Mr. Deakins began his professional career with Fulbright & Jaworski in Houston and since that time has specialized in labor relations and employment law. He joined the predecessor firm to Ogletree Deakins and became a named partner in that firm. Mr. Deakins was Managing Shareholder of Ogletree Deakins from 1985-2000.
Mr. Deakins has extensive experience in all aspects of labor relations law and has handled some of the largest and most highly publicized union elections in the United States on behalf of employers. He also has created and participated in highly sophisticated labor relations training programs for management personnel and has a wealth of experience in guiding employers through challenging labor-related issues.
Mr. Deakins also has extensive and varied experience in employment litigation, including jury trials in state and federal courts involving equal employment opportunity and employment-at-will cases. He has been involved in the trials of several large class action cases and has extensive appellate experience. Mr. Deakins has participated as the lead member of the defense team in ABA-sponsored mock trials of employment cases throughout the United States.
Experience
Georgia
South Carolina
Tennessee
Texas
District of Columbia
New York
U.S. Supreme Court
U.S. Court of Appeals, Second, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Eleventh and District of Columbia Circuits
U.S. District Court, District of South Carolina
U.S. District Court, Middle, Northern and Southern Districts of Georgia
U.S. District Court, Eastern and Middle Districts of Tennessee
U.S. District Court, District of Columbia
U.S. District Court, Eastern and Southern Districts of Texas
U.S. District Court, Southern District of Alabama
Education and Honors
- Best Lawyers in America (1987-2012)
- Fellow, College of Labor and Employment Lawyers (Georgia Representative, Eleventh Circuit Board of Directors)
- Named Labor and Employment "Lawyer of the Year" in Atlanta by The Best Lawyers in America (2011 and 2012)
- Named one of the ten best labor lawyers in the United States by HR Executive Magazine (2010)
- The International Who's Who of Management Labour and Employment Lawyers (2011)
Professional Activities
- American Bar Association
- Georgia Bar Association
- Tennessee Bar Association
- Texas Bar Association
- South Carolina Bar Association
- District of Columbia Bar Association
- New York Bar Association
- Not Your Father's NLRB - "EFCA By Any Other Name ... Smells the Same - Dramatic Rule Changes From the NLRB" - New Orleans - October 27, 2011
In The News
- January 19, 2010 - BNA's Daily Labor Report - "Management Attorneys Say Unions Increasingly Using Corporate Campaigns"
- 2001 - American Bar Association's Litigating the Employment Tort Case, 2nd Ed. - "Chapter 7, Cross-Examining the Plaintiff in an Employment Tort Case"