J.D., Chicago - Kent College of Law, cum laude
B.A., University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana

Ms. Johnson is an associate at Koehler & Passarelli, LLC Ms. Johnson counsels and defends management in all areas of labor and employment law, including employment discrimination, employee leave and benefits, retaliation, restrictive covenant, and trade secret litigation.

Ms. Johnson received her Juris Doctor degree cum laude and a Certificate in Labor and Employment Law from Chicago-Kent College of Law. While attending Chicago-Kent College of Law, Ms. Johnson served as a judicial extern for the Honorable George W. Lindberg of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Additionally, Ms. Johnson served as Student Editor for a national law journal, The Employee Rights and Employment Policy Journal. Ms. Johnson received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Liberal Arts and Sciences with a concentration in Political Science from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana.

Leslie is a member of the Chicago and Illinois State Bar Associations. She is admitted to practice in the state courts of Illinois, as well as the United States District Courts for the Northern and Central Districts of Illinois, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.

J.D., The John Marshall Law School cum laude
B.A., Northern Illinois University

Renée represents employers in labor and employment law matters from preventative training and counseling to litigation. Renée successfully defends employers in Title VII cases, non-compete cases, wrongful discharge, breach of contract, and qui tam cases in state and federal courts. Renée also has extensive experience in representing employers at various administrative agencies including the Department of Labor, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Illinois Department of Human Rights and agencies in numerous other states.

Renée is licensed to practice in Illinois and is admitted to practice before the United States District Courts for the Northern District of Illinois, Northern District of Indiana and Western District of Wisconsin. Renée earned her Bachelor of Science degree concentrating in Human Resources Management from Northern Illinois University and graduated cum laude from The John Marshall Law School where she was an editor on Law Review.

Renée is a member of the American Bar Association, the Illinois State Bar Association, the Chicago Bar Association and the Kane County Bar Association and is a regular speaker on employment law topics for trade associates and CLE seminars. Renée also has one of the few Federal Appellate Court decisions awarding her client attorneys’ fees and costs for defending against Union Trust Funds’ collections action pursuant to ERISA. See: James T. Sullivan v. William A. Randolph, Inc., 504 F.3d 665; 2007 U.S. App. LEXIS 23357; 155 Lab. Cas (CCH) P10,915;41 Employee Benefits Cas. (BNA) 2554.

J.D., DePaul University College of Law, cum laude
B.A., University of Michigan

Ms. Dinkel joined KOEHLER & PASSARELLI, LLC in October 2007 as an Associate Attorney. Stephanie represents and counsels employers in various labor and employment law matters, including discrimination and harassment claims and wage and hour claims. Ms. Dinkel earned her Juris Doctor cum laude from DePaul University College of Law.

While in law school, Ms. Dinkel worked as a Teaching Assistant for Legal Writing I and served as an Editorial Board Member for the DePaul Law Review. Additionally, Ms. Dinkel earned the CALI Award in Legal Writing I, Advanced Legal Writing – Civil Litigation, and Dispute Resolution. Furthermore, during law school, Ms. Dinkel also served as a law clerk for the City of Chicago Department of Law’s Employment Litigation Division.

Ms. Dinkel is admitted to practice in Illinois and before the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. She is also a member of the Chicago Bar Association, the Illinois State Bar Association, and the American Bar Association.

RONALD J. PASSARELLI, ESQ.
rpassarelli@k-pllc.com

J.D., DePaul University College of Law
B.A., Northern Illinois University

Ron represents and counsels employers across the U.S. in collective bargaining, union organizing campaigns, union picketing, strikes, unfair labor practice charges, NLRB matters, mediation and labor arbitration hearings. Ron also represents employers in a myriad of employment law matters involving discrimination claims, retaliatory discharge, wage and hour issues, FMLA, ERISA, COBRA, OSHA and employment/non-compete agreements. Ron has extensive experience in advising both private and public sector employers on numerous employment and human resource issues. Ron has also worked with employers developing training programs to keep them in compliance with the latest legal requirements and to inform them of the latest legal issues.

Prior to being one of the founding members of KP, Ron was a shareholder at a labor and employment law firm serving employers throughout the U.S. Mr. Passarelli also served as Labor Relations Counsel to the Chief Judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County.

Ron has spoken to several employer groups about labor and employment law topics. Mr. Passarelli is often an invited speaker by business groups looking to improve the labor and employment law knowledge of their members. Ron has been an instructor in Northern Illinois University’s Society for Human Resources (SHRM) certification program for nearly ten years, teaching labor and employment law to human resource professionals. Additionally, Mr. Passarelli has been a guest speaker and instructor at several college and law school level courses.

Mr. Passarelli is admitted to practice, and has represented employers in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, the Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals and Illinois state courts. He is a member of the American Bar Association, Chicago Bar Association and the Justinian Society of Lawyers. Mr. Passarelli is also a member of several employer associations

Jeanette Cruz is the Administrative Assistant and Marketing Manager at KOEHLER & PASSARELLI, LLC

Ms. Cruz has extensive experience in assisting attorneys who represent their clients in consumer fraud, fair debt collection, criminal and immigration laws. Jeanette’s years of experience has lead her in a new direction, assisting attorneys who represent employers in labor and employment law matters. She is a key person in the organizational functions of KOEHLER & PASSARELLI, LLC and is responsible for the day to day administrative operations including accounts payable/accounts receivable, data entry and preparation of the seminar materials, KP announcements and brochures and quarterly newsletters.

Ms. Cruz also provides her administrative support to all the KP attorneys including the preparation and coordination of correspondence and other legal documents.