1100 Peachtree Street NE Suite 2800, Atlanta, GA USA 30309
Katie Barton is a seasoned employment law counselor and litigator for clients in Georgia and nationwide who strategically, efficiently, and practically solves challenges.
Katie regularly counsels management on employment issues, such as leaves of absence, disability accommodations, severance agreements, wage and hour compliance, performance management, employment policies, and employee handbooks. Katie also trains managers and employees on a variety of employment topics, including prohibitions against workplace harassment, discrimination, and retaliation, and conducts and oversees related investigations. With her counseling, Katie helps clients reduce the risk of employment-related lawsuits and focus on their business. When disputes arise, however, Katie is an experienced and zealous advocate and litigator. Her litigation experience includes successfully representing management in employment litigation under Title VII, the FLSA, the ADEA, the ADA, and the FMLA, and before the EEOC and state civil rights agencies. Katie also has experience litigating, counseling clients on, and drafting restrictive covenants, non-compete agreements, and non-solicitation agreements. Katie additionally conducts FLSA audits for management and regularly performs labor and employment due diligence on sales, acquisitions, and mergers.
Katie’s traditional labor experience includes regularly representing management first-chair in labor arbitrations and counseling management on matters arising under collective bargaining agreements.
Prior to joining the firm, Katie clerked for the office of the General Counsel at the University of Tennessee, where she worked primarily on labor and employment matters. During law school, she was the Best Preliminary Round Oral Advocate in the 2007 Robert F. Wagner Labor & Employment Moot Court Competition.
Katie’s pro bono work includes representing victims of domestic violence and stalking in obtaining temporary protective orders. Katie serves on Partnership Against Domestic Violence’s Board of Directors and Executive Committee.
Katie was recognized as a Georgia "Rising Star" in 2021 and the eight years immediately preceding for Employment & Labor Law by Super Lawyers magazine.
In her personal time, Katie plays monster trucks and builds robots with her two sons, plays tennis, and attends local art festivals.
Experience
Represented a Georgia-based employer in an action brought by our client in multiple states against a former employee and his new employer alleging breach of the former employer’s non-competition agreement and misappropriation of trade secret and confidential information. Aggressively pursued discovery and injunction relief in multiple states and ultimately obtained a favorable settlement.
Provide regular advice and counseling to employers across the country concerning restrictive covenant drafting and enforcement, including drafting restrictive covenants to comply with applicable state law, reviewing restrictive covenants of employees clients wish to hire, and aggressively pursuing pre-litigation resolution of breach of restrictive covenants.
Provided regular advice and counseling to a restaurant software provider with employees in multiple states concerning confidentiality, non-solicitation, and invention assignment agreements, compliance with state and federal wage and hour laws, compliance with local ordinances, and employee handbooks and policies.
Serve as labor and employment law expert in mergers and acquisitions. For buyers, conduct extensive labor and employment due diligence to identify any labor and employment law issues of the seller that would materially affect the deal, such as misclassification of employees, compliance with background check requirements, and I-9 compliance. For sellers, review seller’s labor and employment practices and policies to identify any areas of weakness before being put up for sale.
Conducted an internal wage and hour audit to evaluate exempt status of certain positions for an Atlanta-area college and for an Atlanta-area automobile distributor.
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University of Tennessee College of Law J.D. (2007) summa cum laude, Order of the Coif
University of Georgia B.A. (2003) Public and International Affairs, magna cum laude
Georgia (2007)
Georgia State Court (2007)
Georgia Superior Court (2007)
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit (2009)
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia (2007)
Partnership Against Domestic Violence (PADV), Board of Directors, Member
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