Ethan G. Zelizer

I am going to take a minute to review this attorney because he really impressed me. Allow me to explain the situation. I am 65 and I work for the state. My job was eliminated but there was also some acrimony regarding how I was treated these last few months so the state offered me a severance pack...age. It was 10 pages long, worth $12,000 and I couldn't understand a word of it. It scared me. There was language about my benefits and retirement plan and I couldn't make heads or tails of it. I looked for an attorney. I called two before Ethan and both of them wanted to set up a consultation for about $500 and then would quote me on an hourly rate. I was ready to do it because it seemed like I needed to spend to get the peace of mind. But that is a lot of money for me. I called Ethan next as my last of the three that I planned to talk to. I got his receptionist and he ended up calling me from his car on the way back from court about two hours later. He was returning his calls for the morning. He had more after me. I was surprised because he asked me a lot of questions. I explained that I didn't want to start the "clock" and that I just wanted to see what it would cost. However, he didn't want to start the clock either. He wanted to know the situation. He explained that whether it was a layoff, a termination or something else would help him understand what type of agreement they gave me. He then asked me to describe the sections that worried me. He then spent 30 minutes describing what the document was doing, what the sections that bothered me meant and concluded that the agreement was fairly standard. After explaining the sections that worried me, I felt so much better. I then offered to meet with him to pay him his consultation fee. He asked, "why?" "Do you still have issues with the agreement?" I explained that I felt good about the agreement and that he was tremendous for helping me. He then said that it was his pleasure to help me out and that he didn't feel the need to charge me because it was an unexpected situation in my life and that every penny probably matters right now. He suggested I pass on the good will in some other way to someone who may need it. This is an ATTORNEY telling me this. He told me to basically practice Karma. He then asked how many days I had to sign and offered to take a quick pass on the agreement if I emailed it to him for additional peace of mind. He coughed it up to a quick "pro bono" job. However, I didn't need it. He had already gone through the parts that worried me and explained them in a manner that was crystal clear. I am not reviewing Ethan so that the world may think he works for free. He doesn't. He represents executives and employees making much more money than me. I am a very small fish and not his usual client type. He just wanted to help because he had the time and opportunity. He made me feel like a client from the start. I've read his reviews -- every one of them. I am not sure if there is any other attorney out there as smart, kind, respectful and decent as Ethan Zelizer. I kind of wish that I had something to fight about so he could represent me. For all of you who need an employment attorney, stop now. Hire Ethan Zelizer. He is on the side of the angels.

Ethan is a special type of attorney -- caring, honest and willing to help you even if it means losing a contingency fee. He cares about what's best for you, not the money you represent. Don't get me wrong, Ethan charges for his consultations like all good attorneys do. Their time is very valuable. Th...e nice thing about ethan is if he can help you quickly and efficiently, he will. We met for an hour at his Chicago office. I'm having issues with my current employer and wanted to file a charge and lawsuit. Ethan talked me through the law and showed me that I needed to work with corporate HR and give them a chance to fix things. He helped draft an email to the HR department and then game planned how the next few weeks would likely go -- down to who would likely interview me and what I should be expected to say. He was right on everything and I was prepared and felt confident. At the end of the consult, Ethan had convinced me to wait on filing anything and to work with my employer. He offered his email, text and cell if I ran into any issues. He was happy to represent me if needed but he was hopeful that wouldn't be the case. He was right. Things are better. I needed somebody to help me through this and direct me. Ethan was the right man for the job. Honest and no nonsense. Several other attorneys were happy to charge me an hourly rate or sign me up on a retainer and contingency and make it confrontational from the start. In the end, Ethan knew that wasn't best for me and although it wasn't the most lucrative case for him (he only charged the consult fee -- that's it), he treated me like a client and gave me his full attention. I hope I don't need an employment attorney in the future -- but if I do -- it will be Ethan Zelizer that I hire. If only the rest of the attorneys out there were as fair and kind as him.

I'm a business owner. I've been dealing with a long and stressful ordeal that's escalated into a legal matter. I researched different options, but was so confused and stressed out about how to proceed. I contacted other attorneys, and while a couple of them were helpful, most didn't give me much ass...istance or guidance without first asking for exorbitant fees; many of them just completely blew me off. I contacted Ethan Zelizer's firm and had great, professional experiences with his staff. Ethan charged me a very reasonable fee to review some documents related to my case and then consult with me over the phone about everything. He took his time to understand what I was dealing with and thoughtfully laid out what my options were. He dealt with some sensitive aspects of my case with great empathy and professionalism, which made me feel very comfortable in discussing everything. He let me know what he thought the relative probability of success would be for the options he laid out based on similar cases he has seen; in this sense, I feel like he gave me very good strategic advice. And of course, he thoroughly answered all of the questions I had prepared. If you're dealing with a stressful legal matter, don't hesitate to consult with Ethan Zelizer. Life is too short and you want competent and caring advice to guide you through the tough times. Trust me, his reasonable fees are well worth it. I know that when you're going through difficulties, the last thing you want to do is to spend money, but it's worth it for the kind of experienced and strategic advice that you get from Ethan Zelizer. I feel much more confident with my circumstances now and I know that you will too.

After being terminated from my employer when trying to return back to work after a disability I felt lost and didn't even know the right people to call nor the steps I needed to take. Many lawyers rejected my case but Etham Zelizer was very empathetic and took the time to listen to me and took on my ...case. He was always available when I had any questions and always kept me posted on what was going on. He worked with the EEOC and managed to have me reinstated in about two months and a half, and still followed up with me to see how things were even after his job was done. He is a great labor lawyer and I highly recommend him to everyone.

African American woman, some college, pretty good paying job but I was a little too mouthy. I knew this wasn't going to be easy. I had cursed out my employer after he had demoted me because I didn't agree with his behavior towards me and other African American women. He had retaliated but I had given... him the golden opportunity to fire me for insubordination. It was just a messy situation. So many attorneys were scared of it. Those that would take it wanted to charge me high fees and didn't promise any results. Ethan Zelizer didn't promise me results either. He teaches employment law at Loyola Chicago. He knows the law inside and out. He knows better than to promise results. What he did do however was he explained how employment discrimination is proven, how difficult it is to make out an employee case, how easy it was for an employer to rebuff it and how often courts granted summary judgment to the employer. He explained why this case would be an uphill slog and that it would take patience and fortitude. But he saw something in me. He cared that I was a single mom. He was compassionate and showed great empathy. Ethan charged a steep retainer but his agreement provides a refund of the retainer to offset the contingency. So if we did win, I'd see my retainer again and if we didn't, he would still have something to show all his hard work. His retainer is worth it. He got 4 calls from potential new clients during our first two-hour meeting. People want Ethan to represent them. He can't take us all. His time is very valuable. And he worked hard. He interviewed my colleagues. He interviewed former employees. He researched other cases of discrimination filed against my employer. And then he found a HR woman who was also African American who had a run-in with my boss and could speak to his character and attitude towards black women. He found her. I met her for the first time when he set a meeting for us. With this evidence that he had gathered, he was ready to put the full force of his firm behind the lawsuit. We were ready to litigate. We were going to beat the employer and their very well known attorneys in court. I was actually excited at the chance to make a difference. However, faced with other women who felt wronged and a HR rep to back it, the employer came to us wanting an EEOC mediation and ready to talk. After a four hour mediation where we made it very clear that litigation was not scary (at this point what did I have to lose any at?) and we had the ammunition to give them a decent battle, we reached an agrement beyond my wildest dreams. Not just a fair sum of money but real change at the company. Ethan wouldn't let them leave without serious equitable relief for current employees suffering this experience. He said made the EEOC charge withdrawal contingent on completion of training for the supervisors. This is ethan zelizer: tough, honest, compassionate, and resilient. He is worth every penny that he makes you. And if he doesn't, take it from me, he tried harder than anybody else would. You want ethan in your corner and you are very lucky if you get him.