Gerald F. (Jerry) Lutkus is a partner in the South Bend office of Barnes & Thornburg LLP where he is a member of the firm’s Labor and Employment Law and Litigation Departments. He practices in the areas of labor and employment law counseling and litigation, arbitration, collective bargaining, and media law. Mr. Lutkus has been recognized on the Indiana Super Lawyers list for his work in labor and employment Law. The Best Lawyers in America has recognized Mr. Lutkus for over 10 years for his work in commercial litigation, employment law - management, labor law - management, first amendment litigation, and labor and employment litigation. He was named a Best Lawyers “Lawyer of the Year” in 2012, 2013, 2015 and 2018.
Mr. Lutkus exclusively represents management in virtually all aspects of labor and employment law. A “full-service” labor lawyer, Mr. Lutkus has represented clients at virtually all levels of administrative proceedings, including matters before the EEOC, the NLRB, and the DOL, as well as in federal court litigation. He has guided employers through non-compete cases, wage/hour investigations, workforce reorganizations, and plant and company closings or acquisitions. He works on issues involving new technology and social networking and is a frequent writer and speaker on this topic. Mr. Lutkus devotes a significant part of his practice to daily client counseling and management training. On the traditional labor side, he counsels clients on labor strategies, conducts union-free training and union-avoidance campaigns, handles arbitrations, contests organizing campaigns and bargains collective bargaining agreements.
