Tell us about your practice.
I provide practical day-to-day counseling to employers on the complex issues of today’s workplace and assist in its challenging employer-employee relationship. My practice runs the full array of both traditional labor law to employment discrimination charges and lawsuits, to wage and hour claims (individual and collective actions), retaliations claims, OSHA citations, and non-compete litigation. I represent management in all aspects of workplace disputes – providing proactive counsel to help clients avoid disputes and efficiently resolving disputes when they arise. If employers get sued or have administrative charges filed against them (or face such threats), I also represent them in that process.
In order to be most effective, I educate myself on the client’s business and listen to the client describe his/her goals and needs, and I then communicate what measures to take in order to achieve those objectives.
Why did you choose to pursue a career in the legal field?
I had always been interested in politics and thought a legal career would be the best way to launch a political career.
As someone who is active on Twitter (follow Tim at @TimKGarrett) can you talk about how social media has changed or influenced the legal industry?
Social media has influenced the legal industry in myriad ways. Specifically, in the labor and employment area, the significant impacts that come to mind are: (1) employers’ understanding how social media and electronic devices have blurred the line between what conduct is on-duty and what conduct is off-duty; (2) the challenge employers face in protecting their confidential data and protecting the private data entrusted to them; and, (3) knowing when action is legal/not legal when an employer learns information about an employee on social media (i.e., harassing or threatening behavior could warrant action by an employer; an employee’s protected concerted activity in complaining of a manager, or about pay, or commenting on the workplace).