Background
Jon Vegosen is a founding member of Funkhouser Vegosen Liebman & Dunn Ltd., a nationally known and respected Chicago-based law firm with a broad corporate and litigation practice.
In 1973, Jon received his undergraduate degree in Political Science from Northwestern University, graduating Phi Beta Kappa and with Departmental Honors. While at Northwestern, Jon was on the Varsity Tennis Team and was Captain his Junior and Senior years. He was selected to the All Big Ten Conference Tennis Team in 1973. After college, Jon attended Northwestern University School of Law. While in law school, Jon taught tennis for three years at the McClurg Court Sports Center. In 1976, Jon received his law degree from Northwestern, graduating cum laude. While at the law school, Jon was a member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology.
Upon graduating law school, Jon served as law clerk to Judge Edwin A. Robson of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. During his clerkship, he worked extensively with both Judges Robson and Will on the multidistrict Folding Carton Antitrust Litigation, one of the largest class action antitrust cases in U.S. history. After his clerkship, Jon worked at a mid-size Chicago law firm. In 1981, he and three other lawyers formed what is now known as Funkhouser Vegosen Liebman & Dunn Ltd.
Jon has done a variety of work for clients in different industries and sectors, including media (especially newspapers), food and beverage, manufacturing companies, service companies, park districts, and villages. Jon has also worked closely with executives and professionals. He has practiced law in several areas including labor and employment, estate planning, trademark, First Amendment, litigation, and general corporate.
Labor and Employment
Jon has worked on labor and employment relations matters for many corporate clients. His experience includes negotiating and drafting collective bargaining agreements, handling unfair labor practice charges, preparing position statements to administrative agencies, attending fact-finding and mediation conferences, litigating and arbitrating employment cases, negotiating and drafting settlement agreements, assisting employers in hiring techniques and restructuring work forces, preparing employment and separation agreements for employers and executives, and assisting employers in the development and implementation of employment policies. Jon has prepared numerous employee handbooks and assisted employers in the development of personnel policies dealing with matters such as effective interviewing, sexual and other harassment, AIDS, The Americans with Disabilities Act, references, preventing employee theft and fraud, workplace violence, leaves of absence, and the employment-at-will doctrine. The Commission on Women in the Legal Profession has hailed the anti-harassment policy that Jon developed at the Firm as a model for the American Bar Association. Jon frequently counsels employers on a day-to-day basis about hiring, discipline, and termination issues and is a great believer in taking a proactive and preventive approach to labor and employment matters.
Employment Planning for Executives and Professionals
Jon works closely with executive and professional clients on employment, shareholder, and separation agreements. He has successfully negotiated and drafted numerous employment agreements designed to provide corporate executives and professionals with, among other things, lucrative compensation, benefit, and perquisite packages, favorable tax treatment, protection against arbitrary termination of employment, and the flexibility to obtain subsequent employment without being burdened by broad restrictive covenants. Jon has also represented executives and professionals departing from companies by negotiating and drafting favorable separation agreements for them designed to provide them with, among other things, handsome severance pay packages, continued benefit coverage while they search for other employment, outplacement, releases, indemnification agreements, favorable references, and other protections.
Estate Planning
Jon works with executives and professionals on their estate and tax planning. His services range from simple wills, wills including testamentary trusts, living trusts, gift and minor’s trusts, irrevocable life insurance trusts, charitable trusts, wealth transfer techniques, health care and property powers of attorney, and the preparation and negotiation of premarital and post marital agreements.
Speaking and Training
Jon has written several articles on employment, hiring, and other issues for a variety of publications. He has been interviewed on WMAQ-TV for his expertise in executive employment issues. Jon is the hiring partner for attorneys at the Firm. Jon has conducted seminars and workshops on a wide variety of topics for clients, professional and business groups, and at law schools, including topics such as the prevention and investigation of sexual and other harassment, estate planning, and proper trademark usage. The EEOC has approved Jon an anti-harassment trainer, and he has been brought in to conduct trainings for employers that have been the subject of EEOC investigations and settlements. Jon’s presentation, The Seven Deadly Sins Executives Commit in the Employment Context: A Legal Perspective, is a perennial favorite. Jon became a Member of The Executives Committee (“TEC”), now known as VISTAGE, in early 2002 and a TEC/VISTAGE Speaker in 2004. His TEC/VISTAGE presentations, The Ten Common Mistakes Executives Make: A Legal Perspective; The Art of Effective Interviewing: The Quest for the One, and Preventing and Investigating Sexual and Other Harassment, have been well received.
Community Service
Jon volunteered for five years on the Chicago Bar Association Judicial Evaluation Committee. He has served on the Board of Directors of various corporations and charitable organizations as well as the trustee of charitable foundations. Jon is the First Vice President and a Member of the Board of Directors of the United States Tennis Association (the “USTA”). He is also a Board member of USTA Serves and the International Tennis Hall of Fame. Jon is a Past President of the Chicago District Tennis Association and a former Vice President and member of the Board of Directors of the USTA/Midwest Section. In October of 2002, Jon was elected as a Director for Life of JCYS, a social service agency, in honor of his community work and fundraising on behalf of the Max Davidson Tennis Centers. Among other things, the Center in Highland Park supports individuals with disabilities.
Personal
Jon and Shari, his lovely wife of more than 33 years, have two sons. The Vegosen Family was honored as the USTA Ralph W. Westcott Family of the Year for 2004.
Jon Vegosen is a founding member of Funkhouser Vegosen Liebman & Dunn Ltd., a nationally known and respected Chicago-based law firm with a broad corporate and litigation practice.
In 1973, Jon received his undergraduate degree in Political Science from Northwestern University, graduating Phi Beta Kappa and with Departmental Honors. While at Northwestern, Jon was on the Varsity Tennis Team and was Captain his Junior and Senior years. He was selected to the All Big Ten Conference Tennis Team in 1973. After college, Jon attended Northwestern University School of Law. While in law school, Jon taught tennis for three years at the McClurg Court Sports Center. In 1976, Jon received his law degree from Northwestern, graduating cum laude. While at the law school, Jon was a member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology.
Upon graduating law school, Jon served as law clerk to Judge Edwin A. Robson of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. During his clerkship, he worked extensively with both Judges Robson and Will on the multidistrict Folding Carton Antitrust Litigation, one of the largest class action antitrust cases in U.S. history. After his clerkship, Jon worked at a mid-size Chicago law firm. In 1981, he and three other lawyers formed what is now known as Funkhouser Vegosen Liebman & Dunn Ltd.
Jon has done a variety of work for clients in different industries and sectors, including media (especially newspapers), food and beverage, manufacturing companies, service companies, park districts, and villages. Jon has also worked closely with executives and professionals. He has practiced law in several areas including labor and employment, estate planning, trademark, First Amendment, litigation, and general corporate.
Jon has worked on labor and employment relations matters for many corporate clients. His experience includes negotiating and drafting collective bargaining agreements, handling unfair labor practice charges, preparing position statements to administrative agencies, attending fact-finding and mediation conferences, litigating and arbitrating employment cases, negotiating and drafting settlement agreements, assisting employers in hiring techniques and restructuring work forces, preparing employment and separation agreements for employers and executives, and assisting employers in the development and implementation of employment policies. Jon has prepared numerous employee handbooks and assisted employers in the development of personnel policies dealing with matters such as effective interviewing, sexual and other harassment, AIDS, The Americans with Disabilities Act, references, preventing employee theft and fraud, workplace violence, leaves of absence, and the employment-at-will doctrine. The Commission on Women in the Legal Profession has hailed the anti-harassment policy that Jon developed at the Firm as a model for the American Bar Association. Jon frequently counsels employers on a day-to-day basis about hiring, discipline, and termination issues and is a great believer in taking a proactive and preventive approach to labor and employment matters.
Jon works closely with executive and professional clients on employment, shareholder, and separation agreements. He has successfully negotiated and drafted numerous employment agreements designed to provide corporate executives and professionals with, among other things, lucrative compensation, benefit, and perquisite packages, favorable tax treatment, protection against arbitrary termination of employment, and the flexibility to obtain subsequent employment without being burdened by broad restrictive covenants. Jon has also represented executives and professionals departing from companies by negotiating and drafting favorable separation agreements for them designed to provide them with, among other things, handsome severance pay packages, continued benefit coverage while they search for other employment, outplacement, releases, indemnification agreements, favorable references, and other protections.
Jon works with executives and professionals on their estate and tax planning. His services range from simple wills, wills including testamentary trusts, living trusts, gift and minor’s trusts, irrevocable life insurance trusts, charitable trusts, wealth transfer techniques, health care and property powers of attorney, and the preparation and negotiation of premarital and post marital agreements
Jon has written several articles on employment, hiring, and other issues for a variety of publications. He has been interviewed on WMAQ-TV for his expertise in executive employment issues. Jon is the hiring partner for attorneys at the Firm. Jon has conducted seminars and workshops on a wide variety of topics for clients, professional and business groups, and at law schools, including topics such as the prevention and investigation of sexual and other harassment, estate planning, and proper trademark usage. The EEOC has approved Jon an anti-harassment trainer, and he has been brought in to conduct trainings for employers that have been the subject of EEOC investigations and settlements. Jon’s presentation, The Seven Deadly Sins Executives Commit in the Employment Context: A Legal Perspective, is a perennial favorite. Jon became a Member of The Executives Committee (“TEC”), now known as VISTAGE, in early 2002 and a TEC/VISTAGE Speaker in 2004. His TEC/VISTAGE presentations, The Ten Common Mistakes Executives Make: A Legal Perspective; The Art of Effective Interviewing: The Quest for the One, and Preventing and Investigating Sexual and Other Harassment, have been well received.
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EducationNorthwestern Univ. School of Law, J.D., Cum Laude, 1976
Northwestern Univ., B.A., Phi Beta Kappa and Departmental Honors, 1973
Admissions Illinois (1976)
U.S. District Court, N.D. Ill (1976)
MembershipsAmerican Bar Assn.
Chicago Bar Assn.
PublicationsEmployer Liability for Texting While Driving, Bloomberg Law (2010)
Starve Football, Feed Athletics, NY Times (2007)
Develop A Relationship With Legal Counsel Before Crisis Hits, Forum Magazine (2002)
So YOU Have To Fire Someone, Forum Magazine (2001)
Importance of Reference Checking and Dealing with the "Name, Rank, and Serial Number" Reference, Forum Magazine (2000)
Figuring Out Whether to Tell All or Zip Your Lip on References, Chicago Lawyer (1996)
The Ten Commandments of Effective Interviewing, Perspectives on Employee Assistance Programs (1996)
Ounce of Prevention Stops Worker Claims, Crain's Small Business (1994)
When You get a Sexual Harrassment Complaint, Business Law Today (1993)
Preventing and Combating Sexual Harrassment, Executive Citizen (1993)
Employee Handbooks Give Business a Hand Not a Noose, Chicago Lawyer (1992)
Law Firms of All Sizes Need Sexual Harrassment Policies, Chicago Lawyer (1992)
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