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Tiffany S. Fordyce concentrates her practice on commercial litigation, with an emphasis on labor and employment. She is Chair of the Chicago Labor & Employment Practice and Co-Chair of the firm’s Labor & Employment Practice’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Group. Her employment litigation practice includes all types of discrimination and retaliation claims, wage and hour claims, trade secret misappropriation claims, whistleblower claims, restrictive covenants, Fair Credit Reporting Act claims, Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) claims and WARN Act claims. She defends single plaintiff, class action and collective action employment cases. Tiffany represents employers in federal, state and administrative courts, as well as before administrative agencies.

In addition to litigation, Tiffany also presents group and one-on-one employment training seminars. She advises clients on how to avoid litigation by counseling on employment related matters such as managing leave policies, responding to employee performance issues, national and local reductions in force, handbooks, BIPA compliance, drug testing policies, employment and consulting agreements, severance packages, social media policies, proper employee classification, and non-competition and separation agreements. She also is frequently called upon to conduct investigations and audit human resources practices and protocols, including as it relates to pay equity, whistleblower, harassment and discrimination complaints.

Meet Tiffany Fordyce

Capabilities

Experience

  • First chair arbitration counsel in a dispute over payment of vacation pay and underlying policy under a collective bargaining agreement.
  • First chair arbitration counsel in termination of employees in connection with forcible removal of Dr. David Dao from airplane.
  • Second chair termination of former Chicago Police Department personnel in connection with shooting of LaQuan McDonald.
  • Second chair section 1983 action in Ortiz v. City of Chicago.

Recognition & Leadership

  • Listed, Chambers USA Guide, Labor & Employment, 2024
  • Listed, Lawdragon, 500 Leading U.S. Corporate Employment Lawyers, 2024-2025
  • Listed, Leading Lawyers Network, 2022-2024
  • Listed, Thomson Reuters, "Stand-Out Lawyers," 2023-2024
  • Listed, Crain’s Chicago Business
    • “Notable Black Leaders,” 2024
    • “Notable Litigators & Trial Attorneys,” 2023
    • “Notable Women in Law,” 2022
    • “Chicago’s Notable Minority Lawyers,” 2018
  • Selected, The National Black Lawyers, "Top 100 Black Lawyers in Illinois," 2022-2023
  • Listed, The Legal 500 United States
    • Labor and Employment - Workplace and Employment Counseling, 2018-2021
    • Dispute Resolution - General Commercial Disputes, 2021
  • Listed, Super Lawyers magazine, Illinois Super Lawyers, “Rising Star,” 2011-2016
  • Team Member, a Law360 “Employment Group of the Year,” 2011 & 2013
  • Semi-Finalist, Honors Hale Moot Court Competition
  • Fellow, Sidley Austin Brown & Wood
  • Recipient, Crispus A. Wright BLSA Public Interest Grant
  • Recipient, “Pro Bono Award,” Los Angeles County Bar Association
  • Board Member, Women’s Bar Foundation
  • Member, Chicago Bar Association
  • Member, Black Women Lawyers' Association of Greater Chicago

Credentials

Education
  • J.D., University of Southern California Law School, 2004
  • B.A., Pomona College, 1998
Admissions
  • California
  • Illinois
  • U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
  • U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California
  • U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California
  • U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
Languages
  • Spanish, Conversational