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print full bioMichael W. Fox
Profile
Mr. Fox has more than thirty years of experience representing employers, has been Board Certified in Labor and Employment Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization since 1980 and is a Fellow in the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers. He has a Yellow Belt certification from Legal Lean Sigma. He has been regularly listed in the Best Lawyers in America in Labor and Employment Law, as a Texas Monthly “Super Lawyer” in employment litigation and as one of America’s Leading Lawyers for Business by Chambers USA, where he was characterized by clients as a “great trial lawyer” with a “knack of identifying the points in the case to focus on.”
Mr. Fox defends employers in employment law litigation all across Texas, including successfully defending the first male on male sexual harassment case tried to a jury in Texas. He has had jury trials in the four largest cities in Texas as well as other parts of the state including Amarillo, Texarkana and El Paso.
In addition to jury trials, he has represented employers in more than 25 arbitration hearings on non-labor matters including race, sex and national origin discrimination, wage and hour claims, breach of contract and enforcement of covenants not to compete.
Mr. Fox also has extensive experience representing employers in collective actions under the FLSA. In 2008, he was successful in decertifying a class of more than 1,000 opt-ins and then obtaining a favorable jury verdict in the claims of the named plaintiffs.
In July, 2002, Mr. Fox started the first employment law related web log, Jottings By An Employer's Lawyer, now affiliated with law.com Mr. Fox is also the Editor of HR Specialist, Texas Employment Law, a National Institute of Business Management publication and regularly contributes content to BusinessManagementDaily.com.
Education and Honors
J.D. with high honors, University of Texas, 1975
B.A., with honors, Stephen F. Austin State University, 1972
- Order of the Coif
- Best Lawyers in America (Named Austin Employment Law - Management Lawyer of the Year, 2012)
Professional Activities
- American Bar Association (Labor and Employment Law Section)
- Texas State Bar Association (Labor and Employment Law Section)
- Society for Human Resource Management
- Management Labor & Employment Roundtable
- Fellow, College of Labor and Employment Lawyers
In The News
- January 4, 2012 - Business Management Daily - "Feds Launch Contractor Crackdown, Offer Amnesty Deal"
- November 2011 - Inside Counsel - "8 Supreme Court Cases to Watch"
- November 2011 - Inside Counsel - "Workers' Comp Pacific Operators Offshore, LLC v. Valladolid"
- September 18, 2011 - Business Insurance - "Bias Claim Can Lead to Employee Retaliation Charge"
- July 22, 2011 - Law360 - "Workers to Test Limits of California Overtime Ruling"
- July 19, 2011 - SHRM.org - "Recent Supreme Court Term Provides Significant Guidance for HR"
- July 5, 2011 - Law360 - "High Court Curbs Class Actions but Broadens Retaliation"
- May 20, 2011 - Houston Chronicle - "Resisting On-the-Job Bullying"
- April 1, 2011 - Inside Counsel - "Supreme Court Expands Retaliation Protection"
- April 2011 - Inside Counsel - "Retaliation Revisited"
- March 7, 2011 - Business Insurance Magazine - "Employers Can Avoid Bias in Job Decisions"
- March 7, 2011 - Business Insurance Magazine - "Bias Theory Upheld in Reservist Case"
- February 28, 2011 - Business Insurance Magazine - "Focus on Employment Status Could Create Liability Issues"
- February 4, 2011 - Minnesota Lawyer - "U.S. Supreme Court Allows Third-Party Retaliation Claims"
- February 1, 2011 - Lawyers Weekly USA - "Court Allows Third-Party Retaliation Claims"
Texas
U.S. Supreme Court
U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit
U.S. District Court, Eastern, Northern, Southern and Western Districts of Texas