Jeffrey Kulwin

Top-Rated Employment Litigation, Business Disputes and Civil Rights Attorney

Jeffrey Kulwin is a Chicago trial attorney and partner at Kulwin, Masciopinto & Kulwin, LLP, a litigation firm with offices in Chicago, Illinois. Over the course of his career, Jeff has developed a reputation as a tenacious courtroom advocate - a lawyer who prepares every case for trial from the first day of representation and whose verdicts have been recognized among the Top 20 Jury Verdicts in Illinois and the Top 100 Commercial Litigation Verdicts in the United States.

Jeff's practice spans two interconnected areas: employment litigation and complex commercial disputes. On the employment side, he represents employees, executives, and whistleblowers in cases involving wrongful termination, workplace retaliation, hostile work environment, FMLA interference, and civil rights violations under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. His clients range from mid-career professionals who have been pushed out after decades of service, to C-suite executives navigating high-stakes departures, to corporate insiders who have reported fraud and suffered the consequences. As a whistleblower attorney serving clients throughout Illinois, Jeff has litigated claims under the Illinois Whistleblower Act, the federal False Claims Act, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act in both the Circuit Court of Cook County and the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

On the commercial side, Jeff represents businesses, majority shareholders, and minority shareholders in shareholder disputes, business divorce proceedings, breach of fiduciary duty claims, and complex contract litigation. He has litigated on both sides of these disputes, representing oppressed minority shareholders seeking fair value buyouts under the Illinois Business Corporation Act as well as majority owners and businesses defending against improper claims. That cross-side experience is a defining feature of his practice and a strategic advantage for his clients: Jeff knows how opposing counsel constructs its case because he has litigated from that position himself.

What distinguishes Jeff from other Chicago employment and business litigation attorneys is trial readiness. In a legal market saturated with lawyers who default to settlement, Jeff's practice is built around the credible threat of a verdict, the kind of preparation and track record that changes the calculus for opposing counsel. Clients who have faced retaliation for protected activity, been frozen out of their own businesses, or watched a business partner misappropriate company assets turn to Jeff because they need a trial lawyer.

Jeff is licensed to practice in Illinois and before the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. He accepts referrals in employment litigation, whistleblower matters, civil rights cases, and commercial disputes involving shareholder rights and business divorce.

Disclaimer: The Supreme Court of Illinois does not recognize certifications of specialties in the practice of law, and awards or recognitions are not requirements to practice law in Illinois.