Mike Muskat

One of the founding partners of the firm, Mike is a go-to lawyer for challenging employment litigation and counseling matters. In his 26 years of practice, Mike has successfully litigated hundreds of matters for clients involving nearly every type of employment law claim brought by employees or government agencies. In counseling and compliance matters, he is sought out by clients for his deep knowledge of the substantive law and his practical, solutions-oriented advice honed by experience.

REPRESENTATIVE EXPERIENCE
Litigation
  • Regularly represents employers in federal courts, state courts, and arbitration in defending claims of employment discrimination, wrongful discharge, harassment, breach of contract, and a wide variety of other employment claims
  • Regularly defends employers in complex, multi-plaintiff wage-and-hour litigation under the FLSA and state laws
  • Litigates unfair competition and trade secrets misappropriation matters for companies as plaintiffs and defendants
Government Investigations and Litigation
  • Department of Labor: Represented large employer in DOL wage-and-hour investigation into exemption status of a class of employees and obtained favorable result
  • OSHA: Represents employers in OSHA inspections and subsequent OSHA litigation. Part of team that successfully defended cases at trial involving alleged violations of fall protection, PPE, and recordkeeping standards
  • OFCCP: Represented federal contractor in OFCCP sex discrimination investigation and obtained finding of no violation
  • ICE: Represented employer in ICE civil penalty proceedings and obtained favorable settlement of claims
TRADITIONAL LABOR
  • Represents unionized employers in collective bargaining negotiations
  • Defends employers in labor arbitrations involving contract interpretation and wrongful discharge disputes
Compliance
  • Drafts wage-and-hour compliance policies for many large employers
  • Advises companies on the investigation of harassment claims and subsequent remedial action
  • Works with clients on complex employment law problems involving background checks, drug/alcohol testing, medical leave, accommodation of disabilities, whistleblowing, and other issues
EDUCATION
  • University of Texas School of Law, J.D. with honors, 1997 (Articles Editor, Texas Law Review; Order of the Coif)
  • Bowdoin College, A.B. magna cum laude, 1993
BACKGROUND
  • Board Certified in Labor and Employment Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization since 2006
  • Named to Chambers USA Regional Spotlight for labor and employment law firms, 2023
  • Named to “The Best Lawyers in America” list, 2021 to 2024
  • Named by Lawdragon as one of the country’s leading 500 corporate employment lawyers, 2022 to 2024, and 500 leading litigators, 2023 to 2024
  • Named by Benchmark Litigation as Employment Law Star, 2020 to 2024
  • Texas “Super Lawyer” in Employment Law, 2011 to 2023; Texas “Rising Star” in Employment Law, 2004 to 2010
  • Former Associate, Vinson & Elkins, LLP and Bredhoff & Kaiser, PLLC
  • Law Clerk to the Honorable Lee H. Rosenthal, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, 1997-98
ADMISSIONS
  • Texas, 1997; U.S. Supreme Court; U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit; U.S. District Court for the Southern, Eastern, Northern, and Western Districts of Texas; U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico
MEMBERSHIPS & ACTIVITIES
  • American Employment Law Council (AELC)
  • AAA Roster of Employment Law Arbitrators
  • Frequent speaker on labor and employment topics
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