- Thurgood and ethics attorney James A. Doppke Jr. presented an accredited ethics CLE program to NELA-Illinois on February 10.
- Attendees scored the presenters' overall teaching effectiveness at 4.37 out of 5 across 52 completed evaluations.
- The program covered what plaintiff-side firms can ethically do for the workers they turn away.
CHICAGO, February 20, 2026 — On February 10, Thurgood (www.askthurgood.com) presented an accredited ethics program to NELA-Illinois, the Illinois affiliate of the National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA). NELA is the largest professional membership organization in the country of lawyers who represent workers.1 Thurgood founder Brandon Burns and James A. Doppke Jr., a legal ethics attorney and partner at Robinson Stewart Montgomery & Doppke LLC, led the one-hour continuing legal education (CLE) program, which carried Illinois ethics credit.2
The program, "Navigating Ethics and Access to Justice: Providing Viable Pathways for Rejected Applicants," was held at Hughes Socol Piers Resnick & Dym, Ltd. in Chicago and broadcast live to remote attendees. Attendees scored the presenters' overall teaching effectiveness at 4.37 out of 5 across 52 completed evaluations. Eighty-two percent rated it a 4 or 5. Attendee comments called the session an "excellent presentation," "very informative" and "so helpful."
A recording of the session is available on YouTube3, and the presentation slides are on SlideShare.4
Workers turned away
The program addressed workers who seek representation and are turned away. Drawing on Thurgood's intake data and contingency-fee research, Burns showed that many workers are declined for reasons that do not defeat their claims, such as short tenure with the employer, a termination more than 30 days old, or missing documentation. Many of those workers also fall outside nonprofit legal aid: organizations funded by the Legal Services Corporation generally cap eligibility at 125% of the federal poverty guidelines.4
What firms can do
The presenters then set out what a firm can ethically do for those workers:4
- Legal information versus legal advice: a firm can share information without giving legal advice, and can point workers to the intake help that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and many state agencies offer claimants who file on their own.
- Non-attorney representation: where federal or state administrative procedure permits it, non-attorney representatives can draft and file complaints and represent workers in settlement negotiations.
- Referral rules: they walked through the rules that govern referrals to non-lawyer providers. These include the bar on sharing legal fees with nonlawyers, Illinois Rule of Professional Conduct 7.2's allowance for non-exclusive reciprocal referral agreements when the client is informed, and a firm's duty to vet any provider it refers clients to.
The presenters
Doppke practices in legal ethics, professional responsibility and disciplinary defense, and has co-authored chapters for the Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education. He also advises Thurgood on professional responsibility.
Every plaintiff-side firm turns away workers it can't take on. The question we brought to NELA-Illinois was what a firm can ethically do for those workers, and the answer is more than many lawyers assume.
About Thurgood
Thurgood, Inc. (askthurgood.com) is a non-attorney employee advocacy firm that represents workers before federal and state administrative agencies. It is based in New York City.