Focus Areas
Representative Experience
- Obtained $1.5 million dollar jury verdict in Butler County, Ohio after a two-week trial against a former employee and his new employer on claims involving trade secrets, breach of non-compete and tortious interference.
- Awarded summary judgment in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on tortious interference claims brought against a national company, arising out of hiring of competitor’s employee with various non-compete obligations.
- Obtained Preliminary Injunction against a former employee and his new employer in Butler County, Ohio in a trade secret/tortious interference matter.
- Obtained Preliminary Injunction from the Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas against a former employee of a national medical device company, prohibiting him from accepting employment with a competing company.
- Awarded summary judgment in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio on claims of age and sex discrimination brought against a publicly traded company by a former employee. The decision was affirmed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
- Obtained defense verdict following a jury trial in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio on claims brought against a publicly traded company for age discrimination and wrongful termination, involving an employee with 25 years of service and an unblemished disciplinary record who was terminated for a safety violation.
- Obtained judgment for a defendant employer in administrative trial before the Ohio Civil Rights Commission on claims of sex discrimination and sexual harassment brought by a former employee.
- Obtained preliminary injunction from the U.S. District Court of Idaho against defendant employee, her husband, and their company on claims of breach of a non-competition agreement, tortious interference, prospected economic advantage, fraud, breach of fiduciary duty and unfair competition.
- Obtained a temporary restraining order, then a preliminary injunction from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, against defendant employee on claims of breach of a non-competition agreement, violation of Ohio’s deceptive trade practices statute, the Lanham Act, tortious interference with contract and unfair trade practices.
- Summary judgment granted from the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana on plaintiff’s claims of sex discrimination and termination in violation of the FMLA.
- Numerous summary judgment decisions in discrimination and wrongful discharge matters in state and federal courts across the country.
- “Texas Court Blocks FTC Noncompete Rule,” Thompson Hine Labor & Employment @lert, August 2024
- Thompson Hine Trade Secret Quarterly, August 2024
- “FTC Noncompete Ban Partially Halted but Remains Largely Intact for Most Employers,” Thompson Hine Business Law Update, July 2024
- “FTC Non-Compete Ban Partially Halted but Remains Largely Intact for Most Employers,” Thompson Hine Labor & Employment @lert, July 2024
- Co-author, “Protecting trade secrets in the age of generative AI,” Westlaw Today, June 25, 2024
- “Protecting Trade Secrets in the Age of Generative AI,” Thompson Hine Artificial Intelligence Update, May 2024
- “Business Groups Challenging New FTC Rule Banning Noncompete Agreements,” Thompson Hine Labor & Employment @lert, April 2024
- “FTC Issues Final Rule Banning Noncompete Agreements—Future Remains Uncertain as Lawsuits Challenging the Final Rule Have Already Been Filed,” Thompson Hine Labor & Employment @lert, April 2024
- Thompson Hine Trade Secret Quarterly, April 2024
- Thompson Hine Trade Secret Quarterly, January 2024
- “Hochul Vetoes New York Noncompete Bill,” Thompson Hine Labor & Employment @lert, January 2024
- Thompson Hine Trade Secret Quarterly, June 2023
- “NLRB General Counsel Issues Enforcement Memorandum Targeting Non-Competes,” Thompson Hine Labor & Employment @lert, June 2023
- Thompson Hine Trade Secret Quarterly, January 2023
- “FTC Proposes Noncompete Ban,” Thompson Hine Labor & Employment @lert, January 2023
- Thompson Hine Trade Secret Quarterly, July 2022
- Co-author, “Remote Employees With 2 Jobs Pose New Risks to Cos.,” Law360, April 2022
- Thompson Hine Trade Secret Quarterly, March 2022
- Thompson Hine Trade Secret Quarterly, July 2021
- Thompson Hine Trade Secret Quarterly, March 2021
- “D.C. Non-Compete Ban Effective Soon: Update Your Non-Compete Agreements and Workplace Policies Now,” Thompson Hine Labor & Employment @lert, February 2021
- “EEOC Issues Updated Guidance on Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccinations,” Thompson Hine COVID-19 Update, December 2020
- Thompson Hine Trade Secret Quarterly, Fall 2020
- “Political Activity from the Remote Office: Employer Considerations,” Thompson Hine Labor & Employment @lert, June 2020
- “Employment Law Considerations as Our Economy Begins to Reopen,” Thompson Hine COVID-19 Update, May 2020
- “From Employers to Homeschooling to Healthcare: Federal Government Provides Guidance Clarifying Data Privacy Requirements During COVID-19,” Thompson Hine COVID-19 Update, April 2020
- “DOL Issues Employer Guidance on Implementing Families First Coronavirus Response Act,” Thompson Hine COVID-19 Update, March 2020
- “When Your Critical Service Providers Telecommute: Risks and Tips,” Thompson Hine COVID-19 Update, March 2020
- “Frequently Asked Questions About COVID-19 and Employment Privacy,” Thompson Hine COVID-19 Update, March 2020
- “Review Teleworking Cybersecurity Policies and Practices,” Thompson Hine COVID-19 Update, March 2020
- “New Employee Leave Benefits Enacted by Families First Coronavirus Response Act,” Thompson Hine COVID-19 Update, March 2020
- “COVID-19: DOL Reminds Employers of Their Duties Under the FMLA, ADA and FLSA,” Thompson Hine COVID-19 Update, March 2020
- “House Passes Families First Coronavirus Response Act,” Thompson Hine COVID-19 Update, March 2020
- “Going off Script: Managing the Workplace under the Specter of the COVID-19 Virus,” Thompson Hine COVID-19 Update, March 2020
- Thompson Hine Trade Secret Quarterly, Summer 2019
- Thompson Hine Trade Secret Quarterly, Spring 2019
- Thompson Hine Compliance Check 2020: Non-Competition Agreements, April 2019
- Thompson Hine Trade Secret Quarterly, Winter 2019
- “Massachusetts Enacts Broad Noncompetition Agreement Law,” Thompson Hine Labor & Employment @lert, August 2018
- “Parental Leave Policy Perils,” Thompson Hine The Law@Work Newsletter, Fall 2017
- “Federal Judge Enjoins New FLSA Overtime Regulations.” Thompson Hine Labor & Employment @lert, November 2016
- “Reminder: FLSA Overtime Rule Effective December 1,” Thompson Hine Labor & Employment @lert, October 2016
- “Appellate Decision Sets the Stage for a Supreme Court Determination on Sexual Orientation Discrimination,” Thompson Hine The Law@Work Newsletter, Summer 2016
- “It’s Time to Update Noncompete Agreements & Confidentiality Policies,” Thompson Hine Labor & Employment @lert, June 2016
- “From a Woman’s Point of View: The Use of the Reasonable Woman Standard in Sexual Harassment Cases,” University of Cincinnati Law Review, 1992
- “Sexual Harassment Claims and Ohio’s Workers’ Compensation Statute,” University of Cincinnati Law Review, 1993
- “Navigating the FTC’s New Rule on Noncompetition Agreements,” Thompson Hine Webinar, August 2024
- “Noncompetes Nixed by the FTC: What’s Next?” Thompson Hine Webinar, May 2024
- “Hot Topics in Labor and Environmental Law for Manufacturers,” Thompson Hine Webinar, March 2024
- “Mid-Year Employment Law Review,” Thompson Hine Webinar, June 2023
- “Non-compete Agreements: What You Need to Know,” Thompson Hine Investment Management Coffee Chat Webinar Series, June 30, 2021
- “Returning to the Workplace: What Does Employment Look Like Post-Pandemic?” Thompson Hine Webinar, June 2021
- Named a Thomson Reuters Stand-out Lawyer, 2024
- Selected for inclusion in Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, Labor & Employment, Ohio, 2023, 2024
- Listed as a Labor and Employment Litigation Star by Benchmark Litigation, 2019-2022, 2024
- Selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® 2017 to 2025 for Employment Law – Management, and Litigation – Labor and Employment; named the Best Lawyers® 2024 Litigation-Labor and Employment “Lawyer of the Year” in Cincinnati
- Recognized with the 2015 Glass Ceiling Award, The Ohio Diversity Council
- Athena Award Finalist, 2011
- West Chester Chamber Alliance, recipient, 2010 Women of Excellence Award
- Selected to the Ohio Super Lawyers list, 2009-2016, 2018-2022
- West Chester Chamber Alliance Rookie of the Year Finalist, 2008
Professional Associations
- Ohio State Bar Association
- Cincinnati Academy of Leadership for Lawyers, Class VI
Community Activities
- West Chester Chamber Alliance, Board of Trustees
- Visions Community Center, volunteer mentor
- Exhale Dance Tribe, Board of Trustees
- Dominican Community Services, Board of Trustees, former member
- Xavier Mentoring Program
- American Heart Association, Executive Leadership Team for Go Red For Women
Professional Activities
- Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce WE Lead, participant
- Leadership 21, Class V
- Cincinnati Leadership for Lawyers (CALL Program), graduate
Education
- University of Cincinnati College of Law, J.D., 1993,
Order of the Coif; University of Cincinnati Law Review, editor
- Ohio University, M.A., 1984
- Ohio University, B.S., 1983, summa cum laude
Bar Admissions
- Colorado
- Ohio
Court Admissions
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
- U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio
- 02.07.24 – Essential Legal Must-Knows for Thriving in the Life Sciences Sector – Part 1
An Ohio Life Sciences Event Presented by Thompson Hine
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- Texas Court Blocks FTC Noncompete Rule,
Labor & Employment @lert
, August 21, 2024 - Trade Secret Quarterly – August 2024, August 7, 2024
- Business Law Update – July 2024,
Business Law Update Quarterly Newsletter
, July 9, 2024 - Protecting Trade Secrets in the Age of Generative AI,
Westlaw Today
, July 8, 2024 - FTC Non-Compete Ban Partially Halted but Remains Largely Intact for Most Employers,
Labor & Employment @lert
, July 5, 2024 - Protecting Trade Secrets in the Age of Generative AI,
Artificial Intelligence Update
, May 6, 2024 - Business Groups Challenging New FTC Rule Banning Noncompete Agreements,
Labor & Employment @lert
, April 29, 2024 - FTC Issues Final Rule Banning Noncompete Agreements—Future Remains Uncertain as Lawsuits Challenging the Final Rule Have Already Been Filed,
Labor & Employment @lert
, April 24, 2024 - Trade Secret Quarterly – April 2024, April 10, 2024
- Trade Secret Quarterly – January 2024, January 29, 2024