Overview

Sylvia Bokyung St. Clair is a trusted advisor who regularly counsels employers in a broad range of employment matters arising under both state and federal laws and is recognized nationally for her work in employment law.

Employment Counseling, Investigations & Audits

She regularly advises on best practices to help clients avoid disputes and ensure compliance with evolving legal requirements. Sylvia provides strategic advice on complex employment issues and conducts sensitive internal investigations and audits involving hiring practices, employment policies and practices, wage-and-hour pay practices, pay transparency, child labor, immigration, and California employer privacy law compliance.

Sylvia has extensive experience leading the defense of investigations brought by federal and state agencies, including the Department of Labor and Department of Homeland Security.

Employment Litigation

Sylvia has significant experience representing companies nationally in complex employment disputes and commercial litigation matters, achieving successful litigation outcomes in both federal and state courts, arbitrations, and before administrative agencies, involving:

  • Discrimination
  • Harassment
  • Wrongful termination
  • Wage-and-hour compliance
  • Whistleblower claims
  • Job-protected leave
  • Trade secret misappropriation
  • Breach-of-contract claims
  • Immigration-related claims

Additionally, she conducts trainings and frequently lectures on worksite enforcement actions, preventing sexual harassment, and other hot topics in employment law.

Previous Experience

Sylvia’s passion for employee relations and human resources stems from her work in two family-run businesses and a decade-long career in hospitality management, where she and her team were widely recognized for outstanding service and high-achieving standards and policies. Today, guided by years of experience on the front lines, she devotes her legal career to partnering with employers to focus on practical solutions.

Credentials

Bar Admissions

California
Illinois

Court Admissions

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California
U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois

Languages

Korean

Education

Chicago-Kent College of Law
J.D. cum laude, Chicago-Kent Law Review (executive articles editor) (2013)

DePaul University
B.A. in Legal Studies

Insights & Events

Other Perspectives

Firm Blog Contributions

  • LaborSphere – a resource providing coverage and insights on breaking cases, recently enacted legislation and a broad range of labor issues

Leadership & Community

Pro Bono

  • U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois, Settlement Assistance Program — Successfully negotiated settlements involving discrimination on the basis of genetic information and § 1983 claims
  • Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, Illinois Coalition for Fair Sentencing of Children — Successfully obtained a new resentencing hearing for an individual serving a mandatory life-without-parole sentence pursuant to the Illinois Supreme Court’s holding in People v. Addolfo Davis that the prohibition of mandatory life sentences for homicide offenses committed by juveniles would apply retroactively
  • National Immigrant Justice Center, Deferred Action Clinics — Assisted an immigrant youth who arrived to the United States during her childhood in completing and filing an application for deferral and work permit

Professional Associations

  • National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA), 2018-present
  • Women’s Bar Foundation — Board of Directors, 2015-19
  • Women’s Bar Association of Illinois, 2013-19

Honors

  • Best Lawyers® — “Ones to Watch,” Litigation – Labor and Employment, 2023-25
  • Super Lawyers — “Rising Star,” Los Angeles, 2019-23
  • Illinois Super Lawyers — Rising Star, 2019-22
  • Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD) — Pathfinder, 2018
  • Faegre Drinker — Pro Bono Honor Roll, 2020-22, 2024
  • Faegre Baker Daniels — Pro Bono Honor Roll, 2016-19
  • Leading Lawyers —  Emerging Lawyer, 2017-20
  • The Chicago Committee, Rate My Pitch — Outstanding Individual Pitch, 2016