Littler Names Jacqueline Johnson Lichty Co-Chair of Unfair Competition and Trade Secrets Practice

SAN FRANCISCO, CA (March 13, 2012) - Littler Mendelson, P.C. (Littler), the nation’s largest employment and labor law firm representing management, named Shareholder Jacqueline Johnson Lichty co-chair of the firm’s Unfair Competition and Trade Secrets (UCTS) Practice Group. Lichty, who resides in Littler’s Dallas office, will lead the group along with existing co-chair Paul Kennedy and succeeds Marguerite Walsh, who will remain an active member of the practice group.

“We thank Marguerite for her outstanding efforts in helping to lead this practice over the past few years and look forward to Jackie’s role as the new co-chair of the firm’s UCTS practice,” said Marko Mrkonich, president and managing director of Littler. “Jackie’s experience in this area is renowned among both her peers and clients, and she is an expert not only in litigation matters, but also in drafting multi-state agreements and in the nuances of state and federal law in the area of post-employment obligations.”

Littler’s robust UCTS practice currently boasts 163 attorneys and focuses on matters involving intellectual capital and customer relationships. The firm provides strategic advice to employers on all critical aspects of the employment relationship, from initial hiring to maintaining security and monitoring of highly confidential information, to departure. Additionally, a cornerstone of the practice is assisting clients in avoiding costly litigation through a variety of preventive measures, such as conducting unfair competition and trade secret audits and coordinating forensic examinations and investigations. And when litigation is appropriate and necessary, the firm’s attorneys assist in TRO/injunction proceedings, expedited discovery or a full-blown trial on the merits.

Lichty’s practice focuses on employment litigation and counseling, with a particular emphasis on trade secret and wrongful competition litigation and drafting and enforcement of multi-state compliant non-competition agreements. She has handled several high-profile “bet the company” non-competition matters, one of which garnered national attention.

Appearing in state and federal courts in Texas, Lichty also has a wealth of experience with wage and hour collective actions and litigates employment discrimination and retaliation cases arising under Title VII, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, as well as the Family and Medical Leave Act and the Texas Labor Code. Additionally, Lichty conducts employment law and anti-harassment training for her clients, which include restaurants, staffing companies and high technology corporations. She is the co-author of Drafting and Enforcing Covenants Not to Compete (BNA, 2009).

Professional organizations and groups that Lichty belongs to include Longhorn Lawyers, Noncompete Lawyers, the Trinity Bar Association and the University of Texas School of Law Alumni. Lichty received her J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law and her B.A., cum laude, from Trinity University.

About Littler Mendelson

With over 900 attorneys and 56 offices, Littler Mendelson is the largest U.S.-based law firm exclusively devoted to representing management in employment and labor law matters. As the only U.S. member of the Ius Laboris global alliance, Littler has extensive resources to address the needs of multi-national clients, from navigating international employment laws and labor relations issues to applying corporate policies worldwide. Established in 1942, the firm has litigated, mediated and negotiated some of the most influential employment law cases and labor contracts on record.