Non-Attorney Advocacy Firm Thurgood Prevails Against Big Law in Illinois Discrimination Case

NEW YORK, NY, September 24, 2026 — Thurgood, a non-attorney employee advocacy firm (www.askthurgood.com), has won a substantial evidence finding from the Illinois Department of Human Rights (IDHR) against KIPP, the country's largest charter school network¹, and its counsel, Jackson Lewis P.C., one of the 50 largest law firms in the United States²³. The civil rights case against KIPP Chicago Schools is now pending in the Circuit Court of Cook County.

KIPP operates 278 schools in 21 states and the District of Columbia, serving nearly 125,000 students⁴. Jackson Lewis has more than 1,100 attorneys in 60 locations⁵. It ranks 32nd on the 2026 Law360 400² and 45th on the 2026 National Law Journal (NLJ) 500³, both of which rank firms by attorney headcount. It is also on the 2026 Am Law 100 for gross revenue⁶. Thurgood was founded in 2024. Its founder, Brandon Burns, appeared as the complainant's non-attorney representative, which Illinois permits at the IDHR.

Jackson Lewis asked the Department to dismiss the charge in its entirety, arguing that the claims fell outside the Illinois Human Rights Act. Thurgood built its case from KIPP's own emails, which documented the concerns the complainant raised with school leaders in the weeks before her termination. On June 24, 2026, the IDHR's Director concluded that "there is Substantial Evidence that a civil rights violation has been committed."

The complaint

The complainant was a special-education case manager at KIPP Bloom Primary in Chicago. She alleges that KIPP terminated her employment three days after she told school leaders in writing that she would report the treatment of students with disabilities to city and state authorities. According to the complaint, her reports included:

• a staff member threatening and cursing at a disabled student
• an assistant principal dragging a disabled student out of a classroom by his legs
• placement decisions for disabled students made without the data the law requires

In court

After the finding, Thurgood transitioned the case to Randolph & Holloway LLC in Chicago. On September 18, 2026, attorney Philip S. Holloway filed Allison v. KIPP Chicago Schools, No. 2026L011172. The suit brings retaliation claims under the Illinois Human Rights Act and the Illinois Whistleblower Act, seeks damages in excess of $500,000, and demands a jury trial.