2025

On April 25, 2025, Jill Leka and Ray Byrne were breakout speakers for the "Hot Topics in Labor and Employment Law Impacting Law Enforcement" and Jim Powers and Ray Byrne provided the legal update at the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police Annual Conference in Lincolnshire, IL.

On March 13, 2025, all CBS LLP attorneys participated in presenting the annual IPELRA Employment Law Seminar.

On March 7, 2025, Margaret Sewell was a panelist at the ABA Midwinter Meeting for the Workplace and Occupational Safety and Health Law Committee in Rancho Mirage, CA.

On March 6, 2025, Jill Leka presented at NPELRA's Investigations Academy in Albuquerque, NM.

In February 2025, Roxana Underwood co-chaired the section of State and Local Government Bargaining and Employment Law's midwinter meeting.

On February 5, 2025, Jill Leka co-led the OHPELRA-hosted post-conference Investigation Academy Seminar with Jenna Richardson in Columbus, OH.

On January 16, 2025, Ben Gehrt presented about Future Trends in Employment/Labor Relations at the 2025 Illinois Financial Forecast Forum in Naperville, IL.

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2024

On December, 13, 2024, Jim Powers delivered the Legislative Update for IPELRA in Rosemont, IL.

On November 13, 2024, Paul Denham presented about PSEBA, PEDA, and Municipal Intervention into Disability Issues to the Illinois Local Government Lawyers Association.

On October 20 - 23, 2024, Ben Gehrt, Roxana M. Underwood,  & Kelly Coyle  presented at IPELRA's Annual Training Conference in Galena, Illinois.

On September 19,  2024 Jim Powers presented to the Illinois Municipal League about the Employment Legislation Update and Paid Leave for All Workers Act.

On September 9 - 11, 2024, Bob Smith and Roxana Underwood co-presented a series of workshops on bargaining-related topics during IPELRA's public sector bargaining simulation program in Galena, Illinois.

On July 11, 2024, Bob Smith and Roxana Underwood presented at Rocky Mountain PELRA's conference in New Mexico.

On June 13, 2024, Ben Gehrt co-presented a session titled: "The Injured Workers Vortex - Legal Issues Related to Work Injuries" for the Intergovernmental Risk Management Agency (IRMA) in Westmont, IL.

On June 6, 2024, Kelly Coyle presented a breakout session titled: "DEI: From Premise to Practice" for ILCMA at it's summer conference in Galena, IL.

On May 22, 2024, Paul Denham presented "Current Trends and Interesting Topics in Employment Law and Collective Bargaining for Illinois Government Leaders" at the Civic Leadership Academy of Northern Illinois University in Naperville, IL.

On May 13 - 15, 2024, Bob Smith and Ben Gehrt led simulated collective bargaining trainings for NPELRA members in Richmond, VA.

On March 7, 2024, all CBS LLP attorneys participated in presenting the annual IPELRA Employment Law Seminar.

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2023

On December 8, 2023, Jim Powers  delivered the legislative update for IPELRA.

On October 22 - 25, 2023, Bob Smith, Ben Gehrt, Roxana M. Underwood,  & Kelly Coyle  presented at IPELRA's Annual Training Conference in Galena, Illinois.

On October 19-20, 2023, Bob Smith  participated in the Rocky Mountain PELRA Annual Training Conference.

On October 4, 2023, Kelly Coyle  participated in The Legacy Project's seminar.

On October 2, 2023, Kelly Coyle  presented to the Illinois Public Service Institute

On September 21, 2023, Jim Powers  & Paul Denham spoke at the Illinois Municipal League’s 110th Annual Conference.

On September 13, 2023, Roxana M. Underwood  served as a panelist for the Chicago Bar Association Labor and Employment Law Committee’s virtual webinar on "Religious Accommodations in the Workplace Post Groff v. DeJoy."

On August 29, 2023, Kelly Coyle  presented about the Paid Leave for All Workers Act in an IPELRA webinar.

On August 10, 2023, Kelly Coyle  provided the employment labor law update at the Illinois National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials Annual Conference.

On May 31, 2023, Jill Leka  served as the moderator and Ben Gehrt  was a panelist for the Illinois State Bar Association's CLE webcast about the impact of the workers' rights amendment to Illinois Constitution on employers and employees.

On May 22, 2023, Paul Denham presented at Northern Illinois University's Civic Leadership Academy about current trends in employment law and collective bargaining for Illinois government leaders.

On May 19, 2023, Kelly Coyle  presented during The Legacy Project's Annual Conference.

On April 22, 2023, Bob Smith, Jill Leka, Ben Gehrt,  & Roxana M. Underwood  presented at NPELRA's Annual Conference in Louisville, Kentucky.

On April 21, 2023, Kelly Coyle  provided the legal update at the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police's Annual Training Conference.

On March 9, 2023, all CBS LLP attorneys participated in presenting the annual IPELRA Employment Law Seminar.

On January 28, 2023, Jill Leka  was a speaker at the 6th Annual Barrington Town Warming.

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2022

On October 24, 2022, Roxana M. Underwood presented at the Illinois Public Employer Labor Relations Association Annual Training Conference in Galena, Illinois on the topic of Practical Aspects of Managing a Unionized Workforce.

On July 11, 2022, Bob Smith gave the keynote presentation at the New York State Public Employer Labor Relations Association (NYSPELRA) Annual Training Conference in Saratoga Springs, New York, regarding current labor relations issues.

On June 29, 2022, Ben Gehrt presented at the National Public Employer Labor Relations Association Annual Training Conference in Austin, Texas on the topic of costing collective bargaining contracts and proposals.

On June 28, 2022, Bob Smith gave the keynote presentation at the National Public Employer Labor Relations Association Annual Training Conference in Austin, Texas on Public Sector Collective Bargaining Trends and Developments Across the Nation.

On June 27, 2022, Ben Gehrt presented at the National Public Employer Labor Relations Association Annual Training Conference in Austin, Texas on the topic of collective bargaining negotiations.

On May 24, 2022, Paul Denham presented a half day seminar for the Northern Illinois University Civic Leadership Academy on the topic of "Trends in Employment Law and Collective Bargaining."

On April 25, 2022, Roxana M. Underwood presented at the Illinois Public Service Institute regarding labor relations and employment issues, including grievance processing, misconduct, and drug and alcohol testing challenges.

On April 11, 2022, Bob Smith presented at the Midwest Advanced Public Service Institute regarding labor relations issues, including hiring and retention challenges.

On March 31, 2022, Jill Leka presented to the Illinois State Bar Association on the topic of Qualified and Tort Immunity.

On March 30, 2022, Jim Powers presented to the Illinois City/County Management Association on a panel entitled: Are you Feeling the Burn? Recruiting, Retaining, and Rewarding Talent During the Great Resignation.

On March 4, 2022, Clark Baird Smith LLP attorneys co-hosted and presented at the Illinois Public Employer Labor Relations Association's annual Employment Law Seminar in Oak Brook, Illinois.

On February 3, 2022, Kelly Coyle joined a panel discussion at the Illinois City/County Management Association's winter seminar in Bloomington-Normal, Illinois. The panel's topic was "Recruiting, Retaining and Rewarding Talent During the Great Resignation."

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2021

On December 19, 2021, Jim Powers provided a legislative update as part of a podcast hosted by the Illinois Public Employer Labor Relations Association.  

On December 10, 2021, Jim Powers presented to the Illinois Public Employer Labor Relations Association.  Jim's topic was "2021 Illinois Legislative Update:  Reflecting On a Challenging Year. 

On December 3, 2021, Ben Gehrt participated in a panel discussion at the Chicago-Kent College of Law's 37th Annual Public Sector Labor Relations Law Conference.  Ben joined his fellow panel members in addressing a variety of legal issues pertaining to Illinois public employers and their firefighter employees.

On December 3, 2021, Kelly Coyle participated in a panel discussion at the Chicago-Kent College of Law's 37th Annual Public Sector Labor Relations Law Conference.   Kelly joined her fellow panel members in speaking about legal issues involving "The Future of Work."

On October 26, 2021, Bob Smith and Ben Gehrt co-presented at the Illinois Public Employer Labor Relations Association's 42nd Annual Training Conference in Galena, Illinois.  Bob and Ben's plenary speech provided an update on current collective bargaining trends and developments in the Illinois public sector. 

On October 25, 2021, Kelly Coyle presented at the Illinois Public Employer Labor Relations Association's 42nd Annual Training Conference in Galena, Illinois.  Kelly addressed the topic of "Keeping Your Most Important Employees In Your Inner
Circle," which involved tips on improving an employer's chances of proving the supervisory and confidential status of certain public employees.  

On June 28, 2021, Jill Leka joined a panel discussion for the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police concerning the labor and employment implications of the recently enacted police reform SAFE-T Act. 

On May 20, 2021, Ben Gehrt participated in a podcast hosted by the Illinois Public Employer Labor Relations Association that addressed military leave issues under USERRA and the new Illinois Service Member Employment & Reemployment Rights Act. 

On April 22, 2021, Jim Powers and Kelly Coyle spoke at the Illinois Association of Municipal Management Assistants' Annual Conference about various legal issues and strategies involving the discipline of public sector employees.

On March 5, 2021, all firm attorneys presented a full-day training seminar for the Illinois Public Employer Labor Relations Association on a variety of cutting edge labor and employment topics. 

On January 25, 2021, Roxana M. Underwood participated in a podcast hosted by the Illinois Public Employer Labor Relations Association that addressed negotiability issues involving police body cameras. 

On January 11, 2021, Jim Powers participated in a podcast hosted by Illinois Public Employer Labor Relations Association concerning an employer's legal ability to compel employees to receive COVID vaccinations. 

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2020

On December 4, 2020, Jill Leka and Jim Baird spoke at Chicago-Kent College of Law's 36th Annual Illinois Public Sector Labor Relations Law Conference about police reform legal issues and recent decisions under the Illinois Public Labor Relations Act, respectively.

 

On October 27, 2020, Bob Smith presented a webinar for the Illinois Public Employer Labor Relations Association on collective bargaining trends during the COVID-19 economic slowdown.

On September 29, 2020, Roxana M. Underwood joined a panel discussion hosted by the American Bar Association entitled "Janus Revisited: A Discussion of the Far-Reaching Implications for Public Sector -- and Perhaps Even Private Sector - Unions and Employers."     

On September 21, 2020, Bob Smith participated in a podcast hosted by the Illinois Public Employer Labor Relations Association regarding "Effective Communication in the Age of Social Distancing."

On August 18, 2020, Jim Baird spoke on the topic of bargaining impasses and unilateral implementation of a last, best final offer at the U.S. FMCS's National Labor-Management Conference. 

On July 13, 2020, Kelly Coyle participated in a podcast hosted by the Illinois Public Employer Labor Relations Association regarding "Women in Leadership."

On May 20, 2020, Jill Leka and Jim Powers presented a webinar for the National Public Employer Labor Relations Association entitled "Bargaining Nuts and Bolts."

On May 8, 2020, Bob Smith, Ben Gehrt and Roxana M. Underwood presented a webinar for the Illinois Public Employer Labor Relations Association entitled  "Bargaining in the Aftermath of the COVID-19 Economic Shutdown." 

On March 6, 2020, all firm attorneys presented a full-day training seminar at Drury Lane Conference Center for over 500 members of the Illinois Public Employer Labor Relations Association. 

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2019

On December 6, 2019, Jim Powers participated in a half-day legislative update on behalf of the Illinois Public Employer Labor Relations Association.   

On November 15, 2019, Kelly Coyle joined a panel discussion at the 35th Annual Chicago-Kent College of Law Illinois Public Sector Labor Relations Law Conference on legal developments under the Illinois Public Labor Relations Act.

On November 15, 2019, Ted Clark joined a panel discussion at the 35th Annual Chicago-Kent College of Law Illinois Public Sector Labor Relations Law Conference entitled "High Profile Strikes Around the Country: Implications for Illinois."

On November 15, 2019, Ben Gehrt joined a panel discussion at the 35th Annual Chicago-Kent College of Law Illinois Public Sector Labor Relations Law Conference on firefighter legal developments.   

On March 6, 2019, Jim Powers presented a speech to the Illinois Association of Municipal Management Assistants (IAMMA) in Elk Grove Village, Illinois on “Conducting Effective Workplace Investigations.”

On March 1, 2019, all firm attorneys presented a full-day training seminar at Drury Lane Conference Center for over 500 members of the Illinois Public Employer Labor Relations Association.