Stites & Harbison, PLLC has been ranked in the 2025 edition of Best Law Firms®. The firm’s National Tier 1 rankings include: Litigation – Construction, Litigation – Real Estate, and Trademark Law. The firm’s overall results include 93 metropolitan rankings in six regions and represent 52 legal practice areas.

Stites & Harbison attorneys Bailey Browning, Kelly White Bryant, Jennifer Cave, Jackson Hurst-Sanders, Robin McGuffin and Sarah Cronan Spurlock will be speakers at the Kentucky Academy of Healthcare Attorneys webinar, Medical Cannabis Seminar being held November 13, 2024.

Stites & Harbison, PLLC is pleased to announce that it has achieved 2023-24 Mansfield Certification. Mansfield is a year-long structured certification process designed for law firms to ensure all lawyers have an opportunity to advance into leadership.

On Tuesday, August 20, 2024, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas entered an order preventing the FTC’s rule on noncompetes from going into effect nationwide. For the time being, employers do not need to comply with the FTC’s rule, which was scheduled to go into effect on September 4, 2024. Employment attorneys Shannon Hamilton, Robin McGuffin, and Zac Losey take a look at that decision in this Stites & Harbison Client Alert.

Stites & Harbison, PLLC is pleased to announce that 97 of its lawyers are included in the 2025 edition of The Best Lawyers in America®. Since it was first published in 1983, Best Lawyers® has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence according to the publication. Additionally, 12 Stites & Harbison attorneys are named as “Lawyer of the Year” and 30 attorneys are recognized in Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America, which recognizes attorneys early in their careers for outstanding professional excellence in private practice in the United States.

On July 23, 2024, the Eastern District of Pennsylvania denied a company’s motion to enjoin the enforcement of the FTC’s rule banning nearly all noncompetes. This contradicts the Northern District of Texas’s order on July 3, 2024, which granted a preliminary injunction enjoining the rule as it applies to the plaintiffs in that case. With opposing rulings, employers remain in limbo as the rule’s September 4, 2024 enforcement date approaches. Employment attorneys Shannon Hamilton, Robin McGuffin, and Zac Losey take a look at what happened.

Stites & Harbison, PLLC has named attorney Richard S. Myers, Jr., as its Nashville and Franklin Office Executive Member. He succeeds Gregory D. Smith, who has served in this role for nine years.

On July 3, 2024, a Texas federal Northern District Court granted a preliminary injunction to the Plaintiff and the four Intervening Plaintiffs in the matter of Ryan v. Federal Trade Commission. The preliminary injunction enjoins the Federal Trade Commission’s (“FTC”) Final Rule prohibiting non-competition agreements from being implemented and enforced as to the Plaintiff and Intervening Plaintiffs only. In addition, the Court enjoined the effective date of the Final Rule, again limiting the injunction to the Plaintiff and Intervening Plaintiffs only. Employment attorney Shannon Hamilton takes a look at the update in this Stites & Harbison Client

The Department of Labor’s (“DOL”) Final Rule increasing the salary level for exempt positions and increasing the number of employees eligible for overtime goes into effect today, July 1, 2024, for all 50 states, with the exception of the state of Texas as an employer. The Overtime Rule does apply to private employers in Texas. Employment attorney Shannon Hamilton takes a look at what that means to employers in this Stites & Harbison Client

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is being touted as having the potential to save humanity or destroy it. On the saving side there is the possibility for drug discoveries, disease (e.g. cancer) diagnosis for early detection and cure, and energy discovery and efficiency. Stephen Weyer takes a look at the world AI in this Stites & Harbison Client

Stites & Harbison, PLLC ranks in the Top 20 “Best Places to Work in Kentucky” for 2024 in the medium company category. The firm has made the list 18 times — 10 of those in the Top 10.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on April 23, 2024 issued a rule banning future non-compete agreements with limited exceptions. The FTC rule bans virtually all non-compete agreements for employees and independent contractors. Pre-existing non-compete agreements with senior executives remain enforceable, but new non-competes with senior executives are not. Likewise, non-competes entered into pursuant to a sale of a business or person’s ownership stake in a business are exempt from the FTC rule. Pat Torre takes a look at the rule in this Stites & Harbison Client

It is a little under two weeks until the July 1, 2024, effective date for the U.S. Department of Labor’s Final Rule (the “Final Rule”) raising the minimum salary level requirement for exempt white-collar employees to $43,888 annually. Now is the time to check in on the status of any legal challenges which might effect that deadline and employment attorney Shannon Hamilton takes a look at those challenges in this Stites & Harbison Client

LOUISVILLE, Ky.—Chambers USA selected 25 Stites & Harbison, PLLC attorneys in Kentucky and Tennessee for inclusion in their 2024 guide. The Chambers USA guide ranks the top law firms and leading attorneys in the United States.

Chad McTighe and Sarah Spurlock will be the speakers for The Knowledge Group's Webinar on June 14, 2024 discussing the costs associated with unforeseen security risks.

On April 23, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued its final rule raising the exempt classification minimum salary threshold. The change is effective beginning July 1, 2024. In addition, the salary threshold for highly compensated employees will raise as well. Finally, the rule also sets automatic increases every three years starting in January 2027. The final rule raises the minimum salary threshold to $844 per week, up from $684 per week. The next increase to $1,128 per week would be on January 1, 2025. For highly compensated employees the minimum threshold increases to $132,964 on July 1, 2024, with the next salary increase to $151,164 becoming effective January 1, 2025. Employment attorney Shannon Hamilton takes a look at the rule in this Stites & Harbison Client Alert.