About Soule & Bradtke, PLLC
Experienced Legal Guidance
Soule & Bradtke, PLLC was established in 1994, and focuses on complex civil litigation, including an emphasis on federal trial practice and federal litigation in areas such as Fair Housing, Employment, Class Actions and other systemic matters.
Practice Areas
Soule & Bradtke, PLLC is a law firm concentrating in civil litigation since 1994. The firm specializes in federal court litigation, including class actions in areas such as fair housing, wage and hour, employment discrimination, and securities law. The firm also has substantial experience in commercial litigation, subsidized housing law, and education law. Soule & Bradtke, PLLC has experience implementing and monitoring Federal Court Consent Decrees.
Soule & Bradtke PLLC has wide-ranging litigation experience at the administrative, trial and appellate levels, including presentation of jury trials in federal court, as indicated in a description of clients represented below.
- Regional and National Fair Housing Organizations;
- Thousands of U.S. Air Marshals in a Fair Labor Standards Act case;
- Plaintiffs in Fair Housing Act cases in the areas of design and construction violations (ADA Compliance), discrimination on the basis of disability, race and age, and a class of individuals discriminated against on the basis of disability, in the operation of a State-implemented waiver program;
- Hundreds of Department of Homeland Security ICE employees in a Fair Labor Standards Act case;
- 45 African-American employees of a machine tooling manufacturer;
- Hundreds of minority and female employees of an aerospace and engine company;
- 10 named plaintiffs in Title VII, FLSA, and Illinois Wage and Hour Act claims;
- African American applicants to an advanced engine manufacturing company;
- Hundreds of temporary workers in a Fair Labor Standards Act case;
- An African-American Captain of a Chicago Metropolitan area Fire Department;
- A disabled employee of the United States Postal Service;
- Plaintiffs in a qui tam “whistle blower” suit against a defense contractor;
- A class of African American patrons who were denied entry based on their race at a night club;
- An African-American student subjected to discriminatory comments in the classroom;
- 3 terminated African American employees of a grocery store;
- African-American employees of a State of Illinois regulatory agency;
- Minority Federal Law Enforcement agents;
- African-American and foreign-born employees of a Federal regulatory agency;
- Latino and female police officers employed by a suburban Chicago police department (racial and sexual harassment);
- A class of Hispanic residents of a Chicago area suburb in a Fair Housing Act case;
- Three classes of African-American employees of a major Illinois health care and hospital system;
- A female employee of a national chemical company (sexual harassment/ADA);
- Plaintiffs in Americans With Disabilities Act discrimination cases, including a reasonable accommodation case against a major Chicago area-based research and dry manufacturing corporation;
- Nine African-American employees of a major Illinois city;
- African-American employees of an aerospace company.;
- The Chicago Board of Education;
- The Chicago Housing Authority;
- The Aurora Housing Authority;
- Securities brokers and brokerage firms;
- The estate of a police shooting victim;
- The publisher of a local magazine;
- Owners of a subsidized housing project;
- A manufacturer of pollution control equipment;
- The promoter of a minority beauty pageant;
- Plaintiffs in age discrimination cases;
- Plaintiffs in race, national origin, and sex discrimination cases; and
- Classes consisting of minority employees, consumers, minority students, securities purchasers, finance company borrowers, telephone company customers, and flight attendants.
Ms. Soule has experience as a court-appointed monitor in a nation wide gender discrimination class action, and has served as lead plaintiffs' class counsel in discrimination cases. Mr. Bradtke has experience in developing minority business enterprise and affirmative action plans. Ms. Soule has been a referral attorney of Women Employed Institute.
Soule & Bradtke PLLC has been selected by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to participate in its attorney referral program for unrepresented charging parties whose claims result in EEOC findings of substantial evidence of discrimination, and has provided training to EEOC attorneys and investigators concerning systemic cases as well as concerning sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination issues.
Mr. Bradtke and Ms. Soule have held adjunct positions on the legal writing faculty of local law schools. Ms. Soule has served as a mentor and extern supervisor in IIT-Chicago Kent’s Institute for Law and the Workplace. Ms. Soule has been a presenter at an Institute public sector employment law seminar on current developments in employment law. Ms. Soule served for five years as pro bono General Counsel and national legislative coordinator for Reconciling Ministries Network, Inc.
In both litigation and non-litigation contexts, Soule & Bradtke PLLC aims to provide aggressive and sophisticated representation that is directly responsive to the needs of its clients. At the same time, the firm is committed to avoiding activities that are unnecessary, duplicative or unreasonably expensive.
Our Attorneys
Jennifer K. Soule
Ms. Soule graduated from Chicago-Kent College of Law with high honors in 1988. She gained extensive trial experience as an Assistant Public Defender, first in Cook County, and then in Kane County, and in federal employment and civil rights litigation since entering private practice. In 1991, she joined Futterman and Howard, where she worked on employment discrimination and other civil rights cases, including representation of the estate of a police shooting victim. Ms. Soule has served as lead plaintiffs' counsel in several multiple plaintiff and class employment discrimination cases. Ms. Soule was appointed to serve as Outside Monitor in Jones, et al. v. Walgreens Co., 07CV0036 (N.D. Ill, Judge Castillo) (nation-wide gender class action). Ms. Soule has extensive experience handling cases under the Fair Housing Act, §504, and Americans With Disabilities Act, including representing HOPE Fair Housing Center and acting as co-counsel to AARP Foundation Litigation.
Kelly K. Lambert
Ms. Lambert joined the firm in 1995. She previously practiced law in the Kane County State's Attorney's Office, where she served as Director of its Drug Prosecution Unit, as a Felony Trial Assistant and as Supervisor of its Juvenile Division. Ms. Lambert's litigation experience includes the successful presentation of many jury and bench trials in the criminal and civil contexts. Ms. Lambert has served as lead counsel, successfully representing hundreds of federal employees who obtained redress under the Fair Labor Standards Act. In addition to representing plaintiffs in employment discrimination and other civil rights cases, Ms. Lambert has extensive experience concerning owners of private and subsidized rental properties. Ms. Lambert has provided training in fair housing practices and equal employment opportunity. Ms. Lambert was also a co-founder and President of a not-for-profit organization.
James G. Bradtke, Of Counsel
Mr. Bradtke graduated from the University of Michigan Law School in 1982. After law school, Mr. Bradtke joined Pressman & Hartunian and worked on all aspects of complex securities, civil rights, employment discrimination and consumer fraud cases and class actions. Mr. Bradtke has extensive experience successfully prosecuting complex class actions, including in the areas of fraud, civil rights, and school desegregation. Mr. Bradtke became a partner in Hartunian, Futterman & Howard, Chtd. in 1988. From 1987 to 1994, Mr. Bradtke taught classes in Legal Writing and Moot Court at Loyola University of Chicago School of Law. In 1994, he formed this firm with Ms. Soule. Mr. Bradtke is Of Counsel to the firm on a full-time basis.
Contact Us
Chicago Office:
155 N. Michigan Avenue, Suite 504
Chicago, IL 60601
(312) 616-4422
Please send all mail correspondence to PO Box 231, Geneva, IL 60134
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