Michelle Mahony  »  Partner
Michelle is certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in labor and employment law and is licensed to practice law in Texas and Arkansas. She represents management in employment litigation and labor matters at the pre-trial, trial and appellate levels and has served as lead counsel in state and federal court actions, before various administrative agencies, and in numerous labor and employment arbitrations. Michelle regularly counsels employers in making decisions affecting the workplace, with special emphasis on discrimination, wage and hour, I-9 compliance, severance, ERISA and layoff and leave-related issues. She also assists employers in developing sound personnel policies and regularly advises both management and executives on employment and independent contractor agreements as well as complex non-compete, compensation, and severance matters.

Representative Experience

Employment and Labor Litigation

  • Defended employers in litigation resulting in favorable jury verdicts involving claims of age discrimination, disability discrimination, intentional infliction of emotional distress, breach of contract and workers' compensation retaliation.

  • Litigated and successfully defended numerous employment arbitration actions resulting in favorable judgments involving claims of race, gender, age, and disability discrimination, retaliation, and sexual harassment.

  • Obtained dismissal or summary judgment in numerous lawsuits in Texas and other states involving allegations of discrimination, sexual and racial harassment, retaliation, violations of the FLSA, ERISA and FMLA, and various state law claims, including breach of contract, whistleblower retaliation, defamation, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

  • Successfully represented employers as both lead counsel and as part of litigation team in state and federal appeals in Texas and the Fifth Circuit.

  • Represented, as part of litigation team, through trial and appeal a large manufacturing client in a class-action employment discrimination lawsuit involving issues of disparate treatment and disparate impact.

  • Successfully represented large manufacturing company in labor arbitrations involving issues of contract interpretation and just cause discipline and termination through final arbitration hearing.

  • Represented large manufacturing client in successfully defeating union representation campaign involving virtually all hourly employees employed at facility.

Agency Representation

  • Successfully represented both small and large employers before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission throughout the United States in obtaining dismissal of dozens of employee charges of discrimination.

  • Represented clients in numerous actions before the Texas Workforce Commission involving claims of discrimination and worker misclassification and for unemployment compensation.

  • Represented employers in audits and investigations of employee complaints initiated by the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division and the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs.

  • Assisted clients in resolving OSHA complaints and developing sound workplace safety policies and programs.

  • Represented manufacturing client in state WARN Act investigation.

Counseling and Training

  • Advised employers on office closures and mass layoffs in Texas and other states, including drafting WARN notices and severance agreements, drafting and implementing voluntary retirement plans, reviewing employment agreements, and counseling employers on enforceability of non-competition and change-in-control agreements.

  • Drafted materials and conducted employee and management training on all aspects of labor and employment law and assisted employers in developing sound in-house training programs.

  • Conducted I-9 audits and regularly counseled employers on various I-9 compliance issues.

  • Advised clients in the course of mergers and acquisitions and the due diligence process.

  • Advised employers on affirmative action and federal contractor obligations and responsibilities, including drafting affirmative action policies and compliance with E-Verify.

  • Handled numerous workplace investigations involving allegations of failure to promote, harassment, and employee misconduct.

  • Regularly counseled both large and small employers on employee handbooks, policies, and procedures, as well as a wide range of workplace issues, including worker misclassification, leaves of absence, workers' compensation, layoffs, plant closings, wage and hour compliance and numerous hiring, discipline, and discharge matters.

Professional  Background and Education

  • Attorney, Mitchell, Williams, Selig, Gates & Woodyard, PLLC, Little Rock, Arkansas, Litigation Section, 2004-2006.

  • Attorney, Vinson & Elkins, Houston, Texas, Employment Litigation and Labor Section, 1999-2004.

  • Law Clerk to the Honorable Ewing Werlein, Jr., United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, 1997-1999.

  • J.D., With Honors, University of Texas School of Law, 1997 (Honors: Order of the Coif).

  • M.A., Economics, Northwestern University, 1992 (Honors: University Fellowship Recipient).

  • B.A., summa cum laude, Economics/Mathematics, Vanderbilt University, 1988 (Honors: Phi Beta Kappa).

Professional Activities

  • Board-certified in Labor & Employment Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.

  • Contributor: Age Discrimination Section of 4th Edition of Lindemann and Grossman’s Employment Discrimination.

  • Speeches: “Independent Contract Analysis,” October 2010; “FMLA Intermittent Leave:  Understand It; Manage It,” July 2010; “The 2009 FMLA Regs: New Employer Rights,” July 2009;  “The FMLA and Military Leave Under the New Regs,” July 2009; “The Hiring Process:  A Best Practices Approach to Avoiding Legal Roadblocks,” March 2009; Regular Speaker and Moderator at FMLA, FLSA, and Union Avoidance Masters Class Series, 2008 and 2009; “A Comparison of the Current and Proposed FMLA Regulations,” July 2008; “WBEA Meet the Pros Forum – Human Resources Panel,” March 2008; “FMLA: Handling the Tough Issues,” July 2007; “Advanced Topics in the Family And Medical Leave Act In Arkansas,” June 2006; “Disciplining Public Employees,” July 2005.

  • Author: Michelle Mahony, “The Future Viability of Batson v. Kentucky and the Practical Implications of Purkett v. Elem,” THE REVIEW OF LITIGATION, Vol. 16, No. 1, Winter Issue 1997; John J. Siegfried and Michelle Mahony, “The First Sherman Act Case: Jellico Mountain Coal, 1891,” THE ANTITRUST BULLETIN, Winter Issue 1990.

  • Member: American Bar Association (Labor and Employment Section); American Employment Law Council; Texas Bar Association (Labor and Employment Section); Houston Bar Association (Labor and Employment Section, Special Olympics Committee).

  • Board Member, Women’s Business Enterprise Alliance, Houston, Texas, January 2007 – Present.

Court Admissions

  • Texas (1997); Arkansas (1999); United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit; United States District Courts, Northern, Southern, Eastern and Western Districts of Texas; United States District Courts, Eastern and Western Districts of Arkansas.