CHICAGO, June 24, 2021 — Anna Wermuth, vice-chair of Cozen O’Connor’s national Labor & Employment Department, has been appointed to the Rules Advisory Committee of the U.S. District Court, of the Northern District of Illinois. Wermuth, one of seven members of the committee, will serve a three-year term, effective immediately.
"Anna began her career clerking for Chief Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois,” said Joe Tilson, co-chair of Cozen O’Connor’s Labor & Employment Department. “I am proud to see Anna come full circle to now lend her legal experience to this vital committee in evaluating and updating the rules that govern trial practice."
Wermuth has been an integral force in growing Cozen O’Connor’s national L&E practice in her role as vice-chair of the group. Based in Cozen O’Connor’s Chicago office, she represents management in high stakes labor and employment litigation, including recently securing a precedent-setting decision from the Seventh Circuit in a FLSA collective action case.
Over the past decade, Wermuth has also become a “go to” legal resource for the higher education industry representing colleges and universities in faculty, staff, and student litigation, as well as in organizing efforts and collective bargaining negotiations on campus.
Wermuth is an active member of the American Bar Association’s Labor & Employment Law Section, where she has held numerous leadership positions including co-chair of the Committee on Developing Labor Law. Wermuth is also the past chair of the Labor & Employment Law Committee of the Chicago Bar Association.
Wermuth’s recent accolades include being named as a Fellow to the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers (CLEL). She has also been honored three times in four years by Crain’s Chicago Business: In 2017, she was named to the inaugural list of Chicago’s “Most Influential Women Lawyers” and in 2018 and 2020 she was included on the list of the “Most Notable Women Lawyers” in Chicago.She has also been consistently recognized by Chambers USA as a leading attorney and by LawDragon as one of the “Top 20 Labor & Employment Attorneys in the Nation.”
Wermuth received her J.D. (1999) from the Loyola University Chicago School of Law where she graduated second in her class. She received an M.A. (1992) from Northwestern University and graduated with high honors from DePaul University (B.A., 1991) where she also competed in NCAA Division I Women’s Track and Cross Country.
In addition to her legal practice, Wermuth serves on the board of directors of the Chicago Youth Centers, a 60-year-old nonprofit organization that services over 4,000 children and families in Chicago each year with early childhood education, out-of-school and teen leadership programs.
About Cozen O’Connor
Established in 1970, Cozen O’Connor has more than 825 attorneys who help clients manage risk and make better business decisions. The firm counsels clients on their most sophisticated legal matters in all areas of the law, including litigation, corporate, and regulatory law. Representing a broad array of leading global corporations and middle market companies, Cozen O’Connor services its clients’ needs through 32 offices across two continents.