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.
FTC Non-Competition Final Rule Update
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
Department of Labor Overtime Rule Becomes Effective!
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
Greg Smith Earns 2024 Best of the Bar Honor
The Nashville Business Journal recently honored Stites & Harbison, PLLC attorney Greg Smith with a 2024 Best of the Bar award. Smith has been named to Best of the Bar on not less than 10 occasions for family law.
News of the Death of Workers’ Jobs at the Virtual Hands of AI is Greatly Exaggerated
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 Ranks in Top 20 on 2024 "Best Place to Work in Kentucky" List
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.
Protecting Employer Proprietary Information Following the FTC's Ban on Non-Compete Agreements
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
Checking in on the Status of the Fair Labor Standards Act Exempt Salary Threshold Increase
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
Chambers USA Honors 25 Stites & Harbison Attorneys for 2024
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.
International Association of Defense Counsel (IADC) 2024 Annual Meeting
Fairmont Hotel Vancouver, 900 West Georgia Street, Vancouver, Canada
Privacy and Data Security attorney Sarah Cronan Spurlock will be a speaker at the 2024 Annual Meeting of the IADC July 6-11.
The Cost of Third- Party Data Breaches: How to Avoid a Financial Disaster
Time: 12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Webinar
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.
Carol Dan Browning Appointed Chair of Pharmaceuticals & Medical Devices Litigation Group
Stites & Harbison, PLLC recently appointed Stites & Harbison, PLLC attorney Carol Dan Browning as Chair of the firm’s Pharmaceuticals & Medical Devices Litigation Group.
FTC Issues Final Rule Banning Non-Compete Agreements; Legal Challenges Have Already Begun
On April 23, 2024, the FTC issued its final rule banning employers’ use of non-compete agreements. The rule is broad, applying nationwide and to all non-compete agreements, with a few narrow exceptions. The ban has not gone into effect—it’s scheduled to go into effect 120 days after being published in the Federal Register—and legal challenges have already been filed. Robin McGuffin and Zac Losey take a look at the new rule in this Stites & Harbison Client Alert.
EEOC Issues Final Rule Implementing the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act
The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) was enacted last year with the purpose of protecting pregnant workers from discrimination and providing them with a right to reasonable accommodations in the workplace. On April 15, 2024, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) published its Final Rule setting forth expansive regulations implementing the law. The Final Rule becomes effective June 18, 2024. Robin McGuffin and Harlee Havens take a look at what this means in this Stites & Harbison Client Alert.
Edward and Charles Stopher Join Stites & Harbison’s Louisville Office
Stites & Harbison, PLLC is pleased to announce that attorneys Edward H. Stopher and Charles H. Stopher of Boehl Stopher & Graves, LLP have joined the firm’s Louisville, Ky., office. They are members of the Torts & Insurance Practice Service Group and secondary members of the Business Litigation Service Group.
Data Security and Privacy Symposium
Time: 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
State Bar of Georgia Conference Center, 104 Marietta Street NW, Atlanta, GA 30303
Attorneys Shannon Sprinkle and Matt Gass will be moderating and participating on a panel focused on Litigation Trends in Privacy and Data Protection on April 17, 2024 presented by the Atlanta Bar Association.
Kentucky Criminal Law Update: Navigating Legislative Changes and Legal Trends
Time: 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.
WEBINAR
Brian Butler will be a speaker at the Louisville Bar Association's seminar covering the latest updates in criminal law for the Commonwealth of Kentucky on April 18, 2024.
Stites & Harbison Welcomes Bridget Stewart to the Nashville Office
NASHVILLE, Tenn.—Stites & Harbison, PLLC welcomes attorney Bridget A. Stewart to the firm based in the Nashville, Tenn., office. She joins the Business Litigation Service Group.
Sixth Circuit Identifies “Dilemma,” but Not Solution for Calculating Workers’ Vehicle Expenses Under the Fair Labor Standards Act
In an opinion that raises as many questions as it answers, the Sixth Circuit foreclosed two methods of calculating how delivery drivers paid the minimum wage should be reimbursed for the costs associated with using their vehicles for work under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). Rejecting both the drivers’ assertion that they should be reimbursed using the mileage rate published by the IRS, and the employers’ argument that drivers should receive a “reasonable approximation” of their costs, the Sixth Circuit held in two consolidated appeals in Parker v. Battle Creek Pizza, Inc., Nos. 22-2119, 22-3561, 2024 WL 1068871 (6th Cir. Mar. 12, 2024), that drivers’ actual costs must be reimbursed to avoid a minimum wage violation and remanded both cases to their respective district courts with little guidance as to how to calculate those costs. Robin McGuffin and Harlee Havens take a close look at the ruling in this Stites & Harbison Client Alert.
Sixth Circuit Applies Updated Arbitration Waiver Standard
In a published opinion issued on March 27, 2024, the Sixth Circuit applied for the first time the waiver standard announced in the Supreme Court’s 2022 opinion, Morgan v. Sundance, Inc., 596 U.S. 411 (2022), in affirming the denial of a motion to compel arbitration due to the defendant’s extensive participation in the litigation.
Benchmark Litigation Selects Stites & Harbison as 2024 Litigation Firm of the Year for Kentucky
LOUISVILLE, Ky.—Benchmark Litigation recently named Stites & Harbison, PLLC as Litigation Firm of the Year for Kentucky at its 2024 Benchmark US Awards Gala. This is the fourth time Stites & Harbison has received the honor.