500 West Madison Street Suite 3700, Chicago, IL USA 60661
3 TIMES SQUARE, New York, NY USA 10036
Samera Syeda Ludwig focuses her practice on labor and employment and business immigration. For more than 20 years, she has represented employers in both state and federal courts and in administrative proceedings throughout the country. As an experienced litigator, Samera counsels and represents businesses on matters involving employee discipline, employee claims of discrimination, harassment and retaliation, OSHA compliance and counseling, EEO compliance and reporting, and conducts internal investigations. Samera also advises employers on immigration policies and employment related issues including obtaining non-immigrant and immigrant visas, providing immigration related guidance during corporate mergers and acquisitions, and assisting employers with I-9 employment eligibility and verification compliance.
Prior to joining the firm, Samera was a partner at a well-established litigation law firm in its Chicago, Illinois office where she concentrated her practice on commercial litigation, labor and employment, immigration, and alternative dispute resolution. Samera also served as the firm’s administrative partner where she was involved in many aspects of its management including working with the firm’s senior management team, acquiring legal talent, and overseeing administrative operations. Previously, Samera was a partner in the Chicago, Illinois office of a Global 100 law firm where she led diversity initiatives.
While attending Columbia Law School, Samera was Editor-in-Chief of the Columbia Journal of Gender and Law.
Samera received the 2023 Vanguard Award from the Asian American Bar Association of Greater Chicago, which honored Samera for making the law and legal profession more accessible to and reflective of the community at large. She was recognized as one of its “Notable Women Lawyers” in 2024 by Crain’s Chicago Business. Samera was selected as a member of the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity's 2024 Class of Fellows and is recipient of the 2024 LCLD Atlas Award.
Experience
*Lead trial counsel for FMLA retaliation case in five-day jury trial in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.
*Successfully obtained asylum for a Pakistani woman fearing persecution after three-day hearing in Chicago Immigration Court.
*Served as national employment counsel for a Fortune 50 company based in Burlington, North Carolina defending claims in federal and state courts.
*Secured the dismissal via summary judgment of a disability discrimination claim brought by a former flight attendant against a major U.S. airline company.
*Successfully defended a large automaker in a consumer class action relating to alleged defects of specific tires equipped on certain models of vehicles.
*Successfully represented a laboratory testing company against claims of defamation and negligence relating to its testing and results.
*Won the dismissal for a Fortune 50 pharmaceutical company through a summary judgment of false advertising claims under the Lanham Act.
*Represented former officers of a lease financing company in a securities fraud action brought by a special purpose investment vehicle alleging claims under Section 10 and 20(a) of the Securities and Exchange Act and the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Practices Act.
*Experience gained by attorney prior to joining Kilpatrick
Insights View All
Columbia Law School J.D. (1997)
Wesleyan University B.A. (1994) with honors
Illinois (2001)
New York (2000)
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
Leadership Council on Legal Diversity, 2024 Class of Fellows
American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) Chicago Chapter, ICE Workplace Enforcement Committee, Member
American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), Member
The Alliance of Bar Associations for Judicial Screening, Investigator
Asian American Bar Association of Chicago, Board of Directors, Member
Chicago High School for the Arts, Foundation Board of Directors, Member
Heart of Chicago, American Heart Association, Board Member
University of Illinois Chicago School of Law, Adjunct Professor
Disclaimer
While we are pleased to have you contact us by telephone, surface mail, electronic mail, or by facsimile transmission, contacting Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP or any of its attorneys does not create an attorney-client relationship. The formation of an attorney-client relationship requires consideration of multiple factors, including possible conflicts of interest. An attorney-client relationship is formed only when both you and the Firm have agreed to proceed with a defined engagement.
DO NOT CONVEY TO US ANY INFORMATION YOU REGARD AS CONFIDENTIAL UNTIL A FORMAL CLIENT-ATTORNEY RELATIONSHIP HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED.
If you do convey information, you recognize that we may review and disclose the information, and you agree that even if you regard the information as highly confidential and even if it is transmitted in a good faith effort to retain us, such a review does not preclude us from representing another client directly adverse to you, even in a matter where that information could be used against you.
