Kelley Drye Welcomes Labor and Employment Lawyer Brenna Woodley to Chicago Office

Kelley Drye and Warren LLP announced today that Brenna Woodley has joined the firm as a special counsel in its Labor and Employment practice group. Based in the Chicago office, Brenna enhances the firm’s leading national labor and employment defense team, which for more than 60 years has advocated for employers in state and federal courts, before federal, state, and local agencies, as well as in arbitration and mediation.

“We are thrilled to welcome Brenna to Kelley Drye,” said Managing Partner of Kelley Drye’s Chicago office, Matt Luzadder. ​“Her background and versatility as both a skilled litigator and counselor will be a valuable asset to the firm. We look forward to her contributions in supporting the needs of our clients and bolstering our scope of services—from employment-related litigation and investigations to employment counseling, labor negotiations, and other compliance services.”

Brenna represents employers in the full spectrum of employment-related individual plaintiff and class litigation in federal and state courts, arbitrations, and administrative proceedings before government agencies, including cases involving federal and state discrimination and harassment laws, pay equity, trade secrets and restrictive covenant disputes, ERISA, and wage and hour issues. Brenna also has experience litigating unfair labor practice charges before the National Labor Relations Board.

Outside the courtroom, Brenna routinely serves as an outside investigator for C-suite and board-level workplace investigations of allegations of harassment, discrimination, retaliation, and whistleblower reports, and represents companies in proceedings before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, U.S. Department of Labor, and Securities and Exchange Commission involving claims by employees.

“I’m excited to be joining Kelley Drye at a time when employers are focused on developing talent and fostering strong work environments and business relationships amid uncertainty. Labor and employment counsel have an important role in assisting employers with these challenges.” Brenna shared. ​“I look forward to working with the firm’s talented labor and employment group to help our clients develop thriving workplaces and achieve their business goals.”

In addition to her years of experience counseling employers and litigating the full spectrum of labor and employment matters, Brenna has extensive experience in the nonprofit sector. She has worked as a social worker developing programming for children, founded a charity, and has served in leadership roles on charitable boards for organizations providing services to children, helping organizations with strategic planning, fund development, and advocacy work. Her experience in these areas informs her work for clients and client relationships.

Brenna earned her J.D. from the University of Wisconsin Law School and her B.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.