Zoe Spector helps employers navigate the legal phases of the employer experience, from counseling to litigation. She keeps her clients’ business front of mind when strategizing the defense of pending legal claims or analyzing day-to-day legal questions.

Zoe has extensive experience defending claims brought under Title VII, the ADA, ADEA, FLSA, FMLA, and various employment laws at the state level. She appears on behalf of clients in federal and state courts across the country, arbitration, mediation, and before government agencies, including the EEOC, OSHA, and the NLRB. Zoe also has jury trial experience.

Zoe drafts and negotiates employment agreements, from pre-employment restrictive covenants to post-employment severance agreements. She is an effective written and oral advocate with a history of successful results inside and outside the courtroom. Zoe is a problem solver and will go the extra mile to help find a creative solution or strategic path.

As former in-house counsel, Zoe knows how outside counsel can play a crucial role in providing comprehensive and clear-eyed employment law advice for all involved — from the client’s in-house lawyers, to human resources professionals, to on-the-ground business units. Zoe is an approachable “people person” and prides herself on her ability to effectively communicate and collaborate with all clients, no matter the business, industry or sector.

  • University of Illinois College of Law, J.D., cum laude, 2019
  • University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, B.A., with distinction, 2016

Admissions

Bar Admissions

  • Illinois

Court Admissions

  • U.S. District Court, Northern District, Illinois
  • U.S. District Court, Central District, Illinois

  • Included in “Illinois Super Lawyers” Rising Stars list, 2024 (by Thomson Reuters)

I was raised in a lake community, so I enjoy any opportunity to spend time with my family and friends out on the lake or walking around local nature trails. I also enjoy taking trips with my husband to national parks. We still have many more to check off our list, but so far we have visited Yosemite, Rocky Mountain, Mount Rainier, and — my favorite by a mile — Yellowstone. We were so mesmerized by the beauty of Yellowstone that we extended our trip, rented telescopes, and spent an entire early morning viewing wildlife in Lamar Valley. We spotted a grizzly bear, a black wolf, and a gray wolf. It was an incredible experience, and I look forward to checking more parks off our list!