Philip H. Gerner III

Philip H. Gerner III

Philip H. Gerner III counsels and represents school districts and community colleges in collective bargaining negotiations, and Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board proceedings, teacher evaluations, remediations and dismissals, employee discipline and discharge issues, grievance arbitration, and other labor and employment issues. Phil has represented educational employers in labor arbitrations, unfair labor practice hearings, tenured teacher dismissals, and Illinois Department of Human Rights and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission proceedings. Phil has successfully handled a number of appellate court appeals on issues of significance for educational employers, including short-term employee bargaining unit exclusion standards, teacher evaluation plan bargaining obligations, and reduction-in-force of tenured teachers.

As a Partner of the firm, Phil’s greatest asset is counseling clients how to successfully navigate difficult  labor and personnel issues His ability to provide practical, effective solutions to challenging legal and personnel problems  is based upon his many years of experience in education and labor law.  His skill in working effectively with negotiation teams to devise and execute strategies that fulfill the board’s critical objectives is a hallmark of his strength as an attorney.

Awards

• Illinois Leading Lawyer, Employment and School Law, 2004-2012

Education

• J.D., Washington University School of Law
• B.A., cum laude, St. Lawrence University

Admitted to Practice

• U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois
• U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
• Supreme Court of Illinois

Organizations

• Chicago Bar Association
• Illinois State Bar Association
• Illinois Council of School Attorneys

Recent Publications

• “Collective Bargaining During COVID-19” IASA Leadership Matters Magazine (2021)
• “Hot Topics in Collective Bargaining,” IASB.COM, IASB (2014)
• Contributing author, “Labor Relations: Contract Administration Including ULPs,” Illinois School Law, IICLE (2005, 2010 and 2012)
• “Collective Bargaining Implications of the Performance Evaluation Reform Act of 2010 (SB 315) and the Education Reform Act (SB 7),” UPDATE Magazine, Illinois ASBO (2011)

Recent Presentations

• A Fresh Look at Bargaining Teacher and ESP Contracts: Best Practices for Responding to Union Proposals, Traditional Bargaining v. Interest-Based Methods, and Strategies for Success, Large Unit School District Association School Administrators’ Conference (October 2023)
• Higher Education Collective Bargaining Trends and Management Strategies for Effective Negotiations, Robbins Schwartz Virtual Legal Update for Illinois Higher Education Institutions (September 2023)