Julie L. Trester

Member

Julie represents management on a wide array of labor and employment issues. She regularly counsels employers about compliance with applicable laws, including local, state, and federal fair employment laws, the FLSA and state equivalents, the NLRA, the WARN Act and its state counterparts, and compliance with Executive Order 11246. She advises employers with respect to developing successful and legally compliant diversity initiatives. She represents employers in collective bargaining, labor arbitrations, and unfair labor practice proceedings. She also regularly litigates the full panoply of labor and employment issues before federal and state agencies and courts. She has handled numerous appellate matters and has argued before the U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeals for the Third and Seventh Circuits, the Illinois Supreme Court, the Iowa Supreme Court, and various districts of the Illinois Appellate Court.

Julie graduated magna cum laude from the University of Illinois College of Law, receiving the Rickert Award for Public Service as the result of her pro bono contributions in law school. She is the former co-chair of the Cozen O’Connor Women’s Initiative and a member of the firm’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee. She served on the inaugural board of directors for the Coalition of Women’s Initiatives in Law Firms and currently sits on the board of directors for the Infant Welfare Society of Evanston, an organization dedicated to the care and early education of infants and toddlers. She and has also been a part of two separate Host Committees for the Chicago Foundation for Women’s Annual Luncheon. Julie previously taught as an adjunct professor at the Chicago-Kent College of Law and is a frequent writer and speaker on labor and employment law issues.

Experience

News

Best Lawyers Honors More Than 200 Cozen O'Connor Attorneys in its Best Lawyers in America 2025 Edition

August 15, 2024

Best Lawyers selected 242 Cozen O’Connor lawyers from 24 of the firm’s U.S. offices for inclusion in the 2025 edition of The Best Lawyers in America and Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America.

Leading Lawyers Network Recognizes 19 Cozen O’Connor Lawyers as Top Illinois Practitioners

March 05, 2024

Ira Bodenstein, Jack Carriglio, Janet Davis, John Dunn, Mitch Edlund, Wendy Enerson, Gary Gassman, Tia Ghattas, Jeremy Glenn, Erin Bolan Hines, Mark Rabinowitz, Peter Roberts, Brian Shaw, Joseph Tilson, Julie Trester, Peter Valeta, Anna Wermuth, and Brian Williams were recognized as Leading Lawyers, Christina Sanfelippo was recognized as an Emerging Lawyer.

Best Lawyers Honors More Than 200 Cozen O'Connor Attorneys to its Best Lawyers in America 2024 Edition

August 17, 2023

Best Lawyers selected 232 Cozen O’Connor lawyers from 24 of the firm’s U.S. offices for inclusion in the 2024 edition of The Best Lawyers in America.

Leading Lawyers Network Recognizes 23 Cozen O’Connor Lawyers as Top Illinois Practitioners

March 02, 2022

The Leading Lawyers Network has named 22 Cozen O’Connor lawyers to its annual list of Illinois’ top practitioners and named one other as an Emerging Lawyer in its 2022 survey results.

Leading Lawyers Network Recognizes 26 Cozen O’Connor Lawyers as Top Illinois Practitioners

January 26, 2021

The Leading Lawyers Network has named 24 Cozen O’Connor lawyers to its annual list of Illinois’ top practitioners and named two others as Emerging Lawyers in its 2021 survey results.

Publications

Adapting To Worker-Friendly City Laws Prompted By Virus [Law360]

June 01, 2020

Jeremy Glenn and Julie Trester wrote an article discussing how the COVID-19 pandemic could impact employee rights.

Chicago City Counsel Delays Private Right of Action in Fair Workweek Ordinance [Alert]

May 21, 2020

Jeremy Glenn, Julie Trester, and James Mackey discuss the Chicago City Council has adopted an amendment to the Fair Workweek Ordinance delaying the ability of employees to file lawsuits in court until January, 1, 2021. However, the action does not delay enforcement of the ordinance starting July 1.

How teamwork won asylum for a Mexican family [Daily Herald]

April 17, 2019

Julie Trester wrote about her personal experience helping lead the asylum victory of a young Mexican mother and her children.

Labor and Employment Observer 2015/2016

January 06, 2016

The 2015/2016 Labor and Employment Observer looks back at significant developments in labor and employment law over the past year and forward to what employers can expect in 2016.

Events & Seminars

Past Events

2018 Hot Labor and Employment Law Topics

October 23, 2018 - Fort Lauderdale, FL

Education

  • University of Illinois College of Law, J.D., magna cum laude, 1989
  • University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, B.A., cum laude, 1986

Awards & Honors

Best Lawyers in America 2024-2025

Illinois Super Lawyer, 2011 - 2018

Leading Lawyers Network

  • Illinois
  • Arizona
  • U.S. District Court -- Arizona
  • U.S. District Court -- Central District of Illinois
  • U.S. District Court -- Northern District of Illinois
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
  • 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 -- Southern District of Florida
  • U.S. District Court -- Southern District of Iowa
  • U.S. District Court -- New Jersey
  • U.S. District Court -- Western District of New York
  • U.S. District Court -- Western District of Pennsylvania
  • U.S. District Court -- Eastern District of Wisconsin
  • American Bar Association
  • Coalition of Women's Initiatives in Law Firms (Board Member, 2008-2009; Programming Committee Member, 2008-present)
  • IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law (Adjunct Professor, 1996-2000)