John Edward Thies

A past president of the Illinois State Bar Association, John Thies concentrates his practice in the areas of business representation, general litigation, appeals and real estate. He has a broad range of experience, which includes the litigation of matters throughout the state of Illinois, from trial courts to the Illinois Supreme Court.Representative cases include serving as co-counsel on behalf of the successful appellant in two significant Illinois Consumer Fraud Act putative class actions litigated in the Illinois Supreme Court, Shannon v. Boise Cascade Corporation, 208 Ill.2d 517, 805 N.E.2d 213, and Oliveira v. Amoco Oil Company, 201 Ill.2d 134, 776 N.E.2d 151. In the area of labor and employment, Mr. Thies successfully litigated (and was lead counsel in) the case of Mills v. Health Care Service Corporation, 171 F.3d 450 in the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, which established new law in the area of reverse gender discrimination. The Mills case has been cited hundreds of times across the nation.Besides practicing before federal and state courts, Mr. Thies also practices before a number of administrative bodies including the Illinois Human Rights Commission, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the National Labor Relations Board, and similar labor/management forums. He has also counseled clients in labor negotiations. Mr. Thies has also previously acted as a Special Assistant Illinois Attorney General.

By appointment of the Illinois Supreme Court, Mr. Thies is a past advisory member of the Illinois Judicial Conference’s Committee on Strategic Planning as well as a past member of the Court’s Committee on Character and Fitness (4th District). He has also served as a member of the Illinois Judicial Ethics Committee.