Gerald F. ("Jerry") Lutkus is a partner in the South Bend office of Barnes & Thornburg LLP where he is a member of the firm's Labor and Employment Law and Litigation Departments. He practices in the areas of labor and employment law counseling and litigation, arbitration, collective bargaining, media law, including counseling of and defense litigation for media companies and commercial and business litigation. Mr. Lutkus has been named an Indiana Super Lawyer in Labor and Employment Law and is recognized in the Best Lawyers in America in the category of 1st Amendment law.
Mr. Lutkus has been named South Bend's Labor Lawyer of the Year - Management for 2012 by Best Lawyers in America.
Mr. Lutkus exclusively represents management in virtually all aspects of labor and employment law. A "full-service" labor lawyer, Mr. Lutkus has represented clients at virtually all levels of administrative proceedings, including matters before the EEOC, the NLRB, and the DOL, as well as in federal court litigation. He has guided employers through non-compete cases, wage/hour investigations, workforce reorganizations, and plant and company closings or acquisitions. He works on issues involving new technology and social networking and is a frequent writer and speaker on this topic. Mr. Lutkus devotes a significant part of his practice to daily client counseling and management training. On the traditional labor side, he counsels clients on labor strategies, conducts union-free training and union-avoidance campaigns, handles arbitrations, contests organizing campaigns and bargains collective bargaining agreements.
Mr. Lutkus also handles a full range of commercial, business and media-related matters and cases. He is frequently involved in pre-publication and pre-broadcast review for firm media clients as well as contesting subpoenas to journalists, handling defamation and related tort defense and counseling on web and internet-related issues.
Mr. Lutkus, a native of Cleveland, Ohio, graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1974 with a degree in American studies. Following five years as a newspaper reporter, he returned to Notre Dame where he received his J.D. in 1982. He served as executive editor of the Notre Dame Lawyer and was the recipient of the law school's Harold Weber Award for excellence in legal writing. After graduation, he served as clerk to the Honorable Charles Clark, chief judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and then practiced law in Chicago. Mr. Lutkus joined Barnes & Thornburg LLP in 1987 and became a partner in 1992. He is admitted to practice in Indiana and Illinois, the Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Circuit Courts of Appeals, and the federal courts in Indiana, Illinois and Michigan.
Mr. Lutkus has recently completed 17 years of service on the Board of Directors of the Michiana Public Broadcasting Corporation (WNIT-TV) where he served as Chairman of the Board and co-chair of the station's Governance Committee. He is currently Vice President of the Board of Directors of the Life Treatment Centers and a member of the Board of Directors of the Food Bank of Northern Indiana, Inc. Mr. Lutkus is also a member of the Employment Law Committee of the Media Law Resource Counsel, and the Labor and Employment Law Council of the Associated General Contractors of America.
Publications
TLNT - "Are We Really Surprised? NLRB Takes on Facebook Comments"
BizVoice Magazine - Drawing the Line: Video Surveillance in the Workplace
Gerald Lutkus & D. Michael Anderson Write Article on Anti-SLAPP Ruling
Events
8/29/2011, Indiana State SHRM Conference - Everything Legal Workshop
10/12/2010, Attorney Presentation - Labor & Employment Law Changes During the Obama Administration
04/19/2010, Attorney Presentation - Guns in the Parking Lot and the Becker Board...
03/04/2010, Attorney Presentation - March 2010 Labor and Employment Law Roundtable Event
07/01/2009, Attorney Presentation - Legal Considerations Involved with Downsizing or Restructuring a Workforce
04/17/2009, Attorney Presentation - The Employee Free Choice Act: Is Your Company Ready?
02/18/2009, Attorney Presentation - The WARN Act and RIFs
01/14/2009, Attorney Presentation - Final FMLA Regulations
10/22/2008, Attorney presentation - 2008 7th Circuit Update on Discrimination and Employment Cases
10/21/2008, 2008 Michiana SHRM Annual Conference - The Many Facets of HR: Brilliance Under Pressure
09/12/2008, Attorney Presentation - Lutkus and Stahlhut Discuss The Employee Free Choice Act
05/22/2008, Shapiro, Falkof, and Lutkus Travel to Mexico to Present American Law Seminar
03/26/2008, Labor & Employment Law Department Holds Roundtable to Discuss New FMLA Amendments
12/14/2007, ACCumulate 2007 Winter Conference
11/15/2007, Labor and Employment Law Roundtable Series - November 2007
11/13/2007, Labor and Employment Law Roundtable Series - November 2007
10/16/2007, Human Resources Management Conference
06/27/2007, Labor and Employment Law Roundtable Series - June 2007
04/19/2007, Labor and Employment Law Roundtable Series - April 2007
04/17/2007, Labor and Employment Law Roundtable Series - April 2007
03/21/2007, Employee Handbooks Gone Wild!
03/21/2007, Employee Handbooks the topic of Lutkus' March 21 Presentation
03/14/2007, MHRA Breakfast Seminar - March 14, 2007
03/14/2007, Written Employment Policies: Your First Line of Defense Against Disgruntled Employees
03/08/2007, Three Common Workplace Scenarios - How Should You Legally Respond?
01/01/2007, Jerry Lutkus & John Smarrella Serve as Panelists for Financial Execs Meeting
11/30/2006, Troubleshooting Medical and Family Leaves
11/15/2006, Written Employment Policies: Your First Line of Defense Against Disgruntled Employees
11/08/2006, Gerald Lutkus Presents on Electronic Privacy Issues
10/17/2006, Gerald Lutkus Speaks at SHRM Conference
09/21/2006, Labor and Employment Law Roundtable Series - September 2006
09/19/2006, Labor and Employment Law Roundtable Series - September 2006
05/18/2006, Gerald Lutkus Presents "Hiring 101" to the Human Resources Council of Southwestern Michigan
03/25/2006, The Journalist's Privilege After Miller: Where Do We Go From Here?
10/18/2005, Get in the Game: HR as a Strategic Player, Featuring Jerry Lutkus
12/15/2004, Labor and Employment Law Roundtable Series - December 2004
12/14/2004, Labor and Employment Law Roundtable Series - December 2004
10/19/2004, HR Toolkit: Building a Foundation for Your Organization
09/15/2004, Complimentary Roundtable Seminar Series
09/14/2004, Complimentary Roundtable Seminar Series
06/02/2004, The Department of Labor's Final Regulations Redefining Overtime Rules
05/18/2004, Employing GI Joe and GI Jane: What Employers Need to Know About Military Leave
04/30/2004, Writing the Employee Handbook in Indiana
09/26/2003, Employee Discharge and Documentation in Indiana
04/30/2003, Writing the Employee Handbook in Indiana
04/01/2003, Wage and Hour Law Update in Indiana
02/18/2003, Human Resource Audits in Indiana
10/04/2002, Employee Discharge and Documentation in Indiana
09/27/2002, Employee Discharge and Documentation in Indiana
03/13/2002, Wage and Hour Law Update in Indiana
09/18/2001, Employee Discharge and Documentation in Indiana