Chuck Poplstein

Chuck is a creative and highly efficient employment litigator and advisor to private and public sector employers across a wide spectrum of industries.

As the co-chair of Thompson Coburn's Human Resource practice, he draws on his 35-plus years of experience to help clients solve personnel problems, conduct investigations, manage exposure to liability, effectively defend their interests in litigation, and receive an early and realistic assessment of their risk.

Chuck has extensive experience counseling clients through all phases of non-compete and trade secret litigation across the country, from Massachusetts, Illinois, and Missouri to Texas and California. He has pioneered creative approaches to these matters, including replevin and long-arm statutes, that help companies protect their proprietary information.

Chuck represents employers in high-stakes collective and class action litigation involving claims related to wage and hour, wage payment, background checks, and independent contractors. He has successfully defended or settled such matters in Missouri, Illinois, California, and Washington, D.C.

Employers frequently look to Chuck for targeted advice on major executive employment disputes. He has designed, negotiated, and litigated executive employment agreements and helped employers win favorable resolutions in arbitrations and before state and federal courts. He also advises and arbitrates ERISA and multi-employer withdrawal liability issues. His experience extends to litigating SOX whistleblower claims and conducting SOX and harassment investigations. In his decades-long experience in traditional labor and collective bargaining, Chuck has successfully negotiated contracts in the areas of health care, social services, and public sector services.

Among other national honors, Chuck is a Fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers, and has been twice named to Human Resource Executive magazine's list of the country's "Most Powerful Employment Attorneys" (2013-2014).