Attorneys

Shawn P. Flaherty
sflaherty@obkcg.com

Partner, Naperville Office

Shawn P. Flaherty began his association with the law firm of Ottosen Britz Kelly Cooper & Gilbert, Ltd. as a law clerk in May 1995, and he was hired as an associate after his graduation. Mr. Flaherty graduated summa cum laude from Illinois State University in 1993 with a B.S. in Political Science. Mr. Flaherty was awarded the Departmental Unit Award in American Governmental Studies from Illinois State University in 1993. He received his J.D., cum laude, from Northern Illinois University College of Law in May 1996. He served as Editor-in-Chief for Volume 16 of the Northern Illinois University Law Review, and he was a published author in Volume 15 of the Review. While in law school, Mr. Flaherty received the "Outstanding Contribution to Scholarly Publications" award, interned for the Kendall County State's Attorney, and served as a member of the Moot Court Society.

Mr. Flaherty has experience representing clients before the Illinois Department of Human Rights, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the Illinois State Labor Relations Board. Mr. Flaherty has lectured on various topics including local government finance, governmental ethics, public employee discipline and discharge, and the Fair Labor Standards Act. He has conducted numerous training sessions for fire protection district trustees and firefighters statewide, and has authored several articles on topics of interest to local government officials in several publications, including the DCBA Brief, The Gong, The Fire Call, The Fire Guard, and County Government Law: A Reference Guide. He has also authored two editions of a monograph entitled Fire Commission and Personnel Issues for the Illinois Association of Fire Protection Districts.

Mr. Flaherty has been admitted to the bars of the State of Illinois, the State of Wisconsin, and the Northern District of Illinois, and he is a member of the Illinois State, Wisconsin State, DuPage County, and Kane County Bar Associations. He is an associate member of the Illinois Fire Chiefs' Association and currently serves as Secretary of the Police Commission in the Village of Oswego. He is a former member of the Illinois State Bar Association's Committee on Judicial Evaluations and the ISBA Local Government Law Section Council. He is a former Chairman of the DuPage County Bar Association's Local Government Committee. Mr. Flaherty concentrates his practice in local government law, labor and employment law, election law, public pension law, municipal litigation, and appellate law.