Rosemary L. Borek

Senior Counsel

Indianapolis Office
11590 N. Meridian St.
Suite 650
Carmel, IN 46032

Rosemary L. Borek joined Clark Johnson & Knight, Ltd. as senior counsel in March 2023. She was previously a partner at Stephenson Morow & Semler. Rosemary’s practice concentrates on defense of government entities, officials, and employees in claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 alleging violations of constitutional rights in the areas of excessive force, inmate medical care, due process, equal protection, and the First Amendment. Her employment practice includes discrimination and retaliation under Title VII, the ADA, Rehabilitation Act, the ADEA, FMLA, and the Indiana Civil Rights Law. She is also well-versed in the defenses and immunities pursuant to the Indiana Tort Claims Act.

Rosemary has more than 20 years’ experience representing municipalities, counties, sheriffs, schools, and their employees in federal and state court, during investigations by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), Indiana Civil Rights Commission, and other agencies. Her employment practice has also included private employers. Clients rely on Rosemary’s detailed and thorough analysis at the early stages of litigation or pre-suit investigation to determine whether the case will be litigated or settled. She has been successful in obtaining dismissal or summary judgment for clients in factually and legally complex cases, and favorable appellate rulings from the Seventh Circuit, and both the Indiana Supreme Court and Court of Appeals.

Rosemary has given presentations and training in the areas of hostile work environment, employment claims under Indiana law, the FMLA, deposition tactics, and other topics on behalf of client insurers to management employees, the Association of Indiana Counties, and the Indiana Sheriff’s Association. She has also served a faculty presenter for the Indiana Continuing Legal Education Forum.

Before transitioning to private practice, Rosemary served as a deputy Indiana Attorney General in the appeals sections in which she routinely handled complex criminal and civil appeals and argued before the Seventh Circuit and state appellate courts early in her career.

Rosemary is a graduate of the Maurer Law School at Indiana University-Bloomington where she served as a managing editor of the Indiana Law Journal. She graduated magna cum laude from the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida where she was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, served as a mentor for undeclared freshman and was involved in various student and community organizations. When not practicing law, Rosemary is involved with her three daughters’ various activities.

In City of Columbus v. Londeree, 145 N.E.3d 827 (Ind. Ct. App. 2020), reversed the denial of the city’s summary motion on interlocutory review, holding that the city was not estopped from raising a lack of tort claim notice defense based on representations by a third party’s insurer distinguishing cases in which courts held estoppel barred the defense.

In Hoffman v. Knoebel, 894 F.3d 896 (7^Th Cir. 2018), the Seventh Circuit upheld summary judgment in favor of the director of a drug treatment court and its bailiff for due process violations when the presiding judge at different times ordered 21 program participants to be incarcerated pending placement in treatment programs and for Fourth Amendment violations for alleged arrests when director and bailiff lacked arrest powers under state law.

In Fayette County Board of Commissioners v. Price, 9 N.E.3d 640 (Ind. 2014), the Indiana Supreme Court granted transfer and reversed both the trial court and Court of Appeals. The Court held that a decision not to reappoint a county highway superintendent is not subject to judicial review pursuant to Indiana Code § 36-2-2-27.

In two district court cases, the entity defendants successfully argued that an employee working for an elected official other than the executive is not an “employee” of the entity for the purpose of liability under anti-discrimination laws. Lockwood v. McMillan, 237 F.Supp.840 (S.D. Ind. 2017) (clerk-treasurer rather than city was wastewater clerk’s employer for Title VII purposes); Farmer v. Town of Speedway, 62 F.Supp.3d 842 (S.D. Ind. 2014) (deputy clerk-treasurer was employee of elected clerk-treasurer and not the town for ADA and FMLA purposes).