Employment & ERISA
LWS attorneys have significant and broad litigation experience in all aspects of employment litigation including defending and prosecuting statutory employment discrimination claims, employment contract disputes, ERISA benefits and fiduciary litigation, as well as hybrid business/employment litigation related to covenants not to compete and misappropriation of confidential/proprietary business information. Additionally, LWS attorneys provide valuable pre-litigation counseling in the employment arena with the goal of litigation avoidance. Examples of our accomplishments and engagements include the following:
- Successfully defending a claim for violation of ERISA and obtaining an award of attorneys’ fees against the plaintiff. See Redman v. TXU Long-Term Income Disability Plan, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 33998 (E.D. Tex. May 26, 2006).
- Successfully litigating multiple race, age, sex and age discrimination suits in various federal courts on behalf of corporate and individual clients.
- Obtaining summary judgment in federal court on race discrimination claims and defending the judgment through appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. See Martin Morgan v. Texas Utilities Electric Company, 500 U.S. 1229, 117 S. Ct. 1821.
- Obtaining a multi-million dollar jury verdict on behalf of a former officer of a financial institution on claims of contract breach and defamation.
- Successfully defending against an employee’s ERISA claim for denial of benefits while recovering on a fraud counterclaim brought on behalf of the Plan against the employee.
- Engaging in a week-long, temporary injunction hearing resulting in an injunction preventing a client’s competitor from marketing a product allegedly derived from the client’s confidential information.