Mary Stowell

Retired Founding Partner

Mary Stowell is a founding partner of Stowell & Friedman, Ltd.

Ms. Stowell has handled single and multiple plaintiff cases and class actions and has obtained judgments and/or substantial settlements for clients on claims for age, race, sex, and pregnancy violations, First Amendment and Due Process Constitutional claims, W.A.R.N. Act, disability discrimination, sexual harassment, retaliation, wrongful discharge, Fair Labor Standards Act, breach of contract and defamation actions.

Further, she has developed a concentration in sex discrimination, sexual harassment, pregnancy and glass ceiling issues in the securities industry. Ms. Stowell successfully represented thousands of plaintiffs in civil rights actions, including the landmark nationwide sex discrimination class action lawsuits Cremin, et al. v. Merrill Lynch and Martens et al. v. Smith Barney.

Prior to founding Stowell & Friedman, Ltd., Ms. Stowell was an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Northern District Court of Chicago for the criminal division, spending the last years in the Special Prosecutions Divisions investigating and trying complex financial and political corruption cases, including complex RICO conspiracy, commodity, bank, tax and mail fraud cases.

Ms. Stowell has taught at both the Advocacy Institute, sponsored by the Department of Justice, while an Assistant U.S. Attorney, and the National Institute of Trial Advocacy.

Ms. Stowell has been recognized multiple times as an Illinois "Super Lawyer" by Super Lawyers Magazine. She has been recognized as an Illinois "Leading Lawyer" by Leading Lawyers Network and has been voted by Leading Lawyers Network as one of the "Top 10 Women Employment Attorneys in Illinois", "Top 100 Consumer Lawyers in Illinois," "Top 100 Leading Women Consumer Lawyers in Illinois" and "Top 10 Plaintiff's Employment Lawyers in Illinois." American Lawyer Media named Ms. Stowell one of the "Ten Most Influential Women Lawyers in Illinois." Ms. Stowell is AV Peer Review Rated by Lexis/Nexis Martindale-Hubbell – the highest possible rating for both ethical standards and legal ability.

In 2019, Stowell & Friedman, Ltd. was recognized as a Civil Liberties Champion by ACLU of Illinois for its leadership and support of the Illinois Police Practices Project and dedication to racial justice.

Ms. Stowell is a member of the prestigious American College of Trial Lawyers.

Suzanne E. Bish

Partner

Suzanne E. Bish is a partner with Stowell & Friedman, Ltd.. Suzanne represents employees seeking to vindicate their civil rights as part of her unwavering commitment to eliminate discrimination in the workplace and in society.

Suzanne has successfully represented victims of discrimination, harassment and retaliation in court and in arbitration, including in trials that resulted in multi-million dollar verdicts for her clients. Suzanne represents employees as individuals and in groups, and has extensive class action litigation experience. Suzanne was appointed class counsel in the nationwide race discrimination lawsuit, McReynolds v. Merrill Lynch (ND Ill) ($160 million settlement for African American brokers); Slaughter v. Wells Fargo (ND Ill) ($35.5 million settlement for African American financial advisors); Creighton v. MetLife (SDNY) ($32.5 million settlement for African American Financial Advisors and Trainees); Senegal v. JP Morgan Chase (ND Ill) ($19.5 million settlement for African American and Black financial advisors and associates); the nationwide wage class and collective action, Martignago v. Merrill Lynch (SDNY) ($12 million settlement for sales assistants); Williams v. Wells Fargo ($3.5 million settlement for advisor trainees that ended training cost obligations); and the discrimination case Biondo v. City of Chicago (ND Ill) (successful liability and damages trials, followed by settlement).

Recognizing that the best outcome is often one that avoids litigation, Suzanne regularly assists clients in attaining favorable out-of-court resolutions that further their career and personal goals. Suzanne counsels employees through career issues and transitions and negotiates employment and severance agreements.

Prior to joining Stowell & Friedman, Ltd., Suzanne worked at Sidley Austin LLP, representing corporate and individual clients in complex financial and commercial litigation in courts and arbitrations. Much of Suzanne's practice involved representing plaintiffs in financial fraud matters. Suzanne also represented individual executives and board members in governmental and corporate internal investigations and represented criminal defendants and grand-jury targets in white-collar matters.

Suzanne served as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Elaine E. Bucklo, United States District Judge for the Northern District of Illinois from 1999-2000.

Prior to attending law school, Suzanne worked as a Certified Public Accountant and auditor for a Big 4 accounting firm in New York, NY.

Suzanne currently serves on the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals Electronic Discovery Pilot Program and recently served as Chair of the Labor & Employment Committee of the Chicago Bar Association. Suzanne is a regular speaker on class action and employment law issues.

Suzanne is deeply committed to issues of civil rights and economic justice and has served as a volunteer or board member with a number of organizations dedicated to fair housing, civil rights, and ensuring that all children have safe homes and equal access to educational opportunities.

Stowell & Friedman, Ltd. is the proud winner of the 2018 National Law Journal Elite Trial Lawyers Award for exemplary work on behalf of plaintiffs. The firm was awarded this honor in two categories--Employment Rights and Racial Discrimination.

Jennifer Schoen Gilbert

Partner

Jennifer Schoen Gilbert is a partner with Stowell & Friedman, Ltd. dedicated to defending employees’ civil rights. She focuses on employment litigation and representing clients in court as well as in arbitration and mediation proceedings. Ms. Gilbert has earned a reputation as a passionate and creative advocate for employees and for helping her clients get the results they desire both in and out of court.

Ms. Gilbert has extensive experience in employment-related matters, having counseled and represented clients in an array of complex matters, including litigation, arbitration, and negotiation regarding claims of sexual harassment, discrimination, and retaliation, and in disputes over severance and executive compensation agreements.

Ms. Gilbert's clients include top Fortune 500 C-Suite level executives, senior management-level employees, and many other individual employees. Before joining Stowell & Friedman, Ms. Gilbert practiced at a nationally recognized Chicago law firm in their Securities Litigation practice group and was involved in the representation of broker/dealers with respect to a wide range of investor and employee disputes. Ms. Gilbert uses her training and experience from representing both employers and employees to help her clients obtain favorable results with the least amount of disruption to their businesses and personal lives.

Ms. Gilbert earned one of her biggest successes in court as class counsel in Martignago v. Merrill Lynch. In this national wage and hour collective and class action, Ms. Gilbert worked with class members to build the case and led the attorney team in both the class-based discovery efforts and in the negotiation of a $12 million settlement. Ms. Gilbert has been consistently recognized as an Illinois Leading Lawyer in Employment Law since 2015 and was included in both the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin and Chicago Lawyer’s 2015 list of “40 Under Forty” Illinois attorneys to watch.

Ms. Gilbert resides in Lincoln Park with her husband, children, and golden retriever.

Shona B. Glink

Partner

Shona B. Glink is a partner with Stowell & Friedman, Ltd. and is engaged in a broad-based employment law practice, with emphasis on complex and individual employment litigation. She joined Stowell & Friedman, Ltd. in 2012, having previously been a named partner with the law firm of Meites, Mulder & Glink, where she handled class and complex litigation with a focus on civil rights and employment law. She also handled ERISA litigation, 10(b)(5) securities matters, False Claims Act litigation and other complex matters. Before joining Meites, Mulder & Glink, Ms. Glink worked for the City of Chicago’s Law Department successfully defending its right to engage in lawful affirmative action measures to address the lingering effects of past and present discrimination against African-Americans and Hispanics in the Fire and Police departments and on evaluating the validity of hire and promotional selection procedures under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended.

Ms. Glink has successfully represented victims of discrimination, harassment and retaliation in court and in arbitration, including cases that resulted in multi-million dollar verdicts for her clients. She participated on behalf of the plaintiffs in the statistical evidence hearing held in the case of Cremin v. Merrill Lynch, which resulted in a finding of class-wide pattern and practice of gender discrimination. The result was a settlement process that led to the ultimate recovery of hundreds of millions of dollars for women. Ms. Glink also has been counsel in other high-profile significant class and multiple plaintiff litigation against large corporations including Caterpillar, Allstate, EMC Corporation, Merrill Lynch, Combined Insurance Company, General Dynamics and McDonnell Douglas, among others. Ms. Glink has represented clients nationwide, including in private mediation and arbitration before FINRA, state and federal district courts and before the Seventh and Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. She has worked extensively with experts in the fields of economics, labor economics, statistics,industrial organizational psychology, sociology, test validation and development and damages.

Ms. Glink also has been a speaker on employment-related matters at bar association functions and Continuing Legal Education seminars including the American Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Conference, the National Employment Lawyers Association’s annual national conference, the Impact Fund, and the Practicing Law Institute of New York.

Ms. Glink started her legal career as a law clerk to the Honorable George M. Marovich, United States District Court for the Northern District. Ms. Glink has dedicated her career to eradicating discrimination in the workplace and ensuring that employers, including municipalities, evaluate their employees in a fair and non-discriminatory manner. Based in New York, Ms. Glink is certified to practice law in the states of Illinois, Georgia and New York.

George S. Robot

Partner

George S. Robot is a partner with Stowell & Friedman, Ltd. specializing in employment discrimination. He has represented and counseled hundreds of female and minority clients in a wide range of discrimination matters, including landmark lawsuits against Merrill Lynch and Smith Barney.

Originally trained as an engineer, George not only brings legal and trial expertise to plaintiffs' cases, but also technical and analytical expertise critical to winning discrimination cases in today's legal environment.

As electronic discovery has become increasingly prevalent today, not only are plaintiffs confronted with potentially massive amounts of data, but employment discrimination in many instances also has become less overt. Successful prosecution not only requires strong legal and litigation skills but also the technical ability to identify and analyze increasingly large data sets to prove discrimination. George brings unmatched expertise to this aspect of employment law.

As part of his practice, George also regularly represents clients in private arbitration and mediation proceedings as well as before administrative agencies including the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Illinois Department of Labor and Human Rights and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).

Stowell & Friedman, Ltd. is the proud winner of the 2018 National Law Journal Elite Trial Lawyers Award for exemplary work on behalf of plaintiffs. The firm was awarded this honor in two categories--Employment Rights and Racial Discrimination.

Jared Calvert

Associate

Jared Calvert is an associate with Stowell & Friedman, Ltd. Jared assists clients in a range of employment disputes related to workplace discrimination, both in court and in arbitration and mediation proceedings.

Jared is committed to fighting for civil rights and equality in the workplace. Jared was inspired to become a civil rights lawyer after serving as a law clerk with Stowell & Friedman prior to, and during, law school. Jared helped the firm secure major victories for clients, including the firm's historic settlement in McReynolds v. Merrill Lynch. More importantly, Jared saw first-hand the bravery of individuals who stood up against discrimination, harassment, and retaliation in their own lives and knew he wanted to be a zealous advocate for them.

Jared began his legal career serving as a law clerk for Justice Peter J. Maassen on the Alaska Supreme Court. In that role, he drafted several opinions on legal issues ranging from simple property disputes to constitutional matters facing the court. Jared also volunteered with the Alaska State Court's volunteer mediation program.

Jared graduated cum laude from Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law and was a recipient of the Law School's early admission full-tuition scholarship. During law school, Jared worked with the Roderick & Solange MacArthur Justice Center, assisting the clinic with "impact litigation" designed to advance criminal justice reform. With the clinic, Jared worked on a class-action lawsuit aimed at reforming the Chicago Police Department's use-of-force practices. Jared was also a Research Assistant for Professor Joshua Kleinfeld and a Teaching Assistant for Professor Daniel Gandert. In addition, Jared served as the Executive Editor for the Law School's Journal of Law and Social Policy as well as a judicial extern with a magistrate judge in the Federal District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

Jared received a Bachelor of Arts degree with honors from Pitzer College. He was an active member of many political campaigns, including Barack Obama's 2008 and 2012 presidential campaigns. Jared was also a 2013-14 Coro Fellow in Public Affairs in St. Louis, Missouri.

Jared resides in Chicago and is an avid Chicago Cubs fan.

Mark Current

Associate

Mark S. Current is an associate with Stowell & Friedman, Ltd. Mark assists clients in a range of employment disputes related to race, gender, and other forms of workplace discrimination.

Before entering law school, Mark worked for four years at the Chicago employment-discrimination and fair housing law firm Kinoy, Taren & Geraghty, P.C. as a para-legal where he found his passion for civil rights and employment law. Throughout law school, Mark served as law clerk at Stowell & Friedman.

Mark graduated cum laude from Loyola University Chicago School of Law in 2019. During law school, he served as a judicial extern with a district court judge in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. He also served as a court-appointed guardian ad litem for minors in the Circuit Court of Cook County with the Loyola University Community Law Clinic, where he presented fact-finding and recommendations in petitions to discharge guardianships. Mark was the Managing Editor of the fiftieth volume of the Loyola University Chicago Law Journal.

Truscenialyn Brooks

Of Counsel

Truscenialyn Brooks is Of Counsel with Stowell & Friedman, Ltd. Truscenialyn assist clients in a range of employment disputes related to race, gender, and other forms of workplace discrimination. She has prior experience representing corporate clients in labor and employment -related matters including conducting internal investigations of sexual harassment and/or race discrimination, litigating breach of employment agreements, and drafting corporate employment handbooks.

Before joining Stowell & Friedman, Ltd., Truscenialyn worked as an Associate at Perkins Coie’s Madison office in the Patent Litigation, General Commercial Litigation, and Labor and Employment groups. Truscenialyn has substantial experience litigating in federal and state court. This includes drafting and arguing motions, drafting summary judgment briefs, managing discovery, and defending and taking depositions. She also has trial experience that includes managing large trial teams during multiple week trials, coordinating exhibits and evidence, preparing witnesses for trial testimony, cross examining witnesses, and arguing evidentiary matters before the Court. Truscenialyn also has experience resolving matters through mediation.

Truscenialyn has helped numerous pro bono clients resolve their legal matters. This includes securing meaningful access to the court by litigating an inmates right to scribe materials, representing an inmate who needed mental health care that the state had denied him, and enforcing a Japanese civil judgment awarded to a foreign rape victim against a U.S. Soldier. But Truscenialyn’s most rewarding representation was securing the release of a man who had served nearly twenty years in prison for a crime he did not commit by successfully arguing ineffective assistance of counsel.

Outside of her practice, Truscenialyn is engaged in the community. She was previously a Board of Governor for the State Bar of Wisconsin, and a Board Member of the non-profit law firm Community Justice, Incorporated. Truscenialyn is currently serving an appointment to the Governor's Judicial Selection Advisory Committee, and a board member of Doyenne, Inc. whose mission is to "build entrepreneurial ecosystems that invest in the power and potential of women entrepreneurs."

Truscenialyn has had the honor to be recognized as an Up and Coming Lawyer by the Wisconsin Law Journal in 2019, Marian University's Distinguished Alumni Award in 2019, a 40 Under 40 by InBusiness in 2018, inducted as a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation in 2017, a Fellow of the Wisconsin Law Foundation in 2016, a Top 40 Under 40 by the National Black Lawyers in 2016, a Beacon of Light by the Milwaukee Community Journal in 2016, listed on the Lawyers of Color Inaugural Hotlist in 2013, and a recipient of the Western District of Wisconsin Bar Association Pro Bono Award in 2012.

Daniel Lewin

Of Counsel

Daniel Lewin is Of Counsel with Stowell & Friedman, Ltd. Daniel assists clients in a range of employment disputes related to race, gender, and other forms of workplace discrimination.

Before joining Stowell & Friedman, Ltd., Daniel worked in the Criminal Appeals Division of the Illinois Attorney General’s Office, where he briefed and argued several cases in the Illinois Supreme and Appellate Courts. Daniel started his career as an associate at Quarles & Brady LLP in the Commercial Litigation Group, where he gained substantial experience litigating in federal and state court. Daniel was the proud recipient of the firm’s inaugural Pro Bono Associate of the Year award in 2015, recognizing his hundreds of hours of pro bono work.

Daniel also served as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Joan H. Lefkow and Marvin E. Aspen, United States District Judges for the Northern District of Illinois.

Caitlin Kearney

Associate

Caitlin Kearney is an associate with Stowell & Friedman, Ltd. Caitlin assists clients in a range of employment disputes related to race, gender, and other forms of workplace discrimination.

Before entering law school, Caitlin worked as a Policy Associate for the Better Government Association and then as a Compliance Officer for the City of Chicago Office of Inspector General. There, she monitored and audited the City’s compliance with its hiring plans, designed to rid the City’s hiring and employment actions from political or other improper considerations.

Caitlin graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School. During law school, she served as a law clerk at Lichten & Liss-Riordan, a Boston-based plaintiff employment firm. She also participated in a variety of clinics, representing clients in consumer protection and civil rights matters as well as at administrative hearings at public housing authorities. She served as an Executive Editor for the Harvard Law Review. Prior to joining Stowell & Friedman, she clerked on the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals and in the Northern District of Illinois.

Lindsay Hagy

Associate

Lindsay Hagy is an associate with Stowell & Friedman, Ltd., representing employees seeking justice and redress for unlawful discriminatory practices in the workplace. Lindsay represents plaintiffs in both individual and class action suits in mediation, arbitration, and litigation. Throughout her career, Lindsay has taken an empathetic, client-centered, and justice-focused approach to all stages of litigation. Prior to joining the firm, Lindsay was an associate at Loevy & Loevy. Lindsay began her work at Loevy & Loevy and the Exoneration Project at the University of Chicago Law School – a legal clinic dedicated to overturning wrongful convictions – as part of a U.S. Department of Justice grant to review convictions in Iowa that rested on the now discredited practice of microscopic hair analysis. Lindsay’s work at Loevy & Loevy in both the post-conviction and civil rights fields focuses on wrongful convictions, focused on government misconduct and the evolution of forensic science. Lindsay’s work helped achieve financial settlements and verdicts, motion wins, reduced sentences, and exonerations for her clients.

Prior to joining Loevy & Loevy and the Exoneration Project, Lindsay was an associate at a mid-sized Chicago law firm focused on employment litigation and insurance disputes. Lindsay developed a passion for social justice when she chaired Chicago Appleseed Fund for Justice’s Criminal Justice Advisory Group on court costs, fines, and fees. There she worked to secure passage of the Criminal and Traffic Assessment Act, resulting in reform of Illinois’s court costs, fines, and fees system.

Lindsay began her legal career as a clerk for the Honorable James T. Moody on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana. She graduated from Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, cum laude, in 2009. Prior to law school she was grant manager for a Chicagoland family support agency and a fact checker for Russia-related articles in a major encyclopedia.

Adam Howard Lewis

Associate

Adam Lewis is an associate with Stowell & Friedman, Ltd. Adam assists clients in a range of employment disputes related to race, gender, and other forms of workplace discrimination.

Before entering law school, Adam worked as a law clerk at Stowell & Friedman where he became inspired to pursue a career as an employment attorney and to help seek justice for victims of discrimination in the workplace.

Adam graduated from Loyola University Chicago School of Law in 2022. During law school, Adam served as a court-appointed guardian ad litem with the Loyola University Community Law Clinic where he investigated a guardianship dispute and made his recommendation to the Circuit Court of Cook County as a representative of the child’s best interests

Adam graduated from Case Western Reserve University in 2018 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics.

Pierre' Collins

Associate

Before entering law school, Pierre worked as a Bill Emmerson National Fellow at the Congressional Hunger Center. There, he conducted research at the University of Rhode Island and the National Homelessness Law Center in Washington, D.C. His research focused on food insecurity among college students and the unconstitutionality of anti-panhandling laws across the nation.

Pierre graduated from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law. During law school, Pierre worked in a mix of public and private settings. He served as a judicial extern at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio and the Ohio Supreme Court. Pierre also worked as a summer associate at two law firms and served as a law clerk at the National Homelessness Law Center. He was the Executive Editor for the Ohio State Journal on Dispute Resolution. Prior to joining Stowell & Friedman, he clerked at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.

Ben Gerig Shelly

Associate

Ben Gerig Shelly is an associate with Stowell & Friedman, Ltd. Ben assists clients in a range of employment disputes related to race, gender, and other forms of workplace discrimination.

Ben began his legal career serving as a clerk for Chief Judge Rebecca R. Pallmeyer on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. He then served as a clerk in the Office of Staff Attorneys for the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. In these roles, Ben drafted numerous judicial opinions on a wide range of legal issues, including employment discrimination, contract disputes, and constitutional rights.

Ben graduated from Yale Law School. During law school, Ben worked with the Fair Housing Clinic on a class action lawsuit against state and local housing authorities that were perpetuating racial segregation in Connecticut. Ben also worked as an editor for the Yale Law Journal and the Yale Law & Policy Review. Ben spent his summers with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice.

Before entering law school, Ben volunteered with Americorps in Buffalo, New York, working to increase bank investment in underserved neighborhoods.

Tom Shin

Associate

Tom Shin has been an associate with Stowell & Friedman, Ltd. since 2002, assisting clients in a range of employment disputes related to race, gender and other forms of discrimination in the workplace.

In an era of electronically stored information, more and more emphasis has been placed on electronic discovery in litigation. Because extremely large quantities of data are now routinely accessed, collected, reviewed, produced and analyzed, it is essential law for firms to have firm grasp of this electronic discovery process. As a former IT professional with Arthur Andersen, Tom's technical expertise complements his legal training to provide valuable resources to the firm in evaluating data produced during the e-discovery process. These skills are often essential to successfully litigate workplace discrimination.

Tom has a strong interest in IT networks for which he has received several certifications from Cisco.