Mary Charlton is a highly skilled and versatile employment attorney with over a decade of litigation experience in practice areas spanning labor and employment, civil rights, class actions, and consumer law. She passionately advocates both for individual clients and businesses, ensuring their rights are protected and their interests advanced.

Mary has dexterously litigated a variety of employment claims, including sexual harassment, failure to accommodate religion, and various forms of discrimination that arise out of federal employment statutes, such as Title VII, the ADA, and the FMLA. She also possesses deep expertise with state employment statutes, including Illinois’ VESSA law.

An Advocate for both Individuals and Businesses

Although she is comfortable in high-stakes litigation, Mary prefers to avoid protracted legal disputes. She routinely helps clients navigate complex employment issues to avert unwanted litigation, wasted time, and prohibitive costs.

Mary advises individuals throughout their employment, from initial offer through severance negotiations. When disputes arise, Mary is perfectly comfortable negotiating—and when necessary, litigating—wage and hour disputes, discrimination and harassment claims, and other threats to a client’s present or future employment.

Drawing upon her past experience as an organization’s internal employment counsel, Mary deftly counsels businesses on legal compliance, employment policies and contracts, and best practices. She enjoys assisting clients with strategic planning to meet their goals in ways that support the organization’s financial success and employee well-being.

A Strong Foundation of Employment and Litigation Experience

Prior to joining Prinz, Mary was a Senior Attorney in the Law Department of the Chicago Transit Authority, where she litigated employment matters and handled labor arbitrations. She also provided advice and counsel to CTA management and crafted labor and employment policy for the organization.

Mary also worked in private practice, representing both individuals and businesses in employment matters. She further advocated for consumers in class actions in both federal and state court.

Even earlier, Mary was an attorney with the Legal Aid Justice Center in Charlottesville, Virginia, where she litigated federal cases, including class actions. She also served as adjunct faculty for the Employment Law Clinic at the University of Virginia School of Law, supervising clinic students who represented clients in employment matters, including complex federal litigation.

In her free time, Mary enjoys running, cooking, cheering on the Chicago Sky and the Cubs, and traveling to explore new countries with her wife.

Practice Areas

Mary brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to her advocacy. Among Mary’s principal practice areas are the following:

• Employment discrimination
• Workplace harassment
• Workplace retaliation
• Disability rights
• Administrative charges (EEOC, IDHR)
• Work leaves, including FMLA and VESSA
• Severance negotiations
• Wage and hour disputes
• Business compliance with employment law
• Corporate employment policies
• Employment handbooks

Education

• J.D., American University, Washington College of Law
  • Labor Law & Employment Law Forum, Symposium Editor
• B.S., Spring Hill College, Political Science

Professional & Bar Association Memberships

• National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA), Illinois affiliate
• Chicago Bar Association
• LAGBAC

Blog Posts

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