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Brent D. Hockaday
Biography

Brent is a trusted legal advisor and advocate for businesses and their leadership teams. Board Certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in labor and employment law, company leaders, including chief legal officers, corporate counsel, and human resources executives, collaborate with Brent for strategic counseling, consulting, and litigation decisions. Brent views his clients as partners with the shared goal of placing the business in the best position to succeed. With an eye toward the big picture, Brent’s practice covers both prevention and execution.


On the prevention side of his practice, Brent navigates business leaders through the complexities of federal, state, and local laws. Brent creates contracts, policies, and procedures governing employment and business relationships. An important component of Brent’s prevention practice is the framework he establishes to protect clients against unfair competition and to secure their trade secrets and confidential information. Brent also guides leadership groups through employment relations issues and litigation avoidance strategies.

On the execution side of his practice, Brent is well-equipped to map out an effective strategy from the outset of a dispute should the need for litigation arise. Brent has substantial experience litigating matters in different forums and jurisdictions across the country, including obtaining multiple successful jury verdicts and arbitration awards.

A substantial part of Brent’s litigation practice involves enforcing and defending against restrictive covenants, with a heightened focus on the misappropriation of trade secrets and confidential and proprietary information. Brent has obtained affirmative relief pursuing such claims and successfully defended those claims. On multiple occasions, Brent’s defense of start-up businesses implicated in trade secret misappropriation claims has allowed those businesses to continue operations without material impediment. Brent regularly presents to attorneys and educates industry leaders on unfair competition and trade secrets issues.

Brent also defends employers in federal and state court, as well as arbitration and in matters before administrative agencies. Brent’s employment litigation experience involves defending against claims of federal and state wage and hour violations (on individual as well as class and collective action bases) and against anti-discrimination, anti-harassment, and anti-retaliation violations.

Education

  • J.D., cum laude, Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law, 2012
  • B.B.A, Baylor University, 2005

Admissions

  • State Bar of Texas
  • United States District Court for the Northern, Southern, Eastern and Western Districts of Texas
  • United States District Court for the Eastern and Western Districts of Oklahoma
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

Related Industry

Representative Matters
  • Secured a complete dismissal of a class action matter on behalf of an investor of the Alliance of American Football for claims of fraud, promissory estoppel, inducing breach of contract, and violations of the California Labor Code, which sought hundreds of millions of dollars in damages, In re Legendary Field Exhibitions, LLC, No. 19-50900-cag, Colton Schmidt, et. al. v. AAF Players, LLC, et. al., Adversary No. 19-05053-cag (Bank. W.D. Tex.)
  • Secured a complete defense victory on behalf of three departing partners of a top 50 national public accounting firm for claims under the Texas Uniform Trade Secrets Act and claims for breaches of non-compete provisions under the Texas Business and Commerce Code, while securing damages on a counterclaim for a breach of fiduciary duty against the firm’s leadership
  • Prevailed on a breach of contract claim and secured damages for unlawful removal of confidential and proprietary information on behalf of a large privately-owned mortgage lender, while defeating claims by the former manager plaintiff for unpaid overtime and retaliation under the Fair Labor Standards Act, violation of the Family and Medical Leave Act, fraudulent misrepresentation, promissory estoppel, and tortious interference
  • Secured a complete dismissal of Section 1981 and the Texas Labor Code claims on summary judgment on behalf of a global software and data analytics company, Davis v. RealPage, Inc., No. 3:18-CV-0986-D, 2020 WL 1325201 (N.D. Tex. Mar. 20, 2020)
  • Obtained a complete defense arbitration award on behalf of a skilled nursing facility for claims under Chapter 21 of the Texas Labor Code
  • Successfully defended against a temporary injunction on behalf of an insurance company in the medical billing industry against claims of tortious interference, misappropriation of trade secrets, the Texas Theft Liability Act, and civil conspiracy
  • Secured a complete defense verdict in a federal court jury trial on behalf of a skilled nursing and rehabilitation center against Title VII claims from five plaintiffs
  • Secured partial summary judgment on behalf of a sub-lessor to an aircraft sublease agreement on breach of contract and breach of guaranty claims, and obtained a $280,000 jury verdict
  • Secured an arbitration award on behalf of a senior care living facility against claims of discrimination and retaliation under Title VII, Section 1981, and the Texas Labor Code
  • Defeated six causes of action in arbitration on behalf of a large consumer retail and distribution center against Americans with Disabilities Act and Texas Labor Code claims
  • Won dismissals of charges of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation filed with multiple federal, state, and local administrative agencies, including the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Texas Workforce Commission, National Labor Relations Board, and Occupational Safety and Health Administration

 

Noteworthy
  • Named to The Best Lawyers in America® "Ones to Watch" List, 2021
  • Board Certified in Labor and Employment Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.
  • Selected by attorney peers as a Texas Rising Star®, Thomson Reuters, 2019-2022.
Activities & Memberships
  • State Bar of Texas
  • Dallas Bar Association
  • Downtown Dallas, Inc., Board of Governors, 2022 – present
  • The Patrick Higginbotham Inn of Court, 2018
  • Fellow, Texas Bar Foundation
  • Dallas Regional Chamber of Commerce
    • Leadership Dallas, Class of 2022
    • YP Advisory Council, 2018-2020
    • LEAD YP, Class of 2017
Publications
Presentations
  • Protecting Your Company's Most Important Assets, TechFW, September 20, 2022.
  • #Metoo Takes a Bite Out of Arbitration, Thomson Reuters West LegalEdCenter, May 23, 2022.
  • Protecting Company Information and Relationships In A Post-COVID World, Association of Corporate Counsel, April 14, 2022.
  • Emerging Issues Facing Restrictive Covenants, Collin County Bar Association and Plano Bar Association Corporate Counsel Sections, March 4, 2022.
  • Emerging Issues Facing Restrictive Covenants, State Bar of Texas Labor and Employment Institute, August 2021.
  • Emerging Issues Facing Restrictive Covenants, Dallas Bar Association, July 2021
  • Co-Presenter, Benefit Seminars PLUS Luncheon, What You Need to Know About the FMLA and ADA, October 2014.
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