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Thornell Williams, Jr.

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Traditional Labor Relations, Employment Law, Workplace Safety and Health
Sports and Entertainment, Life Sciences, Airline and Railway

*Currently licensed in Georgia and Mississippi only.

Thornell focuses his practice primarily on traditional labor matters. He provides strategic advice and training on labor-management relations, positive employee relations, and grievance administration. Thornell also handles collective bargaining negotiations and regularly represents clients in labor arbitrations and other labor-related matters before arbitrators, administrative agencies, and in federal court. For non-union clients, Thornell provides counsel, advice, training, and necessary representation to assist them in avoiding or withstanding union organizing campaigns and remaining union-free.

Thornell’s practice also includes providing counsel, advice, training, and representation to employers in numerous areas of employment law, including employment policy development and administration, employee relations, employment discrimination and retaliation training, workplace investigations, wage garnishment, and occupational safety and health matters.

Thornell is associated with the firm’s Memphis office but is based in and works from Mississippi.

Traditional Labor Relations, Employment Law, Workplace Safety and Health
Sports and Entertainment, Life Sciences, Airline and Railway
Learn more about Thornell Williams, Jr.

Thornell brings a strong business perspective to his practice.  Before his legal career, Thornell spent nearly a decade in corporate management and worked with lawmakers in the Mississippi State Senate and Governor’s Office.  The breadth of Thornell’s experience allows him to represent employers across a wide spectrum of industries, such as national manufacturing, retail, hospitality, bioscience, and non-profit clients.

Thornell’s experience includes the following:

Education

Admission to Practice

Professional Activities

  • American Bar Association (Labor and Employment Section)
  • Georgia State Bar Association (Labor and Employment Section)
  • Mississippi Bar Association
  • Magnolia Bar Associatoin
  • National Bar Association (Labor and Employment Section)
  • Gate City Bar Association (Labor and Employment Section)
  • The Lawyers Club of Atlanta
  • Georgia Association of Manufacturers

Speeches

Insights by Thornell Williams, Jr.

Woman with megaphone against orange wall.

Wait . . . Can They Do This? Employers’ Responses to a National General Strike

What began as a rumor has now become a real possibility for significant grassroots action. Activists who oppose President Trump have called for a national general strike on Friday, February 17, 2017. According to main organizing group, Strike4Democracy, President Trump has “put our foreign policy and our very democracy in peril” by taking numerous actions that, “signal a move away from democratic governance.” The group’s response? A day of general strike and nonviolent civil disobedience and demonstration to “show Donald Trump . . . that our voices will be heard.” With several days left before the strike, the group is gaining interest through social media.

Document titled "Labor Law" with gavel on top.

The NLRB Elevates Form Over Substance to Give Union Another Bite at the Apple

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) recently issued another decision appearing to prioritize the interests of organized labor above all else. In URS Federal Services, Inc., 365 NLRB No. 1 (December 8, 2016), the two Democratic Board members, over the dissent of the lone Republican member, reversed a regional director and held that a technical violation of the Board’s representation case rules—which did not prejudice the union or impact the election in any way—was nevertheless sufficient grounds to overturn the results of a representation election where the union was defeated by an employee vote of 91 to 54.

Man talking to woman while writing on notepad, framed by justice scale on desk.

Governor Signs Law to Overturn Rule Requiring Georgia Attorneys to Answer Garnishments

On February 8, 2012, Governor Nathan Deal signed HB 683 into law. HB 683 effectively overturns the Georgia Supreme Court’s recent decision requiring employers to use a Georgia-licensed attorney to file answers to garnishments in Georgia courts of record. Under the new law, which becomes effective immediately, employers may use a Georgia-licensed attorney, their own

Man talking to woman while writing on notepad, framed by justice scale on desk.

Only Georgia Attorneys May Answer Georgia Garnishments

In a two-sentence decision issued on September 12, 2011, the Georgia Supreme Court approved an advisory opinion issued by the State Bar of Georgia Standing Committee on the Unauthorized Practice of Law. The advisory opinion interpreted existing Georgia case law as requiring any answer of garnishment filed in a court of record in Georgia to be signed by an attorney licensed to practice in that state.

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