Joy A. Roberts

Partner

Phone (312) 541-1078

Joy A. Roberts represents local governmental entities, educational clients including community colleges and universities, and nonprofit organizations in transactional matters and litigation pending in state and federal courts. She also represents her clients in a variety of administrative forums including the Illinois Department of Human Rights, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Illinois Labor Relations Board, Illinois Department of Employment Security, and the Chicago Commission for Human Relations.

Ms. Roberts' representational work involves the defense of premises liability and personal injury claims, individual and class action complaints of race, sex, national origin, and sexual harassment discrimination, and retaliation.

She has also engaged in preventative law including assisting in alternative dispute resolution in mediation and conciliation proceedings, and grievance arbitration hearings.

Ms. Roberts presently serves as the local government prosecutor for the Village of Forest View prosecuting local ordinance violations and traffic citations. She previously served as a local government prosecutor for the City of Darien.

Ms. Roberts successfully argued on appeal to the First District that police sergeants are supervisors under the Illinois Labor Relations Act because they have the authority and discretion to discipline with independent judgment in Village of Hazel Crest v. Illinois Labor Relations Board, State Panel and International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 150, AFL-CIO, 385 Ill.App.3d 109 (1st Dist 2008). The Union's petition for leave to appeal to the Illinois Supreme Court was denied, 231 Ill.2d 655 (Ill.2009).

• EDUCATION
  • Chicago-Kent College of Law,
    Illinois Institute of Technology
    JD, 2000
  • University of Michigan
    BA, 1996
• PRACTICE AREAS
  • Municipal law
  • Premises liability/personal injury
  • Labor and employment relations
  • Civil rights
  • Regulatory compliance
  • Traffic prosecution
• MEMBERSHIPS
  • Bar of the State of Illinois
  • Bar of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
  • Chicago Bar Association:
    • Labor & Employment Law Committee
    • Local Government Committee
  • Illinois State Bar Association
• PUBLICATIONS
  • “Local governmental entities not entitled to absolute immunity when a hazardous recreational activity is involved,” ISBA Local Government Law Newsletter (October 2006)
  • “Willful and wanton failure to prevent a crime of domestic violence: Partial or absolute immunity?” ISBA Local Government Law Newsletter (May 2005)
  • “Curfew law revisited to remove chill on minors' First Amendment rights,” ISBA Local Government Law Newsletter (November 2004)