Gregg M. Lemley

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Mr. Lemley has practiced exclusively in the area of labor and employment law and related litigation since 1995. He concentrates his practice primarily in litigation of employment and employment related commercial disputes and employer counseling. He has represented employers in a wide range of litigation matters in both state and federal court, and before arbitrators, administrative law judges and other tribunals in disputes involving alleged discrimination based on race, sex, age, religion, disability, national origin and the FMLA, sexual and racial harassment, retaliation (including workers’ compensation and whistleblower retaliation), tortious interference with contract, ERISA violations, LMRA claims, employment contract disputes and other employment related claims and commercial disputes, including numerous non-compete and non-solicitation disputes. He also has extensive experience representing clients in class and collective action wage and hour claims brought under the FLSA and state wage laws.  He also has practiced before numerous state administrative hearing tribunals and has extensive experience in alternative dispute resolution, including mediation and early neutral evaluation.

Mr. Lemley also is a certified mediator for the Eastern and Western Districts of Missouri and for the State of Missouri. Additionally, he assists both private and public employers in the development, implementation and application of harassment, drug testing, family medical leave and a wide range of other personnel policies and in drafting and revising employee handbooks, and has counseled clients in developing overarching HR compliance plans, conducting HR compliance audits, engaging in mass layoffs and in evaluating employment and labor issues related to business combinations. Mr. Lemley has presented client seminars on topics ranging from harassment to employee evaluation, discipline and termination in light of state and federal employment laws, to proper hiring protocol, navigating employee leave laws, social media, workplace technologies and a broad range of other topics. Mr. Lemley also frequently addresses the television, radio and print media on a variety of employment related topics.

Mr. Lemley has been designated a 2009-present Missouri Super Lawyer based on peer surveys by Law & Politics recognizing him as among the top 5% of attorneys in Missouri. Mr. Lemley has been listed in Chambers USA since 2010, where he has been singled out as one of the top labor and employment lawyers in the country and for “delivering easily understandable advice and taking time to understand client interests fully,” and highlighted for his work in wrongful termination and discrimination matters. Mr. Lemley has been listed in Best Lawyers since 2013, and is a 2017 and 2018 BTI Client Service MVP.

Mr. Lemley founded the St. Louis office of Ogletree Deakins in 2007.

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Trial Experience:

Mr. Lemley has successfully tried cases to verdict in front of juries in both State and Federal Court, and in a variety of other forums. Most recently, Mr. Lemley obtain a complete defense verdict in a 3 week trial in State Court in the City of St. Louis over claims of gender discrimination, retaliation and harassment.

Mr. Lemley also has extensive experience with TROs and preliminary injunction hearings in conjunction with both restrictive covenant and workplace violence cases.

Employment:

On a daily basis, Mr. Lemley represents companies on employee issues, litigation avoidance and implementing policies that are in conformance with the various federal, state and local employment statutes and laws, including FMLA, ADA, Title VII and FLSA.

Mr. Lemley routinely defends companies against employment-related charges and claims before administrative agencies and federal courts, including the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Missouri Commission on Human Rights, Illinois Department of Human Rights, Illinois Human Rights Commission, Missouri Department of Labor, Illinois Department of Labor, Federal Department of Labor, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri, and the United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois.

Mr. Lemley is recognized as a “go-to” attorney for high stakes employment litigation in the St. Louis Metropolitan area.

Mr. Lemley also works with large employers developing national scope policies on drug testing, national scope employee handbooks, and national scope restrictive covenant agreements and separation agreements.

Class Actions:

Mr. Lemley has extensive wage & hour class and collective action defense experience. Some examples of results include:

Restrictive Covenants, Breach of Fiduciary Duty, Trade Secrets and Related Claims:

In addition to ongoing counseling, drafting and reviewing agreements and matters involving restrictive covenants and confidential information for companies and executives, Mr. Lemley has a proven track record in high stakes litigation, including temporary restraining orders and preliminary injunctions in connection with restrictive covenants (non-compete, non-solicit and confidentiality agreements) and claims of misappropriation of trade secrets; retaliation; tortious interference; breach of fiduciary duty; and unfair competition.

Education

Admission to Practice

Professional Activities

  • American Bar Association
  • Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis
  • The Missouri Bar
  • Illinois State Bar Association

Speeches

Insights by Gregg M. Lemley