Kim Hodges is the Office Managing Shareholder in Ogletree Deakins’ Memphis office and has concentrated her practice in employment law and litigation for over twenty years. Prior to joining Ogletree Deakins, Kim was Lead Counsel in Federal Express Corporation’s Litigation and Employment group and worked in various roles in the HR departments of TruGreen ChemLawn, Trailmobile, and Riceland Foods. In addition to other honors, she is listed in Best Lawyers in America in the categories of Employment Law, Employment Litigation, and Commercial Ligitation, and was a 2018 Honoree in the Memphis Business Journal’s ‘Best of the Bar’ Awards. Kim also has an AV-Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell in both the Peer Review and Judicial Review categories, and is licensed in Arkansas, Tennessee, and Mississippi.
Throughout more than twenty years as a litigator, Kim amassed a wealth of employment and commercial litigation experience and defended corporate clients as first-chair counsel in state and federal courts across the United States. She has extensive appellate experience, and has represented clients in appeals before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 8th, 9th and 11th Circuits. Kim also defends clients in matters before the EEOC, the Department of Labor, and appeals before the Administrative Review Board.
Kim’s experience as both a litigator and an advisor runs the gamut of employment law and related issues, including: discrimination and harassment, compliance with wage and hour laws, state and federal disability discrimination and accommodation, public access for disabled individuals, FMLA leave and interference, age discrimination, complex contracts, non-competition and non-solicitation agreements, trade secrets, whistleblower claims, torts, and antitrust/unfair competition issues.
Prior to becoming an attorney, Kim worked in several HR departments assisting with wage and benefit surveys, training and employee development, employee satisfaction surveys, and general HR issues. In her practice as an employment attorney today, Kim combines her HR experience and legal expertise to provide strategies and education for employers seeking to best synchronize legal requirements with the demands of their unique business. Kim is a frequent invited speaker and article contributor on employment law and litigation topics for bar associations and professional associations throughout the country.
