Find Lawyers in Memphis, Tennessee 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.
Louis Britt is the Regional Managing Partner for FordHarrison's Memphis, Nashville and Dallas offices. He concentrates his practice on employment litigation and advice, representing private and public employers in a broad range of employment matters. Louis handles employment discrimination and harassment cases (Title VII, ADA, ADEA and FMLA), wage/hour matters, enforcement and defense of restrictive covenants contained in employment agreements, and employment-related torts. He is experienced ...
Clay Culpepper serves as counsel for a number of businesses and aggressively advocates for injured individuals. Clay has litigated cases from Tennessee to California, in federal and state courts, in front of both juries and judges. Clay represents and counsels clients in various actions, including, but not limited to: Significant Personal Injury: Automobile accidents Trucking accidents Premises liability Malpractice Wrongful death Negligence Business/Commercial Litigation: Contract/transactio...
Frank Day devotes his practice to helping clients accomplish business objectives through employment law litigation and counseling. Frank has successfully represented national retailers, health care providers, and various other public and private employers in matters arising under the FLSA, Title VII, the ADA, FMLA, ADEA, USERRA, and various other federal and state statutes. He has extensive litigation experience in many different forums, and he has helped many clients prevail on summary judgm...
Jay Ebelhar guides company leadership through lawsuits and administrative proceedings to resolve complex employment disputes. He acts as a go-to resource for the full spectrum of employment matters, from harassment and discrimination claims to wage and hour challenges. Utilizing this varied experience, Jay partners with employers to explore options and develop sound strategies that manage risk in line with their organizational goals. Whether this means taking a case through trial or resolving...
Greg Grisham has over 25 years of successful experience counseling and representing employers in all aspects of workplace law in Tennessee and across the United States. He has helped employers avoid claims, charges and lawsuits with a focus on preventative practices. Preventative practices include counseling in situations involving discipline, termination, demotion, promotion and other workplace changes in the terms and conditions of employment, harassment investigations, wage and hour compli...
Ms. Hagerman’s practice focuses on employment litigation and complex commercial litigation, with a particular emphasis on matters pending in federal court. She has represented clients in cases involving employment discrimination, wage and hour class actions, civil rights, products liability, insurance coverage and numerous areas of commercial law. Ms. Hagerman also advises clients on a variety of employment matters including non-solicitation and non-competition agreements, employee hand...
Mr. Henderson is the Managing Shareholder of the Memphis office. He has represented management in employment and labor relations matters for over 25 years. He has served as lead counsel in numerous jury trials in state and federal courts across the nation. His trial experience includes defending state and federal discrimination and harassment lawsuits, class actions, FMLA claims, ERISA and benefit claims, trade secret and unfair competition matters, and related state law claims. He also handl...
Charles W. Hill concentrates his practice in the areas of employment law, securities and broker/dealer litigation, contracts and commercial litigation. Mr. Hill consults with employers concerning employment law decisions regarding their workforce, including discipline, discharge and the implementation of specific policies to ensure compliance with existing employment law, particularly the application of federal and state discrimination statutes. Mr. Hill provides advice and consultation conce...
Russell Jackson represents management in employment-related matters on federal, state, and local levels. Russell's representation includes claims relating to discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wrongful discharge, restrictive covenants, wage and hour violations, unemployment compensation, and other aspects of the employee-employer relationship under federal and state employment laws including Title VII, ADA, ADEA, FMLA, FLSA, NLRA and the OSH Act. Russell also closely works with employer...
Jonathan E. Kaplan has devoted his entire career to representing management clients exclusively in all areas of labor relations, employment law, and human resources management. His practice spans litigation, training, and consulting, in which he has handled matters in more than 40 states and Canada. Jonathan practices extensively before the NLRB across the country, and also has been admitted specially to practice before the state courts in California, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Mic...
LISA A. KRUPICKA is a member of the law firm of Burch, Porter & Johnson, PLLC, in Memphis, where she heads the firm’s Labor and Employment Law group. She received her B.A. degree, magna cum laude, from Rhodes College, and her J.D. degree, with high honors, from Duke University where she was a member of the Duke Law Journal and the Order of the Coif. From 1986 to 1987, she was law clerk to the Honorable Julia Smith Gibbons (then United States District Judge for the Western District o...
Courtney Leyes is a partner in the firm's Gulfport, Memphis and Nashville offices. She represents employers throughout Mississippi and the greater Memphis-metropolitan area, with particular focus on the burgeoning industrial areas in the northern part of the state. Courtney has experience representing employers in litigation related to discrimination and harassment in the workplace, in particular, federal jury trial experience. She also has experience representing employers on wage and hour i...
Mike Marshall is the co-leader of the Labor and Employment section and uses his experience in other arenas to reach solutions and resolutions to his clients' disputes. When no resolution is possible, Mike is a zealous advocate in the courtroom. Mike also has extensive experience in litigating and resolving employment matters and other business-related disputes. He is a frequent speaker on employment-related topics. He has also received an AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell for his legal abilit...
Robert D. Meyers is certified as a Civil Trial Specialist by the National Board of Trial Advocacy. Mr. Meyers has a breadth of employment litigation experience. He has defended companies and individuals before courts in Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas, Alabama, Texas, Georgia, Louisiana, Indiana and Virginia. He has been instrumental in assisting clients in dealing with employee medical issues including ADA, FMLA and workers' compensation concerns. Mr. Meyers also has extensive experience re...
Paul E. Prather represents management exclusively in all areas of employment and labor relations, including state and federal employment litigation and in administrative proceedings before the National Labor Relations Board, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the United States Department of Labor.
John W. Simmons represents management clients in all aspects of employment litigation in federal and state courts in Tennessee and Mississippi, advises clients on employment law and labor relations matters and represents clients in administrative proceedings such as those before the U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs with the U. S. Department of Labor, and the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Occupational S...
Jeff Weintraub is the managing partner of the Memphis office. He is a trial attorney who has represented employers in more than 59 jury and bench trials in the private and public sectors in employment-harassment/discrimination and retaliatory discharge lawsuits alleging violations of public policies and statutes, such as the False Claims Act. Jeff also handles Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charges, wage and hour cases, labor cases, and enforcing non-competes in all federal an...
Erica Johnson's legal practice is focused on the defense and counsel of management clients in matters related to labor and employment law. Prior to joining FordHarrison as an associate, Erica worked as a summer associate in three different firms. She worked as a summer associate in the labor and employment division of a large hospital and as a summer associate for a large global paper goods company. In these roles, she formulated personnel policies, conducted discrimination investigations, an...
Mollie is a Senior Associate who is known for being both relatable and available to her clients. Mollie defends employers against a variety of claims, including discrimination, harassment, and retaliation under Title VII, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Family and Medical Leave Act, as well as claims brought under the Fair Labor Standards Act. She also has a focus in the area of traditional labor law, assisting clients in a variety of matters including collective bargaining negot...
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