Who We Are
Marni Willenson founded Willenson Law in January 2010. The firm’s groundbreaking litigation over the past 15 years includes Ernst v. City of Chicago, Vasich v. City of Chicago, Godfrey v. City of Chicago, and Livingston v. City of Chicago — all successful challenges to invalid and discriminatory physical fitness tests used to exclude women from jobs as firefighters and paramedics. As a result of these lawsuits, the City of Chicago was forced to abandon four unlawful and discriminatory tests used to exclude hundreds of women from jobs as firefighters and paramedics. The lawsuits led to the hiring of dozens of women as Chicago Fire Department paramedics and firefighters and the recovery of monetary damages, retroactive seniority, and pension benefits. The firm has also secured jobs for Chicago Fire Department applicants with hearing loss and type 1 diabetes and prevented the City from firing pregnant women-firefighters.
In 2017, Willenson Law sued the Cook County Sheriff’s Office and Cook County in Howard v. Cook County Sheriff’s Office to challenge a hostile work environment for women at the Cook County Jail (Chicago, Illinois). The firm represented more than 500 women subjected to extreme and vile sexual harassment by inmates at the Jail, including thousands of incidents of indecent exposure. Howard settled in 2022 for more than $31 million.
In 2018, the firm sued the Cook County Sheriff’s Office and Cook County in Simpson v. Cook County Sheriff’s Office to challenge unlawful and discriminatory hiring procedures for Cook County correctional officers. In 2022, the court certified the case as a class action for more than a thousand job applicants and appointed Ms. Willenson and her co-counsel as class counsel.
In addition to employment discrimination litigation, Ms. Willenson has represented thousands of agricultural workers, forestry workers, and other migrant workers in class action wage theft litigation. She was a Latin American Studies major and speaks fluent Spanish.
In 2023, Ms. Willenson co-founded Rosa’s Lounge Records, an independent record label associated with iconic Chicago blues club Rosa’s Lounge. At the same time, she began transitioning Willenson Law’s work to music and entertainment law. The firm will represent musicians, artists, and content creators in contract negotiations, copyright protection, and royalty collection. This work continues Ms. Willenson’s career-long and lifelong commitment to fighting economic exploitation, advancing equal protection rights, and challenging systemic discrimination and will build on her extensive experience in employment discrimination litigation. As a champion of the rights of artists and creators to equitable treatment, fair compensation, and creative freedom, Ms. Willenson remains dedicated to addressing power imbalances and ensuring that all individuals can assert their rights in both economic and creative spheres.
Ms. Willenson is a member of the Sports and Entertainment Law Forum of the American Bar Association; a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation; and a Fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Law.
Education
Brown University, 1991, B.A. Latin American Studies (magna cum laude)
University of Chicago, 1996, J.D. (with honors)
Bar Admissions
Illinois Bar (1996)
State Bar of Wisconsin
United States Supreme Court
Federal Courts of Appeal for the Seventh, Fourth, and District of Columbia Circuits
United States District Courts for the Northern District of Illinois (General and Trial Bar), Central District of Illinois, District of Columbia, Eastern District of Wisconsin, and Western District of Michigan
Fellowships / Memberships / Associations
Fellow, American Bar Foundation
Fellow, College of Labor and Employment Lawyers
Associate Board Member, Lawyers for the Creative Arts
Board Member, Chicago Music Scene
Co-Founder/Director of Business Strategy/Outside General Counsel, Rosa’s Lounge Records
Founding Strategic Partner, Chicago Center for Blues Arts
Member, American Bar Association Forum on Sports and Entertainment Law
Member, American Bar Association Labor and Employment Section
Member, Federal Bar Association
Member, Illinois State Bar Association
Member, Chicago Bar Association
Member, National Employment Lawyers Association
Member and Community Representative, Haugan Elementary School Local School Council