Lawrence Morales is certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization as a labor and employment law specialist. He has represented clients in jury trials, bench trials, arbitrations and injunction hearings involving complex employment law issues, including non-competition agreements, breach of fiduciary duty, theft of trade secrets, unfair competition, hostile work environment, retaliation, and breach of contract.
In addition, Lawrence has represented companies in lawsuits and administrative proceedings involving: (1) alleged race, gender, national origin, and disability discrimination; (2) alleged overtime violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act; and (3) alleged unfair labor practices under the National Labor Relations Act. Lawrence also represents companies when their wage and hour practices are audited by the Department of Labor.
Prior to attending law school, Lawrence was a financial analyst for Kimberly-Clark. He graduated at the top of his July 2005 Baylor Law School class, and was a member of Baylor's Moot Court and Mock Trial Teams. After law school, Lawrence served as a law clerk to the Honorable Priscilla R. Owen of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
Lawrence is a frequent speaker and author on employment law and litigation topics, and is the 2011-2012 Vice-Chair of the Labor and Employment Law Committee of the Young Lawyers Division of the American Bar Association. Lawrence is also the 2011-2012 Governmental Affairs Director for the San Antonio Human Resource Management Association, and sits on the Board of Directors of Lead SA, the North Chamber of Commerce's Non-Profit Foundation.
Selected Client Representations
Hostile Work Environment/Discrimination Litigation
- Obtained a defense jury verdict on behalf of a national retailer on an employment retaliation claim.
- Obtained a reversal of a sexual harassment jury verdict. See Twigland Fashions, Ltd. v. Miller, ___ S.W.3d ___, 2010 WL 850170 (Tex. App.-Austin, no pet.).
- Obtained summary judgment for a health-care company, resulting in complete dismissal of former employee's claims that she was terminated because of her race and gender.
- Obtained summary judgment for a construction company, resulting in complete dismissal of former employee's claim that he was terminated because of his race.
Wage/Hour Litigation
- Representing national retailer in nationwide FLSA collective action, alleging failure to pay overtime on bonuses and misclassification of store managers as exempt employees.
- Representing regional hospital in FLSA collective action, challenging company's automatic deductions for lunch breaks.
- Obtained favorable settlement for construction company in FLSA action, alleging failure to pay overtime to truck drivers.
- Obtained favorable settlement for construction supply company in FLSA action, alleging that company failed to properly pay a dispatcher for on-call time.
Unfair Competition, Restrictive Covenants, and Fiduciary Litigation
- Obtained a temporary injunction against a construction company preventing it from soliciting or hiring client's employees that had non-competition agreements.
- Obtained a dissolution of a temporary restraining order that prevented an oil and gas company from contacting a competitor's customers, former customers, and prospective customers.
- Obtained summary judgment for construction company, resulting in complete dismissal of competitor's anti-trust, tortious interference, and unfair competition claims.
Business Litigation
- Represented energy company in $36 billion tortious interference lawsuit concerning expansion of a nuclear energy plant.
- Obtained summary judgment for oil and gas company, resulting in complete dismissal of former employee's claim that the company breached a Stock Option Agreement.
- Obtained a dismissal of a breach of contract and fraud claim asserted against a major motion picture company by an Academy Award-winning actor.
Labor Law
- Obtained dismissal of unfair labor practice charges against construction company, claiming that employees were terminated because of union membership.
- Authored Brief of Amicus Curiae Texas Association of Business In Support of Respondents Arkema, Inc., et. al, concerning electronic posting of remedial notices.
Selected Professional Activities and Honors
- Recognized in Scene in S.A.'s 2011 San Antonio's Best Lawyers Edition (Employment Litigation)
- Selected for inclusion in Texas Super Lawyers - Rising Stars Edition, 2011
- Recognized in Scene in S.A.'s 2010 San Antonio's Best Lawyers Edition (Business Litigation)
- American Bar Association, Young Lawyers' Division, 2010 Vice-Chair of Labor and Employment Section
- North Chamber of Commerce's Lead SA, 2010 Board of Directors
- San Antonio Young Lawyers Association, Board of Directors 2007-2009
Selected Publications
- "The Tax Consequences of Settling an Employment Claim," San Antonio Lawyer Magazine, July/August 2011.
- "Social Media: Cutting Edge Evidence Questions," State Bar of Texas Advanced Personal Injury Law Course 2011, July 6-8, 2011, Dallas, Texas.
- "Evidence in a Bench Trial, Do the Rules Really Matter?" Texas Bar Journal, February 2010.
- "The 'Effect on the Listener' Response to a Hearsay Objection That Every Young Lawyer Should Know," San Antonio Young Lawyers Association Docket Call, October 2007.
- "September 11, 2001 and Hostile Work Environment," September 2007, San Antonio Young Lawyers Association Docket Call.
- "Isn't That Convenient? Texas Motions to Transfer Venue Based on Convenience after Garza v. Garcia?" 58 Baylor L. Rev. 720 (2005).
Online Publications
10/14/2011 -
NLRB Roundup Part 1: Obama Board Continues Apace Reversing Bush Board Decisions, Expanding Labor Laws
Since our last summary, the Obama Board has taken significant steps to further outgoing Chairman Liebman’s stated goal of bringing the Board “back to life after a long period of dormancy.” Our roundup will be addressed in two parts. Part one, that follows, addresses Board decisions and case law developments. Part two will address other issues involving the current Board and its effect on the labor law landscape.
08/02/2011 -
San Antonio Lawyer Guest Article: The Tax Consequences of Settling an Employment Claim
Settling an employment lawsuit involves the complicated process of finding that magic number. How much will the plaintiff take, and the defendant pay, to forgo the cost, effort, and risk of taking the case to trial?
07/28/2011 -
There Is Hope After All: Fifth Circuit Holds that Employers May Still Prevail on FLSA Retaliation Claims
A June ruling by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has provided a bit of a relief for employers who face Fair Labor Standards Act retaliation claims from employees. The Supreme Court's ruling in
Kasten v. Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics Corp., 131 S.Ct. 1325, 1329, 179 L. Ed. 2d 379 (2011) represented a significant victory for employees, but now all is not lost for employers.
07/07/2011 -
Restaurant Trade Groups Challenge Department of Labor’s New “Tip Credit” Rule
In April 2011, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued a final rule that could have a significant impact on employers that use a “tip credit” to satisfy their obligation to pay employees minimum wage. Although courts have generally required employers to notify employees of (but not explain) the tip credit, the new rule requires employers to provide very specific and detailed information regarding their use of the tip credit.
07/06/2011 -
Social Media: Cutting Edge Evidence Questions
The prevalent use of social media websites has created new evidence that is certain to be useful to trial lawyers. This article discusses the major hurdles to getting this type of evidence admitted and how to overcome those hurdles.
01/14/2011 -
Haynes and Boone: Continuing to Set Pro-Employer Precedent in Sexual Harassment Law
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission received more than 12,000 charges in 2009 from employees claiming sexual harassment—a 6 percent increase from three years ago. Although harassment claims are on the rise, Haynes and Boone continues to secure significant sexual harassment victories for its clients, and employers overall.
11/09/2009 -
Can We Have That in Writing? Clear Reservation-of-Rights Saves Company from ERISA Class Action Over Change in Retiree Benefits
Can an employer modify or terminate the medical benefits of retired employees? The answer depends on the language in the employer’s medical benefit plan. A recent federal court ruling highlights the importance of medical benefit plans unambiguously reserving the right to modify or terminate plan benefits. Without this language, an employer makes itself vulnerable to “he said/she said” disputes in which retirees claim that their former managers promised the retirees that their medical benefits would remain unchanged through retirement.