Parker Graham
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Parker Graham

Sweating the small stuff. Thinking ahead. Answering quickly and correctly. I treat the client’s problem like it’s mine, with less talk, more action.

Parker Graham practices business litigation and employment law throughout the United States. From routine discovery disputes to high-stakes appeals, his experience includes an array of complex business disputes, agency investigations, and discrimination and retaliation cases across the country.

Parker specializes in federal practice and procedure. And he has extensive experience handling emergency injunctive relief, especially involving non-competition and non-solicitation agreements. Beyond litigation, Parker routinely counsels clients on regulatory and compliance issues.

Significant Matters

Business Litigation

  • Routinely represented parties pursuing or opposing emergency injunctive relief in state and federal court, including temporary restraining orders, temporary/preliminary injunctions, and related appeals. For example, on many occasions, argued and won an injunction preventing former salespeople from violating their non-solicitation agreements.
  • Obtained an eight-figure arbitration award in a complex contract dispute between business partners.
  • Obtained a seven-figure arbitration award and permanent injunction against independent distributors for breach of contract and tortious interference, while all the distributors’ counterclaims were dismissed.

Employment Litigation / Agency Investigations

  • Routinely defended employers and management in discrimination and retaliation cases across the country, including state and federal courts in Texas, Louisiana, Colorado, Georgia, Florida, Iowa, and Oklahoma.
  • Represented an automotive-engineering firm in an OSHA investigation alleging whistleblower retaliation.
  • Represented an oil-and-gas company in a Department of Labor investigation alleging unpaid overtime and off-the-clock work for large groups of employees in three states.
  • Defended a law firm and its managing partner against retaliation and discrimination claims, which were dismissed before discovery began.
  • In various administrative proceedings, represented clients in contesting liability or negotiating resolutions, including before the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, the Texas Comptroller, The U.S. Department of Labor, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and state and local equivalents across the country.

Reported Decisions

  • Williams v. Martin Marietta and Bossier City Ready Mix, 2020 WL 4433314 (W.D. La. 2020), affirmed, 851 F. App’x 475 (5th Cir. 2021).
  • Oransky v. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc., 400 F. Supp. 3d 1143 (D. Colo. 2019).
  • Windsor v. Olson et al., 2019 WL 2080021 (N.D. Tex. 2019).
  • Rome v. HCC Life Insurance Co., 323 F. Supp. 3d 862 (N.D. Tex. 2018), appeal dismissed, 2018 WL 4233705 (5th Cir. 2018).
  • Nerium Skincare v. Nerium International, 2017 WL 177651 (N.D. Tex. 2017).
  • Dyhre v. Hinman, 2017 WL 1075614 (Tex. App.—Dallas 2017, pet. denied).

Areas of Focus

Education

Education

  • Southern Methodist University, Dedman School of Law (J.D., magna cum laude, 2013)
    • Order of the Coif
    • SMU Law Review, Articles Editor
  • Sewanee: The University of the South (B.A., magna cum laude, 2010)

Admissions

Bar Admissions
  • Texas
Court Admissions
  • U.S. District Court, Northern District, Texas
  • U.S. District Court, Eastern District, Texas
  • U.S. District Court, Southern District, Texas
  • U.S. District Court, Western District, Texas
  • U.S. District Court, Colorado
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit

Recognition

  • Lawdragon 500, Leading Litigators in America, 2022
  • Best Lawyers in America: Ones to Watch, 2021-2023, Commercial Litigation; Labor and Employment Law – Management; Labor and Employment Litigation.
  • Rising Star, Employment & Labor, as published in Texas Monthly magazine, 2019-2023.

Best-Lawyers-Logo (1)PG-RS21

Speeches/Publications

  • Speaker, NLRB and Employee Handbooks: Complying with Agency Guidance, Speech to the Dallas Bar Association, (2016).
  • Co-Author, An Overview of Federal Employment Law Practice and Procedure, Texas Bar Association’s Federal Court Practice CLE (2015).
  • Co-Author, Texas Chapter of How to Hire and Fire: A Global Guide, Multilaw (2015).
  • Author, Neglect the Registered Agent, Risk Losing a Lawsuit, Carrington Coleman Capital Newsletter (2014).
  • Author, Whistleblowers in the Workplace: The Government Employee’s “Official Duty” to Tell the Truth, 65 SMU L. REV. 685 (2012).