Biography

I joined the firm's Litigation Group in July 2005. My practice at the firm is devoted to representing a vast array of clients, from individuals to large corporations, in a variety of employment and business-related disputes. I have represented clients in matters relating to enforcement of non-competition and non-solicitation agreements, misappropriation of trade secrets and proprietary information, breach of fiduciary duties and breach of contract, shareholder oppression, and related business torts. I have also represented clients in employment-related claims of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation under Title VII, the ADA, the ADEA, the FMLA and the Texas Labor Code, as well as wage and overtime claims under the FLSA and Texas Payday Act.

I work directly with my clients in navigating the myriad of employment-law related issues faced day-to-day by anyone operating a business from internal investigations, discipline, counseling and terminations, to development of employee policies and procedures. Prior to joining the firm, I worked for almost six years at a large, national law firm where I focused primarily on employment and mass toxic tort litigation.

I began my legal career as a briefing attorney for the Honorable Adele Hedges on the Court of Appeals for the First District of Texas. While in law school, I served as an articles editor for the South Texas Law Review. I use the skills I gained from these experiences to effectively evaluate the issues faced by my clients and to develop practical solutions to these issues.

Representative Matters

• Won a jury verdict for a world renowned artist from Croatia. The Plaintiff sued our client in Texas state court seeking the return of a 48-foot motor yacht. Plaintiff paid for the initial construction cost of the yacht while the artist paid the cost to complete the yacht. In the lawsuit, Plaintiff tried to recover the funds spent on the initial construction or have full title to the yacht transferred to him. Plaintiff contended that the artist initially agreed to repay him for all funds spent on the yacht and later agreed to transfer fulll title when he did not have sufficient funds to repay. In less than 30 minutes, a unanimous jury found that no such agreements existed.
• Successfully defended a manufacturer in a lawsuit brought by former employee claiming sexual harassment, hostile work environment and negligent hiring based on allegations that former employee's supervisor made sexually explicit comments to her. The former employee's claim of negligent hiring was premised on the allegation that the employer hired the supervisor who had a criminal record. The lawsuit raised novel issues relating to the exclusivity provision of the Texas Workers Compensation Act.
• Successfully defended a restaurant group in a lawsuit brought by a former employee claiming sexual harassment based on allegations that manager made sexual advances towards the employee and sent sexually explicit photographs to the employee. The lawsuit centered almost entirely on alleged conduct that occurred outside the workplace during non-working hours and presented unique issues relating to the employer's affirmative defense under the Faragher/Ellerth line of cases.

Education

• JD, South Texas College of Law
• BS, Texas A &M University

Affiliations

• Houston Bar Association (Labor and Employment Law Section)
• Texas Bar Association
• American Bar Association

Representative Matters

• Successfully defended a national manufacturer-distributor in an EEOC proceeding brought by former employee claiming sexual harassment and gender discrimination relating to a manager's sex based comments. The matter settled on very favorable terms for the employer after an extensive EEOC investigation that included multiple on-site interviews of employees and review of company records.
• Represented an offshore drilling service company in a proceeding brought by former employee claiming race discrimination based on the employer's alleged failure to provide the employee with the same employment opportunities it provided to other employees outside the protected class. This lawsuit raised unique issues regarding the employer's obligation to provide offshore work opportunities where it was also providing onshore work.
• Represented a residential real estate company in a proceeding brought by a former employee claiming disability discrimination after the employee was terminated for being absent from work for a number of days in excess of the company's stated policy. The matter tested the interplay between the employer's absence control policy and the reasonable accommodation requirements of the ADA and leave requirements under the FMLA.
• Represented a manufacturer of large industrial equipment in an EEOC proceeding brought by an employee claiming the termination of his employment was national origin discrimination. The matter involved the employer's decision to convert the employee's pay structure from hourly to salary resulting in the potential for employees to make less money when overtime was factored into the hourly rate.
• Represented a national property management company in an EEOC proceeding brought by former employee claiming that the termination of her employment was race and gender discrimination. This proceeding arose out of events that occurred outside of the workplace during the company's holiday party.
• Represented two well-known radio personalities in a breach of contract lawsuit against station owner relating to failure to pay compensation under written agreement for broadcast of their morning radio show.
• Represented a refinery service contractor in a breach of contract matter arising out of allegations that equipment manufacturer failed to deliver equipment in a timely manner and delivered equipment that did not conform to the requirements of the agreement. This matter centered on the interpretation of several provisions of Article 2 of the Uniform Commercial Code dealing with delivery of goods, nonconforming goods, and lost profits as damages.
• Represented a local retailer in a lawsuit filed by retailer's former agent seeking recovery of commissions that agent claimed were not paid pursuant to the terms of written agreement. The matter concerned an interpretation of the agent's duties and responsibilities under the commission agreement. The trial court ultimately granted summary judgment on the claims.
• Represented a real estate management company relating to its involvement in construction defect lawsuit.
• Represented a custom home builder in an arbitration proceeding against its customer for breaching the construction contract and wrongfully withholding draw payments. After a week-long arbitration hearing, the client was awarded its past due draws, attorney's fees and arbitration costs.
• Represented a refinery maintenance contractor in a breach of contract lawsuit arising out of former employee's breach of non-compete and non-solicitation covenants and former employee's counterclaims for damages arising out termination of employment. The matter ultimately settled after the employee's non-compete period expired.
• Represented a minority shareholder in a shareholder oppression and breach of fiduciary duty lawsuit alleging that minority shareholder was forced out of his position with the company and was denied his rights as a shareholder. The matter raised unique issues under Texas law concerning duties and obligations between owners of a closely held corporation. The matter ultimately settled for a confidential amount.

Press Releases

November 05, 2009

Other News

How to Offer and Exclude Evidence - UH CLE (July 2009)
BoyarMiller underwrote this University of Houston CLE program, presented July 9-10, 2009 (Houston) and July 16-17, 2009 (Dallas). Chris Hanslik, the firm's Vice Chairman, served as the course director with Litigation Group Chairman David Bond and Sr. Associate Craig Dillard both serving on the CLE faculty.

Youth About Business (June 2009)
BoyarMiller attorneys Gary Miller, David Bond, Gus Bourgeois, Blake Royal and Forrest Gordon participated in the Youth About Business summer business camp. This national entrepreneurial training program exposes high school students to successful entrepreneurs and provides hands-on training and practical skill development. Students engage in a business competition performing mock mergers and acquisitions. They are taught to research and analyze public companies and are challenged to think through their decisions and understand the strategy and due diligence necessary to determine and execute a feasible transaction.

The BoyarMiller team worked with students to help them understand complex transactions and give them guidance on the proper techniques used when negotiating a merger or acquisition. For more information about Youth About Business, visit  www.youthaboutbusiness.org.

Awards and Recognitions

• Texas Monthly Magazine - Texas Super Lawyer Rising Star (2008, 2007)

Alerts

Social Networking Impersonation Now a Felony in Texas
by Matt Veech
February 1, 2010

The Texas legislature passed a new law effective September 1, 2009 that deals in part with impersonating another on a social networking website (Texas Penal Code Section 37.07-"Online Harassment"). This law makes it a felony to use the name or persona of another person to create a web page on or to post one or more messages on a commercial social networking site (1) without obtaining the other person's consent; and (2) with the intent to harm, defraud, intimidate, or threaten any person.

The law further provides that it is a misdemeanor for a person to send an electronic mail, instant message, text message or similar communication that references a name, domain address, phone number or other item of identifying information belonging to any person (1) without obtaining the other person's consent; (2) with the intent to cause a recipient of the communication to reasonably believe that the other person authorized or transmitted the communication; and (3) with the intent to harm or defraud any person.

This law could prove to be particularly helpful to employers who are presented with the issue of a disgruntled former employee posting or sending under the name of someone else disparaging statements about the employer's business, management, or other employees.

The law could also prove helpful to employers that are dealing with the task of effectively monitoring employee communications about company-related business on the various social-networking websites.