Antoinette Choate

Ms. Choate founded the firm. She earned her A. B. from the University of Chicago, with a double major in History and Law, Letters, and Society in 2001. In 2004, she was awarded her Juris Doctor from Loyola University Chicago School of Law. During law school, she earned a place on the school’s Mediation Team, served as the Student Articles Editor for the Loyola University Chicago International Law Review, served as an Editor of the renowned Loyola Child Legal Rights Journal, and earned a CALI award in legal writing.

She has concentrated in employment law and related litigation exclusively for her entire career. Ms. Choate has counseled hundreds of clients, including both employees and employers.

Ms. Choate was selected as a Super Lawyer in 2016-2024 by Illinois Super Lawyers Magazine in the area of employment & labor. She was named an “Illinois Rising Star” for 2009-2010 and 2012-2015 by Super Lawyers magazine. She has been invited to speak as a guest lecturer on employment issues for the Chicago Bar Association's Law at the Library Series from 2005-2019.

She is an active member of the Illinois Chapter of the National Employment Lawyer's Association (NELA/Illinois), an organization comprised of lawyers who seek to vindicate the rights of individuals in the workplace. She served on the Board of Directors of NELA/Illinois, which she joined in 2005 until 2019 and is a Past President. She was a the Chair of the Labor and Employment Committee of the Chicago Bar Association (CBA) for the 2017-2018 bar year and was Vice Chair the previous year.

She has extensive experience in handling cases involving minimum wage and overtime violations (FLSA), sexual harassment, employment discrimination (such as race, national origin, gender and pregnancy, religious, age, disability, sexual orientation, etc.), retaliation and retaliatory discharge, Family and Medical Leave Act violations (FMLA), and related employment torts.

In addition to appearing in state and federal court on various employment matters, Ms. Choate represents clients in investigations and hearings before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the Illinois Human Rights Commission (IHRC), and the Chicago Commission on Human Relations (CCHR). She has successfully negotiated the settlement of various employment matters and is dedicated to developing a personal relationship with each of her clients, ensuring that their needs are represented through the litigation process.

In 2012, Ms. Choate launched and frequently authors articles in The Illinois Employee Advocate, a publication by NELA/Illinois. Since that launch, she has served as Editor-and-Chief. She also is the author of: "Global Justice: Fighting Terrorism with the International Criminal Court," Loyola Forum of International Law, Volume IX, Number 1, 2001; and "Alliances of Convenience: United States Ties with the Northern Alliance in Light of Human Rights Violations," Loyola Forum of International Law, Volume IX, Number 2, 2002.

Ms. Choate is admitted to practice law within the State of Illinois (2004), the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (2005), and the Supreme Court of the United States (2016).

Memberships
• NELA/Illinois: Member 2003-present; Member Board of Directors 2005-2019; Secretary 2006-2009; Vice President 2010-2011; President 2012-2013; Immediate Past President 2014-2017).
• Chicago Bar Association: Chair of the Labor and Employment Committee 2017-2018; Vice Chair 2016-2017.
• Federal Bar Association: Member 2017-2019.
• NELA: Affiliate Relations Committee Member 2016-2018.