Ms. Ecker is a Fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers and the American Bar Foundation. She is a member of the American Bar Association’s Commission on Mental and Physical Disability Law and is the plaintiffs co-chair of the Membership subcommittee of the Employee Rights and Responsibilities Committee of the ABA’s Section of Labor and Employment Law. She is a member of both the National Employment Lawyers Association and its local affiliate, NELA/Illinois, of which she is a past President and a founding Executive Board Member. In addition, she is a Member of the 2005-06 Labor & Employment Law Section Council of the Illinois State Bar Association; and a member of the Chicago Bar Association, for which she served as Chair of the Labor and Employment Law Committee during the 1997-98 bar year.
Ms. Ecker speaks and writes extensively.
Getting Even? Don't Even Think About It!: Expanding Avenues for High Speed Pursuit of Retaliation Claims, Moderator, ABA Labor and Employment Law Section, Annual CLE Conference, November 6, 2009, Washington, D.C.
Expansive New Developments in ADA and FMLA, ABA Annual Meeting, July 31, 2009, Chicago, Illinois
Beards, Prayer and Other Acts of Conscience: Accommodating Employee Religious Freedom in the Workplace, ABA Labor and Employment Law Section Teleconference, April 15, 2009
The Ever-expanding Employment Retaliation Claim, ERR Chicago Meeting, November 13, 2008, Chicago, Illinois
Communication and Implementation of Investigation Results, ABA Labor and Employment Law Section, Annual CLE Conference, November 8, 2007, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Shredding Documents and Keeping Secrets, ABA Section of Labor and Employment Law, ERR Midwinter Meeting, March 2007, New Orleans, Louisiana
The Basics: Family and Medical Leave, ABA Annual Meeting, August 2005, Chicago, Illinois
Mediation Preparation and Advocacy: A Plaintiff Representative’s Perspective, CBA Labor and Employment Law Committee Luncheon Meeting, April 2005
Effective Advocacy in Employment Arbitration, ABA Section of Labor and Employment Law, October 2004, Chicago, IL
Basic Employment Rights & Responsibilities and I Could Have Sworn My Pay Was Higher: Survey of Statutes Addressing Individual Liability for Wrongful Withholding of Wages, Including Commissions and Bonuses, ABA Section of Labor and Employment Law, ERR/EEO Midwinter Meeting, March 2004, Rancho Mirage, California
I Could Have Sworn My Pay Was Higher: Survey of Statutes Addressing Individual Liability for Wrongful Withholding of Wages, Including Commissions and Bonuses, ABA Section of Labor and Employment Law, ERR Committee, March 2004, Rancho Mirage, California
Layoffs and Mass Termination, American Employment Law Survey, sponsored by the ABA LEL Section and the Canadian Bar Association, September 2003, Toronto, Canada
Who Are You? I Really Want to Know: Learning Enough to Hire, Fire and Otherwise Act Without Crossing the Legal Line, ABA Section of Labor and Employment Law, ERR Midwinter Meeting, March 2003, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Family and Medical Leave Act Basics, ABA Annual Meeting, August 10, 2002, Washington, D.C.
Coping with Disaster: Enforcing/Avoiding Enforcement of Non-Competition Agreements and Protecting Trade Secrets in Court and Representing the Employee and New Employer—Defending Against Injunction Actions, Trade Secrets, Covenants not to Compete and Non-Solicitation Agreements Basics, American Bar Association Regional Institute, ABA Section of Labor and Employment Law, June 8, 2002, Chicago, Illinois
Refining Your Discovery Tactics, Employment Litigation Skills Training, American Bar Association Regional Institute, ABA Section of Labor and Employment Law, June 6 & 7, 2002, Chicago, Illinois
Family-Friendly State Laws, ABA Section of Labor and Employment Law, ERR Midwinter Meeting, March 2002, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
Understanding Executive Compensation Packages, Moderator, ABA Annual Meeting, August 6, 2001, Chicago, Illinois
Preparing Punitive Damages Claims in the Aftermath of Kolstad, ABA Section of Labor and Employment Law, ERR Midwinter Meeting, March 22, 2001, St. Petersburg, Florida
Claims and Defenses After Oncale, Ellerth and Farragher, Perspectives After a Year and a Half: How Have the Courts Applied the Decisions?, ABA Section of Labor and Employment Law, ERR Midwinter Meeting, March 18, 2000, La Jolla, California
The Practical Effect of the Affirmative Defenses Enunciated in Farragher and Ellerth: What Plaintiffs Need to Plan for and Do, ABA Section of Labor and Employment Law, ERR Midwinter Meeting, March 25, 1999, Stuart, Florida
"Mazurek Reviews State Court Challenges to At-Will Doctrine," article for ABA LEL Section Newsletter, Winter 2008
"Allowing Disparate Impact Claims Under the ADEA," April 2005, Illinois Bar Journal
"Effective Advocacy in Employment Arbitration," ABA Section of Labor and Employment Law, October 2004, Chicago, IL
"Panelists Consider Title VII on 40th Anniversary," article for ABA LEL Section Newsletter, Fall 2004
"An At-will Employee May Maintain a Discrimination Claim Under 42 U.S.C. § 1981," ISBA Federal Civil Practice Newsletter, March 2004
"Independent Contractor or Employee? Determining Employee and Employer Status," January 2004, LEI Labor & Employment Conference, Snowmass, Colorado
ADEA Commentaries for NITA, LEXIS, September 2003, January, 2004
"Top Ten Employer Actions that Send Employees to a Lawyer," November 2003, Spencer Fane Britt & Browne Client Conferences, Kansas City, Missouri
"Layoffs and Mass Termination," September 2003, American Employment Law Survey sponsored by the ABA and the Canadian Bar Association, Toronto, Canada
"Employment Torts," September 2003, CBA Labor & Employment Law Committee luncheon
"The Basics: Family and Medical Leave" and "The Basics: Employment Rights and Responsibilities," August 2003, ABA Annual Meeting, San Francisco, California
"Who Are You? I Really Want to Know: Learning Enough to Hire, Fire and Otherwise Act Without Crossing the Legal Line," March 2003, ABA Section of Labor and Employment Law, ERR Committee, San Juan, Puerto Rico
"Family and Medical Leave Act Basics," 2002 ABA Annual Meeting, Section of Labor and Employment Law, August 10, 2002, Washington, D.C.
"Coping With Disaster: Avoiding Enforcement of Non-Competition Agreements & Representing the Employee-Defending Against Injunction Actions," and "Refining Discovery Tactics," ABA Regional Institute, June 2002, Chicago, Illinois
"Family-Friendly State Laws," ABA Section of Labor and Employment Law, ERR Committee, March 2002 Midwinter Meeting, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
"Preparing Punitive Damages Claims in the Aftermath of Kolstad," CBA YLS Labor & Employment Law Committee luncheon meeting, February 1, 2002
"Understanding Executive Compensation Packages," ABA Annual Meeting, Chicago, Illinois, August 6, 2001
"Preparing Punitive Damages Claims in the Aftermath of Kolstad," ABA Section of Labor and Employment Law, ERR Committee, March 2001 Midwinter Meeting, St. Petersburg, Florida
"Mediation Preparation and Advocacy: A Plaintiff Representative's Perspective," CBA Meeting of the Alternative Dispute Resolution and Labor and Employment Law Committees, March 14, 2001
"Preparing and Trying Jury Cases," NELA- Illinois luncheon meeting, February 13, 2001
"Cash Balance Pensions: Implication for Employment Lawyers," CBA Labor and Employment Law Committee Seminar, April 27, 2000; "Lessons from the Real World: Best Practices for Avoiding Wrongful Discipline and Termination Liability," Council on Education in Management Seminar: Progressive Discipline, Coaching and Termination Law, June 12, 2000, Oakbrook Terrace
"Claims and Defenses After Oncale, Ellerth, and Farragher, Perspectives After a Year and a Half: How Have the Courts Applied the Decisions?" ABA Section of Labor and Employment Law, ERR Committee Midwinter Meeting, March 18, 2000, La Jolla, California
"The New Wave of Backlash Lawsuits: Employer Liability to the Accused Harasser," Personnel Law Update, Council on Education in Management, November 30, 1999
"Mediation Preparation and Advocacy from A to Z," EEO Mediation Conclave and Workshop, October 25, 1999
"Lessons from the Real World: Best Practices for Avoiding Wrongful Discipline and Termination Liability," Progressive Discipline, Coaching and Termination Law, Council on Education in Management, October 4, 1999
"The Practical Effect of the Affirmative Defenses Enunciated in Farragher and Ellerth: What Plaintiffs Need to Plan For and Do, ABA Section of Labor and Employment Law, Employee Rights & Responsibilities Committee Midwinter Meeting, March 25, 1999, Stuart, Florida
"Privacy Interests and Defamation: Understanding the Issues," Privacy Law in Illinois, Lorman Education Services, March 5, 1999
"Hot Topics and Recent Developments in Employment Law," Dupage County Bar Association, January 23, 1999
"Plaintiffs Attorney's Guide to Management Pitfall," Employment and Labor Law in Illinois, Lorman Education Services, January 6 and 13, 1999
"Terminating Employees Protected by the FMLA," Council on Education in Management, September 14, 1998
"Employee Discharges: The Do's and Don'ts in Representing the Discharged Employee," Labor and Employment Section of the ISBA legal education program, June 5, 1998
"Privacy in the Workplace," Institute for Business and Professional Ethics, DePaul University, May 13, 1998
"Developing and Proving Damages," NELA/Illinois regional seminar on trial practice techniques, April 18, 1998
"Legal Perspectives: Women in the Workplace," Chicago-Kent College of Law, March 6, 1998
"Employment Litigation Preparing for a Jury Trial," CBA, January 1997
"Employment Litigation in the 90's: Unemployment Compensation Claims as Pretrial Preparation," Fifth Annual National Workers Compensation & Disability Conference, November 1996
"Profile of an Ideal Plaintiff," Equal Employment Advisory Council Membership Meeting, October 1996
"Winning Pre-Trial Preparation in the New World of Illinois Civil Litigation," IICLE, October 1995
"Multiple Claims Available to Injured Employees," 1995 Annual Meeting, ABA General Practice Section, August 1995
"Winning Employment Torts," Sixth Annual NELA Conference, June 1995
Illinois Employment Tort Update: A Survey of Recent State and Federal Case Law," CBA YLS Labor and Employment Law Committee, March 1995
"Representing Plaintiffs in Employment Litigation: Defeating Summary Judgment Motions," Young Lawyers Section of the Chicago Bar Association Seventh Annual Seminar on Litigating Employment Discrimination and Wrongful Discharge Cases, February 1994
"Representing Employees in Sexual Harassment Cases," Decalogue Society of Lawyers Continuing Education Series, April 1993
Author: Labor Law, Matthew Bender, Chapters 55 and 58, 1991 and 1992 revisions
Co-Author: "Litigation at the Illinois Human Rights Commission," CBA Record, July/August 1992
"Rights, Wrongs & Responses; Sexual Harassment, Discrimination & Stereotyping," March 1992 meeting of Food Executive Women
Presenter: "The Joys and Pitfalls of a Small Plaintiff's Employment Practice," Second Annual National Employment Lawyers Association Conference, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, June 1991
"Handling Discrimination Cases in Illinois - A Practical Guide", CBA Record, February, 1991
"Privacy Issues", Employment Discrimination and Employment Termination, Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education, 1990
"Proving Willful Violations Under the ADEA: The Evolving Law Since Thurston," 1989 National Employment Lawyers Association-Illinois Seminar Handbook
