Litigation & Appeals
Our litigation and appellate practice spans all substantive legal fields. Seasoned trial lawyers, e-discovery experts, and accomplished writers of legal briefs regularly team with experienced substantive law attorneys from across the firm to deliver high quality legal services to clients needing effective representation in state and federal courts, arbitrations, and administrative proceedings.
The following fourteen major categories listed under Litigation & Appeals Specialty Areas further describe our litigation experience in these areas. In all litigated matters, look to Stites & Harbison to:
- formulate sophisticated and effective litigation strategies
- understand and persuasively argue key legal issues
- identify, manage, and know the contents of relevant documents
- conduct effective and savvy e-discovery
- protect privileged, proprietary or confidential information
- ensure that good faith discovery responses are accurate and uniform
- prepare all witnesses for optimal deposition performance
- create and maintain databases and literature files
- identify knowledgeable and effective experts
- challenge or discredit unreliable or unscientific testimony
- use the latest courtroom technology and persuasion techniques with judges and juries
- analyze appellate issues and craft high-level, readable appellate briefs
Stites & Harbison takes a knowledgeable and pragmatic approach to litigation and works to facilitate cost-effective resolution.
Stites & Harbison lawyers do outstanding trial work for us on all types of litigation.
We were fortunate to have Stites & Harbison on our side for a very contentious litigation. They applied exactly the right mix of aggressiveness and negotiation to bring our case to a successful conclusion. . . In addition to always being fully prepared, they were always on time. I would and have recommended them to colleagues, and we continue to use the firm's services for purposes that are more enjoyable and lucrative.
Stites & Harbison Attorney Jackson Hurst-Sanders Selected for ELEVATE Kentucky Class of 2025
Leadership Kentucky recently selected Stites & Harbison, PLLC attorney Jackson B. Hurst-Sanders as one of 24 participants for the ELEVATE Kentucky Class of 2025.
Georgia Legislature Passes Hotly Debated Tort Reform Measures
Georgia’s Governor Brian Kemp made no secret that he would push for ambitious tort reform as part of this year’s state legislative agenda. Two Senate bills successfully made it through the session and await the Governor’s signature. The bills contain measures, which proponents and sponsors suggested were necessary to combat nuclear verdicts, reduce the costs of litigation, and control rising insurance premiums. Shannon Sprinkle and Evan Elam take a look at the bills in this Stites & Harbison Client Alert.
Sixth Circuit Wrestles with Meaning of “Weekly Basis” Under the FLSA
On April 1, 2025, in Lynwood Pickens v. Hamilton-Ryker IT Solutions, LLC, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals clarified what it means to pay a salary on a “weekly basis” under federal regulation 29 C.F.R. § 541.602(a) for purposes of classifying an employee as exempt from overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). In a divided opinion, the Sixth Circuit held that to be paid on a “weekly basis” means that an employee is paid for “a regular week’s worth of work.” As a result, the court held that an employer did not pay an employee on a “weekly basis”—and therefore owed the employee overtime—when the weekly guaranteed pay to the employee was only the equivalent of one day’s pay and the employee was paid an hourly rate for every hour worked beyond the first eight hours in the week.
Robin McGuffin Appointed Chair of Stites & Harbison’s Employment Law Service Group
Stites & Harbison, PLLC recently appointed attorney Robin E. McGuffin Chair of the firm’s Employment Law Service Group. McGuffin succeeds Shannon Antle Hamilton who has led the group for more than 20 years. Both Hamilton and McGuffin will continue their diverse legal practices in employment law.