CLedererCaryn C. Lederer

T. 312.604.2622
F. 312.604.2623
clederer@hsplegal.com
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Caryn C. Lederer is a Partner of Hughes Socol Piers Resnick & Dym, Ltd. She represents clients in a wide variety of complex litigation matters, with a focus on civil rights, constitutional law, class actions, labor and employment, and whistleblower litigation. Ms. Lederer also advises individuals, organizations, non-profit institutions, and corporations on issues such as employment and discrimination law, including drafting policies and employee manuals. She joined the firm in 2010.

Before joining the firm, Ms. Lederer worked with the Special Litigation Unit at New York Legal Assistance Group, where she litigated class actions challenging systemic violations of low-income New Yorkers’ rights to government benefits and services and engaged in advocacy and impact litigation on behalf of immigrants, people with disabilities, and consumers. Ms. Lederer also previously worked as a litigation associate at Weil, Gotshal, & Manges in New York City.

During law school, Ms. Lederer served as an Executive Editor of the Journal of Law and Politics and participated in the International Human Rights Law Clinic. Following law school, she worked in the Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in Tanzania.

EDUCATION

  • University of Virginia School of Law (J.D. 2004)

    • — Executive Editor, Journal of Law and Politics

  • Brandeis University (B.A. 2000)

    • — magna cum laude
    • — high honors in American Studies

ADMISSIONS

BAR ADMISSIONS

  • Illinois (2011)

  • New York (2005)

COURT ADMISSIONS

  • U.S. Supreme Court

  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit

  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit

  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

  • U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois

  • U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York

  • U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York

  • U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin

PROFESSIONAL RECOGNITION

  • Named an Emerging Lawyer by Leading Lawyers Magazine® (2016)

  • Named to the Rising Stars list in Illinois by Super Lawyers® (2014-2018)

MEMBERSHIPS / ASSOCIATIONS

LEGAL

  • Member, Illinois State Bar Association

  • Member, Young Professionals Board, Legal Assistance Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago (LAF)

  • Member, National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA)

  • Member, Illinois Taskforce on Human Trafficking

  • Member, Taxpayers Against Fraud

CIVIC/COMMUNITY

  • Member, Professional Women’s Club of Chicago

  • Writing Coach, Posse Foundation

SPEECHES AND PRESENTATIONS

  • Best Practices in Providing Healthcare to Transgender and Gender Expansive Patients, presentation at Chicago Healthcare Risk Management Society’s Annual Conference (Apr. 28, 2017).

  • Best Practices in Providing Healthcare to Transgender and Gender Expansive Patients, presentation to Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital (March 20, 2017).

  • Northwestern University Community Forums on Travel Ban Executive Order & Immigration Policies, panel discussion at Northwestern University Chicago and Evanston campuses (Feb. 16, 2017 and Feb. 22, 2017).

  • Trump’s Executive Orders and What They Mean for Immigration, panel discussion at the University of Chicago Law School (Feb. 3, 2017).

  • Advocating for Immigrants’ and Workers’ Rights, presentation at the University of Chicago Law School (Feb. 17, 2015).

  • Discovery Issues in Farmworker Litigation, presentation at the National Farmworker Law Conference (Nov. 13, 2014).

  • Recovery of Attorneys’ Fees in Fee-Shifting Cases, presentation at the National Farmworker Law Conference (Nov. 12, 2014).

  • The Availability of Accessible and Affordable Housing for People with Disabilities, Testimony before the New York Assembly Standing Committee on Housing Task Force on People with Disabilities; New York, NY (Nov. 13, 2009).

  • Technology Enhanced Trial Practice, Training Program for Office of Military Commissions Guantánamo defense and prosecution attorneys, Williamsburg, VA (repeat presentations in Jul. 2007-Aug. 2008).

Escobar, et al. v. Gaines, et. al. Represented victims of a warrantless raid in Nashville, Tennessee conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and Metropolitan Nashville Police Department officers. ICE and MNPD agreed to pay $310,000 to settle all claims. Related settlements were reached with private defendants in the case.

American Immigration Council v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Represented the American Immigration Council in Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) litigation seeking records concerning “voluntary” returns of noncitizens from the United States to their countries of origin. As a result of the lawsuit, the Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection released several hundred pages of previously withheld records.

Cristobal Lopez, et al. v. Fish Farms, et al. Represented 14 Mexican agricultural guestworkers in a lawsuit against a Tennessee tomato farm that recruited the workers through the federal government’s H-2A visa program, subjected them to discrimination, inhumane working conditions, and then retaliation for complaining to federal and state authorities. HSPRD, with co-counsel Southern Migrant Legal Services, successfully resolved the lawsuit with a settlement of $390,000.

Successfully represented an executive employee in litigating Title VII retaliation and breach of contract claims against his employer, resulting in a favorable resolution for our client.

Successfully litigated claims including labor trafficking, race discrimination, and wage and hour violations for a group of migrant farmworkers, resulting in a favorable resolution for our clients.

Successfully represented a Vice President of a financial services firm in litigating sex and age discrimination claims against her employer, resulting in a favorable resolution for our client.

  • HSPRD Partners Present at Healthcare Conference

    April 28, 2017

    On April 28, 2017, HSPRD partners Juliet Berger-White and Caryn C. Lederer presented, “Best Practices in Providing Healthcare to Transgender and Gender Expansive Patients,” at the annual conference of the Chicago Healthcare Risk Management Society.

  • Judge Blocks Sanctuary Cities Executive Order

    April 26, 2017

    On April 25, 2017 Judge William Orrick of the United States District Court for the District of Northern California issued a nationwide preliminary injunction halting enforcement of Executive Order 13768 from blocking federal funding to so-called “sanctuary jurisdictions.”

  • HSPRD Attorneys Speak at Northwestern Forums on Executive Orders

    February 18, 2017

    On February 16, 2017, HSPRD’s Kalman Resnick, William Schiller and Caryn Lederer addressed Northwestern University community members at a panel discussion on the recent executive order banning travel and other actions taken by the Trump Administration affecting immigration policy.

  • HSPRD Advises U.S. Conference of Mayors on “Sanctuary Cities”

    January 27, 2017

    HSPRD has advised the U.S. Conference of Mayors and the Major Cities Chiefs Association on the legality of efforts by the Trump Administration to deny broad categories of federal funding to cities that limit local enforcement of federal immigration laws.

  • 15 HSPRD Attorneys Named By Super Lawyers 2017

    January 13, 2017

    We are proud to announce that twelve of our attorneys have been selected as 2016 Illinois Super Lawyers and three of our attorneys have been selected as 2016 Illinois Rising Stars.

  • HSPRD’s Continued Commitment to Justice

    November 22, 2016

    Our firm has and will continue to tirelessly work to protect the rights of these and other vulnerable individuals, including, if necessary, by challenging government action that is discriminatory, unconstitutional, or unlawful.

  • Rivera Rivera v. Peri & Sons Farms, Inc.

    February 10, 2014

    In the case of Rivera Rivera v. Peri & Sons Farms, Inc., the court of appeals held that the Fair Labor Standards Act requires employers to reimburse agricultural guestworkers for their travel, immigration, and recruitment expenses during their first work week. This decision could affect employment cases across the country.In the case of Rivera Rivera v. Peri & Sons Farms, Inc., the court of appeals held that the Fair Labor Standards Act requires employers to reimburse agricultural guestworkers for their travel, immigration, and recruitment expenses during their first work week. This decision could affect employment cases across the country.

  • HSPRD and SMLS reached a settlement

    April 29, 2013

    HSPRD and SMLS reached a settlement of $390,000 in a suit brought on behalf of 14 Mexican guestworkers who had alleged abusive working conditions, discrimination, and retaliation at a Tennessee tomato farm.