this market.”
Prior to his legal career, Ritter worked at Exxon Mobil (f/k/a Mobil Oil Corporation) as an employee relations assistant.
“For good reason, David is a highly respected national litigator and counselor,” said Kenneth J. Yerkes, chair of the firm’s national Labor & Employment Law Department. “His clients will benefit from our platform and David will now have deep resources to complement his individual talent. We benefit because he is an outstanding person and a great fit with our Department.”
Ritter is the latest labor and employment attorney to join Barnes & Thornburg, which also added Shawn Pearson in Minneapolis in June, as well as John Meyers in Atlanta in September.
