Ron Schwartz joined Katz, Friedman at the end of 2004. He has concentrated his practice in the area of employment law since 1984. Ron has represented many individuals in discrimination claims based upon sex, race, national origin, age and disability, as well as sexual harassment and unlawful retaliation. He frequently represents employees regarding overtime, FMLA violations, and severance pay negotiations. As a consequence of his employment law practice, Ron also represents individuals in defamation actions and Whistleblower cases, including False Claims submitted to the United States, State of Illinois and City of Chicago.

Ron is a member of the Illinois State Bar Association Labor and Employment Section Council. He is a past Chair of the CBA Labor and Employment Practice Committee. He is also a past Chair of the CBA Civil Rights Practice Committee. On behalf of NELA, he authored two amicus briefs in the U.S. Supreme Court. One brief concerned the first FMLA case decided by the Supreme Court. The second brief was filed in the landmark case of Desert Palace v. Costa (2003), that recognizes that employees can establish that unlawful discrimination was a motivating factor for an adverse decision through circumstantial evidence as well as direct evidence. Schwartz's amicus brief provided a template for the Supreme Court's unanimous decision. Ron is a frequent speaker on employment law matters in the Chicago area and at annual NELA conventions. Ron's favorite FMLA regulations are listed on this website.

Ron was again selected by his peers as an Illinois Super Lawyer for 2009 in the field of Labor and Employment Law. What makes this recognition even more impressive is that out of approximately 100 labor and employment lawyers selected, the vast majority are management lawyers. He is one of only a handful of union or employee lawyers so honored.

Ron earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign in 1977. In 1980, he was awarded his Juris Doctor from Chicago-Kent College of Law. He is admitted to the Illinois State Bar, the United States Supreme Court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit, and the general and trial bars of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

In April 2005, Ron was elected to a four year term as a trustee of the West Deerfield Township Board.

When he is not working, Ron enjoys walking, reading and traveling. He also enjoys his newest hobby which is website development. He designed and coded workplacelawyer.com which explains more about his employment law practice. Ron is married with two daughters.