217.428.2100 (tel.)
217.428.2186 (fax)
enicholas@rsnlt.com

Practice Areas: The Workplace, Education, Local Governments

Everett Nicholas' practice focuses on serving employers, educational entities and other public bodies in all aspects of labor and employment law and civil rights issues. With 37 years of experience, his areas of emphasis include employment discrimination, board severance issues, election issues, school reorganization matters, all aspects of school finance and student matters.

Everett has represented clients in arbitrations, unfair labor practices, administrative review actions, arising there from, as well as all types of trials and appellate matters. On behalf of school districts, he has successfully prosecuted numerous tenured teacher dismissals, prosecuted and defended many detachment and consolidation cases, and successfully represented districts in litigation challenging student expulsions, reductions in force, due process violations and civil rights issues.

In 2006, Everett was reappointed to the Illinois State Bar Association's Education Law Council and named as co-editor of the Section newsletter. He has served as Chairman of the Local Government and House Committees of the Chicago Bar Association, as well as Chairman of the Election Law Council of the Illinois State Bar Association. He was recognized by his peers as being in the top 5 percent of Illinois attorneys in a survey by the Law Bulletin Publishing Company and listed in LeadingLawyers.com. Everett was also named as one of Illinois Super Lawyers.

Education

• J.D., University of Illinois College of Law, 1966
• A.B., Political Science, Wheaton College, 1963
• University of Illinois Graduate School of Public Administration

Admitted to Practice

• Supreme Court of the United States
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth and Seventh Circuits
• U.S. District Court for the Northern, Central, and Southern Districts of Illinois
• Supreme Court of Illinois
• Supreme Court of Wisconsin

Recent Publications

• Contributing author, Employment Discrimination, ILLINOIS SCHOOL LAW (Ill. Inst. for CLE 1980, 1992, 1999, 2005 Supp. 2001).

Recent Presentations

• Legal and Legislative Update, Illinois Community College Trustees Association, Rosemont, IL (March 2006).
• Collective Bargaining Tactics and Techniques, IASB/IASA/IASBO Joint Annual Conference, Chicago, IL (Nov. 2003).
• Ten Court Cases You Need to Know About, Association of School Business Officials' Annual Meeting, Charlotte, NC (Oct. 2003).
• Planning for Retirement, Association of School Business Officials' Annual Meeting, Charlotte, NC (Oct. 2003).
• Arbitration - I Never Wanted To Be Here, Association of School Business Officials' Annual Meeting, Charlotte, NC (Oct. 2003).
• Evaluation of Personnel, Association of School Business Officials' 88th Annual Meeting (Oct. 2002).
• Recent Supreme Court Employment Decisions, Association of School Business Officials' 88th Annual Meeting (Oct. 2002).
• Planning for Retirement, Association of School Business Officials' 88th Annual Meeting (Oct. 2002).
• The Superintendent's Employment Contracts, American Association of School Administrators (2000, 1999, 1997, 1996).
• Co-presenter, Collective Bargaining Tactics, Association of School Business Officials' 85th Annual Meeting (Oct. 1999).
• Acceptable Computer Use Policy and Computer Contracts, Association of School Business Officials' 85th Annual Meeting (Oct. 1999).
• Hot Topics in School Law, American Association of School Administrators (1998).
• Legal Issues Relating to the Employment Process, University of Illinois Administrators' Roundtable (1998).