Trial Experience:
Mr. Lawson has tried jury cases in both federal and state court and in the arbitration setting, before individual arbitrators as well as arbitration panels.
Restrictive Covenants, Trade Secrets and Related Claims:
Mr. Lawson drafts, and provides day-to-day advice on the enforceability of, restrictive covenants. In addition, Mr. Lawson routinely initiates litigation to enforce restrictive covenants through injunctive relief and represents clients in litigation involving claims for breach of restrictive covenants and tortious interference. Some recent examples include:
- On behalf of a title insurance company, despite hiring a sales employee in violation of the terms of a non-compete agreement, and despite the employee’s use of pricing information from his prior employer, defeated a motion for injunctive relief and obtained favorable result based on former employer’s (the employer seeking to enforce its agreement) prior material breach of its obligations to employee.
- On behalf of expense management company that hired employee in violation of the specific terms of a non-compete agreement, successfully defeated motion for both temporary and preliminary injunction based on the lack of a valid protectable interest.
- On behalf of printing press manufacturer, obtained restraining order and financial settlement based on former employee’s violation of non-compete and confidentiality obligations.
- On behalf of HVAC equipment manufacturer, obtained restraining order and favorable settlement based on former employee’s theft of confidential information and computer tampering.
Wage and Hour:
Mr. Lawson routinely advise employers with respect to wage and hour issues including, among other things, proper payment of wages and exemptions under the Fair Labor Standards Act and state law. In addition, Mr. Lawson represents employers in litigation, including class and collective actions, based on alleged violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act and/or state wage and hour laws. Some recent examples include:
- On behalf of a retailer, defeated conditional certification of a collective action in which the plaintiff, on behalf of herself and all similarly situated employees, alleged the employer violated the Fair Labor Standards Act by failing to pay employees for all hours worked and by failing to pay time and one half for hours worked in excess of forty hours in a given work week.
- On behalf of a wireless service and product provider with operations in multiple states, including multiple locations in the state of Missouri, limited certification of a class to employees at a single location in St. Louis, Missouri, resulting in a very favorable settlement for the employer.
Employment:
Mr. Lawson advises employers on a daily basis to avoid litigation and ensure compliance with, various federal, state and local laws, including whistleblower/public policy laws, the FLSA, FMLA, ADA, Title VII, ADEA, OWBPA, WARN Act, MHRA and workers’ compensation retaliation laws.
Mr. Lawson defends employers against employment related claims in both federal and state court and before both federal and state administrative agencies, including the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Missouri Commission on Human Rights, the U.S. Department of Labor and the National Labor Relations Board.
Labor Arbitration:
Mr. Lawson routinely represents employers in the arbitration of claims alleging violations of collective bargaining agreements. Mr. Lawson has arbitrated in excess of 50 cases involving disciplinary and contract interpretation issues and has represented companies in numerous industries, including, among others, the electric utility, airline, baking and food distribution industries.
