Poonam Lakhani
Poonam Lakhani is the founder of the Law Office of Poonam Lakhani. After over 15 years successfully representing clients in litigation, Ms. Lakhani now focuses her practice on preventing disputes before they arise. Her goal is to help clients avoid costly, time-consuming, and uncertain conflicts by crafting solid agreements and providing proactive counsel—saving clients’ money, time, and stress while ensuring their interests are fully protected
Ms. Lakhani is a pragmatic counselor who understands the practical impact of legal advice on real-world business operations. She regularly advises clients on employment matters, including hiring and termination, ADA and FMLA compliance, drafting employment agreements and handbooks, and general business matters such as contract negotiations, commercial leases, and business formation.
Before founding her firm, Ms. Lakhani represented a diverse range of clients, including individual employees, executives, and employers, ranging from small businesses to mid-sized multi-state entities. She has obtained a multi-million dollar jury verdict, and regularly represented clients in state and federal courts, before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Illinois Department of Human Rights, the Illinois Department of Labor, the Cook County Commission on Human Rights, and other administrative bodies.
Ms. Lakhani is also skilled in handling a wide range of employment claims, including discrimination, harassment, retaliation claims, as well as wage and hour matters. She also has extensive experience representing physicians and negotiating physician employment agreements.
Ms. Lakhani is widely recognized for her legal knowledge. She has given numerous interviews and statements to media outlets, such as National Public Radio (NPR), Fox News Chicago, Crains Chicago Business, and Mother Jones.
Dedicated to Service
Throughout her career, Ms. Lakhani has dedicated much of her free time to public service. In recognition of her work on a labor trafficking case, Ms. Lakhani was awarded the Northern District of Illinois Excellence in Pro Bono and Public Interest Service Award in 2023. She is a member of the South-Asian Bar Association of Chicago (SABA Chicago), for which she previously served as community chair. She also served as a Trustee on the South-Asian Bar Association Foundation. She assisted many income-eligible individuals with various legal matters though the Cyriac Kappil Pro Bono Legal Clinic. Ms. Lakhani also volunteered with the Southern Poverty Law Center to help victims of labor trafficking.
Education & Credentials
- J.D., DePaul University College of Law
- B.A. Economics, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
- Ms. Lakhani is fluent in Hindi and Sindhi.
Professional Association Membership
- Illinois State Bar Association
- South-Asian Bar Association
- DuPage County Bar Association
- National Employment Lawyers Association
- Admitted to practice in Illinois and Northern District of Illinois
Honors and Recognition
- Super Lawyer, Illinois Super Lawyers, 2025, 2026
- Recipient of the Northern District of Illinois Excellence in Pro Bono and Public Interest Service Award, 2023.
- Beacon Award Honorable Mention, Smokeball, 2023
- Kathryn Smith Matkov Award, Chicago Chapter of the Federal Bar Association, 2023
- Super Lawyers Rising Star, Illinois Super Lawyers, 2016-2022
Speaking Engagements, Publications, and Media Appearances
- “Employee Handbooks, Your Roadmap for Success,” A presentation for continuing legal education on best practicees for emplolyee handbooks, Lawline (2024).
- “The Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act: How it Protects Labor Trafficking Victims,” a presentation on the intersection of employment and immigration law sponsored by the South Asian Bar Association of Chicago (SABA) (Dec 2022).
- Speaker at the 9th Annual Minority Bar CLE Conference, “Post-COVID: Will We Ever Be the Same?” (Oct 2021).
- Interviewed by Crain’s for “You Don’t Want to Be Known as the Place People Got Sick,” an article on workplace vaccination requirements (Sept 2021).
- Interviewed by Mother Jones for their article, “Inside the Private Facebook Groups Where Anti-Vaxxers Plot to Get Religious Exemptions” (Sept 2021).
- Served as a guest on WBEZ’s Reset regarding COVID exemptions (Aug 2021).
- Highlighted in “Workers Will Claim Religious Exemptions on Vaccines. What Then?” a Crain’s article on COVID religious exemptions (Aug 2021).
- Appeared on FOX 32 Chicago regarding COVID vaccines (Aug 2021).
- Panelist for “Tech Companies: Equal Opportunity Policies vs. Realities,” part of the “Tech and Social Justice Speaker Series” hosted by Illinois Institute of Technology’s Office of Community Affairs (May 2021).
- Guest on Anjali Jariwala’s podcast Money Checkup regarding contract review for physicians (Apr 2021).
- Panelist for a CLE on “Balancing Privacy and Public Health in a Post-COVID Era,” an event sponsored by the South Asian Bar Association (SABA) of Chicago (April 2021).
- “Life after the Curve: Navigating Law Practice in the Era of COVID-19,” a forum sponsored by the South Asian Bar Association of Chicago (SABA) (2020).
- “Employment Agreements: IP Rights, Confidentiality, and Non-Competes,” workshop for Innovation DuPage (2019).
- “Hiring Employees and Interns: A Discussion on Employment Law,” workshop for Innovation DuPage (2019).
- “How to Be an Asset to Your Firm,” YLD News, Illinois State Bar Association, available here (2015).