Jerry C. Newsome represents companies in lawsuits and agency proceedings involving all aspects of employment law and devotes the majority of his practice to litigating non-competition and trade secret matters, drafting non-competition agreements, and assisting clients with proactive measures to protect their trade secrets and proprietary business information.

Appearing in state and federal courts and before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Jerry also handles:

• Non-solicitation agreements and minority shareholder rights disputes
• Employment tort and contract claims
• Whistleblower claims
• Employment discrimination and sexual harassment litigation
• Employee benefits litigation
• Wage and hour issues
• Workers' compensation retaliation claims

Jerry also advises clients on various employment matters, including issues arising under:

• Title VII
• The Age Discrimination in Employment Act
• The Americans With Disabilities Act
• The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act
• The Family and Medical Leave Act
• Georgia noncompete and restrictive covenant laws

His counseling practice encompasses labor and employment issues arising out of mergers and acquisitions, executive employment contracts, preparing and reviewing employee handbooks and corporate policies, employee discipline, drug and alcohol testing, and wage and hour matters.

Additionally Jerry regularly conducts training sessions for managers and supervisors, with a focus on teaching strong management fundamentals in order to build employee morale, accomplish management objectives and ensure legal compliance. He also has significant experience training foreign nationals on compliance with U.S. labor and employment laws and managing the cultural workplace differences executives, managers and supervisors new to the U.S. may encounter.

His clients span a broad range of industries including:

• Nuclear fuel technology
• Financial services
• Insurance brokerage
• Computer software
• Mortgage and lending
• Flare and burner technology
• Fuel storage and delivery
• Corrugated packaging
• Printing
• Professional staffing
• Nonwoven abrasives
• Synthetic fiber technology
• Industrial plastic packaging

Jerry is a current member of the firm's pro bono committee and the former hiring shareholder for the Atlanta office.

Before attending law school, Jerry worked as a supervisor for a package delivery corporation for four years, which afforded him a unique perspective on how to help his clients develop creative solutions for employee challenges that ensure legal compliance and accomplish managment objectives.

PROFESSIONAL AND COMMUNITY AFFILIATIONS

• Member, Labor and Employment Law / Trial Practice sections - Atlanta Bar Association