“Employment law is always evolving and it touches every aspect of a business. I serve as a practical guide and counselor to help clients stay ahead of the change, overcome obstacles and find their path to success.”
Jeri is a Partner in HMB’s Business & Finance Group and leads the firm’s Employment practice. She helps clients resolve employment issues and implement best practices to better focus their business and achieve their personal goals.
As a partner to both employers and employees, Jeri’s clients include individuals, executives, small businesses, charitable organizations, private equity firms and multinational corporations. She provides individualized, practical guidance to help clients address their immediate employment issues, mitigate risk and ensure they are both legally compliant and using current best practices to meet their legal needs. Jeri serves as their legal guide when drafting and negotiating employment agreements from offer letters and equity agreements to transitional contracts.
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With over 30 years of experience in employment law, Jeri regularly helps clients overcome a host of challenges. She helps management evaluate the practical and legal aspects of employee agreements, compensation agreements and restrictive covenants. Likewise, she helps executives negotiate their desired employment agreements. Jeri leverages her commercial litigation experience to identify potential discrimination claims and day-to-day business and legal challenges. She is especially skilled at educating business managers and supervisors on current developments in employment law, including diversity, equity and inclusion, disability issues, discrimination and harassment concerns, and conducting proper workplace investigations, among others.
Jeri is a recognized leader in her field, having received many distinctions including Crain’s Chicago Business Notable Women Lawyers. She has been named to Leading Lawyers for 10 consecutive years and to Illinois Super Lawyers for 12 years. Jeri also has been recognized as one of Illinois’ top 50 Women Lawyers and one of Illinois’ top 100 Lawyers overall.
Finding a Path to Success
Clients rely on Jeri to help them find their path to success, regardless of the difficulties in their circumstances. They benefit from Jeri’s 30+ years of experience in commercial litigation and the guiding perspective it adds to their day-to-day employment matters. Most of all, clients value Jeri’s compassion and decisiveness. They depend upon her practical guidance and counsel to ensure they have the necessary tools to confidentially address their employment issues.
Education
- University of Illinois College of Law, J.D.
- Marquette University, M.A.
- Marquette University, B.A.
Admissions
- Illinois
- Federal Trial Bar, Northern District of Illinois
- U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Northern District of Illinois
- U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois
- U.S. District Court, Central District of Illinois
- U.S. District Court, Northern District of Indiana
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit
- U.S. Tax Court
Honors
- Crain’s Chicago Business Notable Women Lawyers, 2020
- Leading Lawyers, 2011-2023
- Illinois Super Lawyers, 2009-2024
- American Jurisprudence Award in Products Liability
- Rickerts Scholarship for Academic Excellence
News
- HMB Attorneys Selected to the 2024 Illinois Super Lawyers and Rising Stars ListsJanuary 25, 2024
Congratulations to Jeralyn H. Baran, Nathan E. Delman, Jeffrey A. Zaluda and Payal J. Patel for being selected to the 2024 Illinois Super Lawyers and Rising Stars lists! Super Lawyers is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement.
- Congratulations to HMB Attorneys Named to 2023 Leading LawyersFebruary 21, 2023
Congratulations to Jeralyn H. Baran, Keith H. Berk, Aaron L.Hammer, Jeffrey H. Hechtman, James L. Jerue and Jeffrey A. Zaluda for being named 2023 Leading Lawyers! Only lawyers who are most often recommended by their peers and later approved by the Leading Lawyers Advisory Board are selected.
- Congratulations to HMB Attorneys Selected to 2023 Super LawyersJanuary 30, 2023
HMB is proud to announce that Jeralyn H. Baran, Richard M. Horwood and Jeffrey A. Zaluda have been selected to the 2023 Illinois Super Lawyers list. Congratulations to our team!
- HMB Welcomes Jeralyn H. Baran, Expanding its Employment Law PracticeJuly 7, 2022
HMB Legal Counsel is pleased to welcome Jeralyn (“Jeri”) H. Baran who joins the firm as a Partner in its Business & Finance group. Jeri will lead HMB’s growing Employment Law practice.
blog
- New Illinois Employment Laws – Effective January 1, 2024January 3, 2024
With the start of a new year, Illinois employers face some new state laws. Increase in State Minimum Wage Illinois has increased its minimum wage from $13.00 to $14.00 per hour statewide, including Cook County (except Chicago). The minimum wage for employees in Chicago is higher. For large Chicago businesses employing 21 or more workers, the minimum wage for employees…
- Chicago Businesses Face New Leave Obligations – Effective January 1, 2024November 29, 2023
Employers across Illinois are readying their leave policies to comply with the Paid Leave for All Employers Act. Chicago employers need to prepare for something more. On November 9, 2023, the Chicago City Council passed a new Paid Leave Ordinance that added 40 hours of paid leave to its present 40 hours of mandated sick leave. Chicago employers must take…
- Immediate Extensive Changes to Illinois’ Day & Temporary Labor Services ActAugust 8, 2023
On August 4, 2023, Governor Pritzker signed into law extensive amendments to The Day and Temporary Labor Services Act (Act). They were immediately effective, but the Illinois Department of Labor (Department) has not yet promulgated any guidance or instructions. As a result of the amendments, the Act increased penalties, imposed new notice requirements and heightened protections for laborers. Most significantly,…
- Recent Changes to Chicago & Cook County Minimum Wages and The Fair Workweek Ordinance – Effective July 1, 2023July 6, 2023
At the beginning of 2023, Illinois increased the state minimum wage to $13.00 per hour. The City of Chicago’s minimum wage already exceeded the state minimum wage, and on July 1, 2023, the City further increased its minimum wage. Chicago’s Minimum Wage as of July 1, 2023 The increases for Chicago are based on the size of the employer. Large…
- Illinois Supreme Court’s Latest BIPA Decision: Violations Occur with Each Collection or DisclosureMarch 6, 2023
HMB recently issued a Client Alert following the Illinois Supreme Court’s decision in Tims v. Black Horse Carrier, 2023 IL 127801, where the Court held that all Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) actions would be governed by a 5-year statute of limitations period. Since then, the Illinois Supreme Court has dealt another blow to Illinois BIPA defendants. Cothron v.…
