Kevin F. Gaffney

Associate

Kevin Gaffney litigates on behalf of employers and benefit plan fiduciaries across a wide range of employment law. He has significant experience defending complex class actions under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). He is also well-versed in defending high-stakes class and collective wage-and-hour actions, including Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) claims. Additionally, Kevin routinely defends single-plaintiff actions involving the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Title VII, Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), and similar state laws.

Kevin maintains a robust pro bono practice, with a particular focus on immigration, conditions of confinement, and expungement matters. He is the former vice chair of the firm’s Chicago Pro Bono Committee and a current member of the Young Professionals Board of the Public Interest Law Initiative (PILI). Kevin is also an active firm citizen. He is the chair of the Chicago Associates’ Committee, a member of the Chicago Hiring Committee, and the workflow coordinator for the Chicago summer associates.

Kevin graduated cum laude from the Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, where he received the J.H. Wigmore Scholarship, a merit-based, full-tuition scholarship for all three years.

Northwestern University School of Law, 2014, J.D., Cum Laude
University of Notre Dame, 2009, B.A., Magna Cum Laude

Illinois
US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois

Listed, The Best Lawyers in America, Ones to Watch, Litigation - Labor and Employment, Chicago (2025)

Listed, The Best Lawyers in America, Ones to Watch, Litigation - Labor and Employment, Washington DC (2023, 2024)

Member, Practice Group of the Year, Employment, Law360 (2017, 2019)