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Find Lawyers in Alabama, United States for Litigation - Labor and Employment
Practice Area Overview
Often, these employment disputes culminate in a lawsuit, which can be costly, time-consuming, and damaging to employee relations. The number of employment-related litigation filings has been steadily increasing over the last decade, ranging from large-scale class actions to individual complaints. Employers are facing greater challenges and financial exposure from both current and former employees than ever before.
Employment litigation covers many types of claims, including discrimination; harassment; wage-hour pay, classification, and overtime violations; wrongful discharge; entitlement to employee benefits; misappropriation of trade secrets and confidential information; unfair competition; enforcement or avoidance of restrictive covenants; labor union disputes; workplace safety violations; defamation and other employment-related torts. These claims often involve the many laws governing employee relations, which are often referred to as “employment law alphabet soup.” These include Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), whistleblower claims under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) or Dodd-Frank Act, the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA), the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) and the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA).
Resolving employment litigation requires knowledge of these laws and regulations, the applicable case law, and a careful case analysis and strategy. More so than in other less personal litigation, a perceptive understanding of the people involved is essential for success. Often, suits will be settled among parties or ended before trial through summary judgment based on the facts of the case. When early resolution is not achieved, however, the case will go to trial in court or before an agency tribunal. Verdicts in employment-related cases can be enormous, especially in wage-hour and other class actions, creating a high-stakes situation for employers.
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Anne Knox Averitt has extensive experience in labor and employment matters and commercial litigation. She works in the Birmingham office and represents clients of all sizes, from Fortune 500 companies to family-owned businesses in a number of industries, including retail, automotive, natural resources, manufacturing, healthcare, non-profit, communications, construction, and financial services. She also handles cases before arbitrators, administrative law judges, and federal and state court ju...
After serving as a federal law clerk in the Middle District of Alabama for one year, Mr. Bailey began practicing law with the firm in 1980 and has been a shareholder since 1983. Building upon a strong background of product liability and insurance defense, Mr. Bailey's practice has evolved into handling a variety of complex litigation directly for clients who are either self-insured or have control over the selection of defense counsel.Mr. Bailey works closely with corporate counsel and is the...
Tammy L. Baker is office managing principal of the Birmingham, Alabama, office of Jackson Lewis P.C. She has experience in all aspects of workplace law, including multi-plaintiff and class action litigation. Tammy regularly advises employers on complex issues, including compliance with the FMLA and other employment laws. She lectures frequently on employment-related topics, including at national conferences sponsored by the Society for Human Resource Management. While attending law school, Ta...
Mr. Brooks has extensive experience in corporate and civil rights litigation and represents a number of school systems in north Alabama and several corporate clients. He has represented clients in a broad range of litigation involving federal and state issues. Mr. Brooks has represented a variety of public- and private-sector employers in Title VII, ADA, ADEA, and wrongful termination claims. He has also represented several corporate clients in complex commercial litigation involving, for exa...
Rick Brown provides a full range of services related to the traditional labor and employment law practice. His services related to the avoidance of unionization range from advice concerning all aspects of employee relations and the formulation of policies and practices to legal advice during and after union organizational efforts, union decertification drives and union deauthorization proceedings. Rick's involvement with union organizing includes clients located throughout the country in manu...
Mr. Canupp is a shareholder in the firm and an adjunct professor of employment law at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. Mr. Canupp’s practice focuses on complex civil litigation, with an emphasis on litigation in federal court, both at the trial and appellate levels. Among other areas of practice, Mr. Canupp frequently is engaged on issues of constitutional law; voting rights, civil rights, and police liability claims; and employment litigation. A former federal law clerk, he has...
Mrs. Carter clerked for the Honorable Sonny Hornsby, Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, from 1994-1995 and has been practicing law with Hill Hill Carter since 1995. Ms. Carter handles all aspects of employment relations for employers across the southeast including business development and planning regarding employees, negotiation of key employment contracts, handbook development, internal investigations, employee training and ultimately litigation when necessary. The employment areas...
Keith Covington is a partner in the firm’s Birmingham, Alabama office where he practices labor and employment, immigration, and construction law. Keith counsels employers on a wide variety of topics, including labor relations, union avoidance, equal employment opportunity, OSHA compliance, disability accommodation, non-compete agreements, and issues relating to employee discipline and termination. His immigration practice includes worksite compliance and obtaining employer-based non-imm...
Bruce Downey was admitted to the Alabama State Bar in 1972. He received his A.B. in 1965 and his J.D. in 1972 from the University of North Carolina after service in the U.S. Navy, including a tour with the River Patrol Force in the Republic of Vietnam during 1967-68. Bruce was a member of Phi Delta Phi and was on the staff of The North Carolina Law Review. He received an LL.M. in Labor and Employment Law in 1977 from George Washington University while serving as resident partner in the firm&r...
Hall Eady is a general and commercial litigator with a current focus on the representation of financial institutions. He regularly advises banks and mortgage servicers regarding recoupment options including lien rights, closing errors, title insurance, mortgage insurance and correspondent/broker agreements. Hall has also represented construction companies and product manufacturers. Hall has been named as one of the Best Lawyers in America since 2015 in the Commercial Litigation category. This...
Gaile Pugh Gratton Greene is a shareholder in Dentons Sirote’s Birmingham, Alabama office. She is a member of the Employment and Labor practice group, where she has considerable experience litigating employment claims. Gaile advises clients on the development and implementation of workplace policies and procedures to ensure legal compliance. She conducts investigations of discrimination claims and employee misconduct and also performs labor audits. Gaile prepares employee and personnel ...
Mac Greaves is a member of the Labor & Employment Practice Group. During his more than three decades in private practice, Mac has represented employers in the full range of workforce-related matters. Mac routinely helps clients identify, prevent, and resolve employment-related issues in an effort to avoid litigation, union organizing efforts, and other state and federal investigations. Mac handles claims and litigation relating to workers’ compensation, retaliatory discharge under t...
John Hargrove is a partner in the Birmingham office in the Labor and Employment and Construction and Procurement Practice Groups. He is chair of the Labor and Employment Group and is a Fellow in the American College of Labor and Employment Lawyers. He also is listed in Chambers USA, The Best Lawyers in America, and Alabama Super Lawyers. John regularly represents public and private companies in mining, construction, manufacturing, medical, communications and warehousing industries, among othe...
Elizabeth J. Kanter is a shareholder in the Birmingham, Alabama office of Carr Allison where she defends transportation suits and handles all phases of labor and employment matters. She is admitted to practice before the United States District Court for the Northern, Middle and Southern Districts of Alabama, as well as the Alabama state courts. Elizabeth has been selected to the Mid-South Rising Stars list by Super Lawyers® from 2012-2016 and was chosen as a 2017 “Top Flight Lawyer&...
T. Scott Kelly, a shareholder in the Birmingham office of Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak, & Stewart, provides practical solutions for federal contractors and subcontractors across the United States to comply with the ever-changing affirmative action obligations imposed by doing business with the federal government. He advocates on behalf of his clients in compliance evaluations and administrative enforcement actions trigged by the United States Department of Labor's Office of Federal Cont...
Dan Martin is a partner in the Litigation Practice Group. He represents clients in corporate compliance, white collar criminal defense, employment, and commercial litigation matters.Dan is a member of the firm’s corporate compliance and white collar defense team. A litigator and trial attorney since 2004, Dan has significant experience in a broad spectrum of civil and criminal disputes, particularly in the areas of commercial litigation, corporate compliance and white collar criminal ma...
Jennifer McGahey has extensive experience in both commercial litigation and labor and employment matters. She represents clients in a variety of industries, such as e-commerce, natural resources, government contract, healthcare, pharmaceutical, and retail, and her clients range from large publicly-traded companies to small family-owned businesses. Jennifer has litigated cases ranging from a single plaintiff to class action to the federal government. Jennifer handles cases across the country a...
Shannon L. Miller is a Shareholder in the Birmingham, Alabama office of Jackson Lewis P.C. Ms. Miller is experienced in all aspects of employment litigation, including multi-plaintiff and class action claims. She also regularly provides counsel, planning and defense to clients on affirmative action compliance and audits. Following law school, Ms. Miller served as judicial law clerk to the Honorable James H. Hancock, United States District Judge, Northern District of Alabama. Ms. Miller is a r...
Matt has over 20 years of experience representing and advising management in all areas of labor and employment law, including anti-discrimination laws, wage and hour law, ERISA, OSHA, and covenants not to compete. He regularly advises clients on preventive measures, including creation and revision of policies and procedures, and represents clients in court cases in federal, state and administrative forums. Matt has tried jury, non-jury and arbitration cases and has litigated cases ranging fro...
Jim has been representing businesses and individuals in disputes, litigation, trials and appeals in state and federal courts for over forty years. He handles a wide variety of civil cases ranging from matters involving claims for personal injury to those involving claims made under the False Claims Act. His expertise includes business litigation, statutory and regulatory litigation brought by individuals and the United States, extra-contractual claims brought against insurance companies and d...
Mr. Palmer is an experienced litigator specializing in both employment litigation and general civil litigation in state and federal courts. His interest in litigation began early in his legal career when as a law student at Vanderbilt University, Mr. Palmer won the Harlan Dodson Moot Court Competition and was appointed to the position of Associate Justice of Vanderbilt’s Moot Court Board. Mr. Palmer began his career in 1988 as an associate and later a partner in a large general practice...
Charles A. Powell has represented employers throughout the southeast against employment discrimination and harassment, non-competition and wage and hour litigation suits for more than 18 years. He has a strong record of successfully defending employers against various employment and labor law claims, including: A retail chain in a jury trial alleging sexual harassment and state law tort claims A hospital in a jury trial alleging racially discriminatory promotion, discharge and retaliation cla...
With more than 25 years of experience as a labor and employment attorney, Wesley Redmond has a unique approach to litigation and particular experience representing retail clients and religious institutions. Wesley regularly represents clients in state and federal courts as well as before administrative agencies and he counsels them in complying with the many federal and state employment and labor laws. His litigation approach is to test as early as possible the validity of claims made by empl...
Mr. Royer’s practice is primarily focused on litigation. He practices primarily in the areas of local governmental liability, civil rights and constitutional litigation, employment, commercial disputes and professional malpractice, both at the trial level and on appeal. He frequently serves as a court-appointed mediator in civil litigation for federal and state courts. He also regularly represents clients in general civil and insurance defense litigation.
Michael Sansbury has represented clients in trial and appellate courts across the United States. He has argued in courts ranging from Oregon Circuit Court to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. He has examined countless witnesses—from the president of a multi-national corporation in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to a newspaper publisher from Auburn, Alabama—and has tried issues in state and federal courts in Alabama. Always thinking of the long-term impact, Sansbury spec...
Mr. Seale has 45 years of experience and represents the Alabama Board of Medical Examiners, boards of education, including five as general counsel, construction companies, contractors and architects, in a variety of legal matters including labor employment/Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), business contracts, and civil rights matters. Additionally, he regularly serves as an arbitrator and mediator, representing clients in arbitration and mediation disputes. He is admitted to practice in all St...
Kyle T. Smith is the president and shareholder of Dentons Sirote's Alabama office, where he leads the Dentons Sirote Employment and Labor team. He counsels employers across all industries on a broad range of employment issues and represents employers in all types of employment litigation. Kyle’s employment litigation practice includes the defense of employers in claims of discrimination and harassment, wage and hour cases, claims under the ADA and FMLA, and suits for retaliatory dischar...
JEFF STARLING is the Chair of the firm’s Labor & Employment Practice Group. His practice is devoted to the representation of employers in the following areas: Employment Litigation - Federal and State court litigation of individual, multi-plaintiff and class action claims of employment discrimination, wage and hour violations and wrongful discharge. Labor Relations - Strategic advice and legal representation in union organizing campaigns and elections, collective bargaining, strikes and p...
Chuck is a trial lawyer of over 37 years whose practice focuses primarily in the defense of national and international corporations in product liability, employment, toxic tort, commercial, intellectual property, and catastrophic personal injury matters. Licensed in Alabama and Tennessee, Chuck’s extensive litigation experience is national in scope. He has handled a wide variety of cases in Alabama, Arizona, North Carolina, Texas, California, Massachusetts, Georgia, Mississippi, Tenness...
Sharon Stuart devotes her practice to civil trial work and arbitration. She focuses on complex commercial and insurance litigation, and she handles a variety of product liability cases including pharmaceutical and medical device products liability litigation as national, regional or local counsel. Her trial experience includes a wide range of business tort claims, contract disputes, commercial and insurance fraud and bad faith suits, and wrongful death cases. She has defended dozens of class ...
Emily Tidmore is an appellate lawyer and commercial litigator who has represented clients in complex commercial litigation throughout the country, including in the United States Supreme Court. Her litigation experience includes commercial and labor-and-employment class actions, business torts, intellectual property disputes, transportation regulation, Chapter 9 (municipal) bankruptcy, and punitive damages and federal preemption issues. Emily was named as the 2018 “Lawyer of the Year&rdq...
After more than 25 years of practicing labor and employment law, David Walston has developed a formula for building successful client relationships. He believes that all good engagements begin with a face-to-face meeting to perform an assessment of the current policies and practices of the client’s human resources operations. David’s assessment is designed to ensure compliance with applicable laws, regulations and agency and court interpretations. David then offers day-to-day empl...
Since 1993, Mr. Warren has represented employers in the employment and labor law field, with an emphasis on litigation prevention counseling and employment litigation defense. Mr. Warren has served as lead counsel in numerous bench and jury trials at the state and federal level and on state and federal appeals. He became a founding member of Ogletree Deakins’ Birmingham office in 1997. Mr. Warren’s litigation prevention counseling includes areas such as training employees and supe...
After serving with distinction as a Mobile County District Judge from 1997-2007, Judson W. Wells joined Carr Allison as a shareholder on January 1, 2008. Since joining Carr Allison, he has brought his years of judicial experience and prior defense attorney experience to serve his clients in many areas of the law. He has defended labor and employment, professional liability, personal injury, worker’s compensation and insurance claims. Judge Wells was recently named to The Best Lawyers in...
Kary Bryant Wolfe is a partner in the Labor & Employment Practice Group. She practices in the areas of employment law and general litigation. Kary represents employers in the banking, fabrication and assembly, real estate development, mining, retail, government, and service industries. Kary has represented employers in discrimination and retaliation cases, at trial and on appeal, including cases brought under Title VII, Section 1981, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Family a...
Tammy has successfully represented employers in the defense of claims arising out of the employment relationship. She routinely provides advice to clients concerning all employment-related issues in an effort to avoid litigation. Tammy handles claims and litigation in state and federal courts involving matters relating to discrimination, retaliation, and harassment (including claims based on race, religion, gender, age, and disability). Other matters she handles include any and all tort claim...
Anne has over 25 years experience partnering with clients to efficiently manage employment matters, whether that entails walking through an employee disciplinary issue, training supervisors on FMLA, early settlement of an EEOC charge or a jury trial. She has worked with clients throughout the Southeast to develop handbooks, administer FMLA and USERRA leave, oversee reductions in force, negotiate employment agreements (including non-competes), and all aspects of employee training. Anne has han...
Melisa Zwilling is a shareholder with Carr Allison and is a resident in its Birmingham (AL) office. Her practice focuses on labor and employment, insurance defense and Medicare compliance. Melisa has published countless articles and spoken at numerous conferences and seminars across the United States. For her outstanding legal work, she earned an AV Preeminent ® rating from the national lawyer ranking service Martindale Hubbell ® and has been selected as one of The Best Lawyers in Ame...
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