Farrow-Gillespie Heath Wilmoth LLP

Julie Heath focuses her practice primarily in the area of employment law. In addition to handling litigation and arbitration matters, Ms. Heath counsels HR departments and businesses of every size on all aspects of employment law, including addressing day-to-day employment and personnel questions, investigating internal employee complaints, defending governmental agency audits, and advising clients on steps for litigation avoidance. Ms. Heath is rated AV®-Preeminent™ by the peer-reviewed Martindale-Hubbell service, and she has been named a Texas Super Lawyer (a Thomson Reuters Service) and a Texas Monthly “Top Attorney in Texas” every year since 2012. She has been selected for inclusion in the Martindale Hubbell® Bar Registry of Preeminent Women Lawyers, comprising less than 5% of women attorneys who have received the highest possible peer rating in both legal ability and ethical standards.

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Ms. Heath has over 30 years of experience in the federal, state, and appellate courts. One of her jury trial wins, which she also successfully defended on appeal, was named a “Top 10 Texas Verdict” by Texas Lawyer magazine. She has successfully defended jury verdicts and summary judgment rulings appealed to the Fifth Circuit and the Dallas Court of Appeals.

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Before co-founding the firm, Ms. Heath practiced in the commercial litigation section of the Dallas office of Baker Botts LLP and as a solo employment litigation attorney.

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Practice Areas

• Employment Law

  • Litigation and arbitration

  • HR counsel

  • Employment contracts

  • Noncompetition agreements

  • On-site investigations

  • Federal and state agency audits

  • Management trainings

• Commercial Litigation

• General Counsel Services

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Representative Experience

• Successfully defended client companies in litigation involving FMLA, Title VII, ADA, ADEA, retaliation, wage-and-hour, and other employment-related claims

• Conducted strategic on-site investigations of employee claims and complaints

• Reviewed and revised employee manuals for small and mid-sized companies, and for publicly traded companies

• Conducted management trainings and updates in employment law compliance

• Counseled businesses on contract negotiation and documentation, and negotiated business agreements

• Counsels employers on employee policies, confidentiality and noncompetition agreements, employment contracts, and intellectual property matters

• Represented company interests in governmental agency audits

• Represented clients in commercial litigation, including contract claims and related business disputes

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Education

• J.D., cum laude, University of Tulsa School of Law, 1987 (outstanding graduate award)

• B.S., Oklahoma State University, 1984

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Court Admissions

• U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas

• U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas

• U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals

• U.S. Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals

• All Texas courts

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Notable Published Cases

• Rondini v. Bunn, 338 So.3d 749 (Al. 2021) (establishing new legal precedent)

• Walsh v. Hodge, 975 F.3d 475 (5th Cir. 2020)

• Galvez v. Tornado Bus Co., 2015 Tex. App. LEXIS 3731 (Tex. App. –Dallas 2015, pet. denied)

• Warren v. Fannie Mae, 55 F. Supp. 3d 915 (N.D. Tex. 2014)

• Alfarouqi v. Tri-Speed Inv., Inc., 2013 U.S. Dist. Lexis 135212 (N.D. Tex. 2013)

• Lopez v. Genter’s Detailing, Inc., 511 Fed. Appx. 374 (5th Cir. 2013)

• Connect Insured Tel., Inc. v. Qwest Long Distance, Inc., 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 101721 (N.D. Tex. 2012)

• Tex. Youth Comm’n v. Koustoubardis, 378 S.E. 3d 497 (Tex. App. – Dallas 2012)

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Professional and Community Affiliations

• State Bar of Texas

• Dallas Bar Association

• Attorneys Serving the Community

• Oklahoma State University alumni association

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Previous Experience

Baker Botts LLP