Co-Founding Partner

Employment Law
Employment Litigation and Arbitration
Commercial Litigation
General Counsel

Partner

Julie Heath focuses her practice primarily in the area of employment litigation and counseling. In addition to litigation and arbitration defense, she counsels HR departments and businesses of every size on all aspects of employment law, from addressing day-to-day employment and personnel questions, to investigating internal employee claims, to defending governmental agency audits, to advising clients on steps for litigation avoidance.  Ms. Heath is rated AV®-Preeminent™ by the peer-reviewed Martindale-Hubbell service, and she has been named a Texas Super Lawyer (a Thomson Reuters Service) and a Texas Monthly “Top Attorney in Texas” every year since 2012.  She has been selected for inclusion in the Martindale Hubbell ®Bar Registry of Preeminent Women Lawyers, comprising less than 5% of women attorneys who have received the highest possible peer rating in both legal ability and ethical standards.

Ms. Heath has over 30 years of experience in the federal and state courts, including significant appellate court experience. One of her jury trial wins, which she also successfully defended on appeal, was named a “Top 10 Texas Verdict” by Texas Lawyer magazine. She has successfully defended a recent Fair Labor Standards Act jury verdict on appeal to the Fifth Circuit, and summary judgment rulings before the Dallas Court of Appeals.

Before co-founding the firm, Ms. Heath practiced in the commercial litigation section of Baker Botts LLP and as a solo employment litigation attorney.

Practice Areas

• Employment Law
  • Litigation and arbitration
  • HR counsel
  • Employment contracts
  • Noncompetition agreements
  • Employee manuals
  • On-site investigations
  • Federal and state agency audits
  • Management trainings
• Commercial Litigation
• General Counsel Services

Education

• J.D., cum laude, University of Tulsa School of Law, 1987 (outstanding graduate award)
• B.S., Oklahoma State University, 1984

Representative Experience

• Successfully defended client companies in litigation involving FMLA, Title VII, ADA, ADEA, retaliation, wage-and-hour, and other employment-related claims
• Conducted strategic on-site investigations of employee claims and complaints
• Reviewed and revised employee manuals for small and mid-sized companies, and for publicly traded companies
• Conducted management trainings and updates in employment law compliance
• Counseled businesses on contract negotiation and documentation, and negotiated business agreements
• Counsels employers on employee policies, confidentiality and noncompetition agreements, employment contracts, and intellectual property matters
• Represented company interests in governmental agency audits
• Represented clients in commercial litigation, including contract claims and related business disputes

Court Admissions

• U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas
• U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
• U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals
• U.S. Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals
• All Texas courts

Publications and Presentations

• Sexual harassment update and training, Hunt County Sheriff’s Office
• “Tips for the Prudent (Female) Business Owner,” Entrepreneurial Women’s Group
• “Power to Potential” seminar, employment law panelist, Women’s Business Council-Southwest
• “Drug Testing in the Workplace,” panelist, Greenville Chamber of Commerce
• “Who Wants to Make a Plaintiff a Millionaire?” presented to client management team
• Disability workshop panelist, “Work Returns” program Green Oaks Hospital
• “Avoiding Problem Contract Terms,” Downtown Small Business Owners’ Association

Professional and Community Affiliations

• State Bar of Texas
• Dallas Bar Association
• Oklahoma State University alumni association

Previous Experience

Baker Botts LLP