Craig Thorstenson concentrates his practice in the litigation of employment disputes and providing practical, business-focused counseling.

His experience includes prosecuting and defending actions over restrictive covenants, defending WARN Act, FLSA, Biometric Information Privacy Act, and Title VII class actions, and handling complex labor arbitrations. 

Craig regularly acts as "in-house" employment counsel for several companies that elect to outsource their employment work and he provides day-to-day, proactive and common-sense counseling to employers on every aspect of the employer-employee relationship. 

Earlier in his career, Craig formed a partnership specializing in employment discrimination, primarily from the plaintiff's side, an experience that gives him a unique perspective when counseling and litigating.

Craig is a member of FordHarrison's Executive Committee, is the Executive Committee liaison for the firm's offices in the Midwest and California, and serves as the Managing Partner of the firm's Chicago office.

Honors & Awards
  • AV® Preeminent Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell
  • The Best Lawyers in America "Lawyer of the Year" for Litigation – Labor and Employment for the Chicago area (2022)
  • "Illinois Super Lawyers," Super Lawyers magazine
  • Best Lawyers in America – Litigation - Labor and Employment, Employment Law - Management

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  • Defeated former employer's TRO action against his client in the specialty pharmacy sector. InfuCare RX, Inc. v. Soleo Health Holdings, Inc., et al (D. New Jersey).
  • Defeated TRO action brought by competitor against two former employees and their current employer. Bluum USA, Inc. v. CDW Corp, Rose and Lawson. (District Court, Clark County, Nevada).
  • After bench trial, obtained injunctive relief against two former employees who started a competing business. Omron Electronics, LLC v. Fell, Stephenson and IRIS Custom Solutions, LLC (Circuit Court Cook County, Illinois).
  • Obtained TRO on behalf of Durata Therapeutics, Inc. against five former employees recruited by a competitor. Durata Therapeutics, Inc. v. Moritz, et al. (N.D. Illinois).
  • Defense of several class actions brought under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA), including Brown v. Creative Werks LLC and Cutrell v. Creative Werks LLC (now consolidated) (Circuit Court Cook County); Jones v. Corner Bakery Café (N.D. Illinois); Ibarra v. Forward Air Services, LLC (N.D. Illinois); Marion v. Ring Container Technologies, LLC (Circuit Court Cook County).
  • Represented Modine Manufacturing in Embry v. Modine, obtaining a verdict for the client in one of the first Family and Medical Leave Act lawsuits to go to a jury.  He continues to regularly defend FMLA actions, most recently including Kemp v. Northwestern Memorial Hospital (N.D. Illinois), Maestro v. Northwestern Memorial Hospital (N.D. Illinois), Boasiako v. Northwestern Memorial Hospital (N.D. Illinois), Renner v. CDW Corporation (D. Minnesota), and Bucsanyi v. NTA Precision Axle Corporation (N.D. Illinois).
Education
  • University of Illinois College of Law
    J.D., magna cum laude, 1988
  • University of Colorado
    B.S., 1984
Memberships
  • American Bar Association
  • Chicago Bar Association
  • National LGBT Bar Association
Bar Admissions
  • Illinois
Court Admissions
  • U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
  • U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois
  • U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
  • U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan
  • U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin
  • U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin
  • U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
Firm Leadership
  • Executive Committee
  • Management Group
  • Chicago Office Managing Partner