Bio

Nora Kersten Walsh is a partner in the firm’s Employment Practice Group. As a management employment law “generalist” Nora counsels businesses on the gamut of issues spanning the employment relationship. Background checks, hiring practices, I-9, employment agreements, policies and handbooks, leave, accommodations, wage and hour issues, employee reductions and separations, restrictive covenants, public contractor obligations – whatever the issue, Nora has helped a company achieve compliance. Nora loves to drill down into the depths of the myriad of laws impacting employers, but is even more passionate about emerging with practical and concrete takeaways for her clients. Nora frequently conducts trainings in the area of anti-harassment and discrimination, as well as leave, accommodations, and other compliance matters. She also assists her clients with employment law issues in mergers and acquisitions, and works with entities that contract with the government on contractor obligations, including affirmative action and compliance audits. Even the most compliant of companies can still face claims, charges and litigation. When this occurs, Nora represents companies in federal and state court, and before local, state and federal agencies and tribunals, including the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and state and local fair employment practice agencies, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, and the United States Department of Labor and state departments of labor. While Nora represents her clients zealously, she always keeps one eye toward potential resolution at all phases of litigation, recognizing that with employee disputes, sometimes the best result is achieving a settlement that allows all parties to move forward. A Wisconsin native but long-time Chicago resident, Nora has adopted all of the local sports teams as her own, but remains a diehard Green Bay Packers fan and hopes that PFS clients can forgive this one trait. Nora received her bachelor’s degree in English in 1995 from the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts. She received her law degree from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 2002, where she was a member of the Wisconsin Law Review and a recipient of the Outstanding Woman Law Graduate Award from the National Association of Women Lawyers. She is a member of the American Bar Association, the Chicago Bar Association, and the Society for Human Resources Management, and has spoken and written on a number of employment law topics.