Haynes and Boone, LLP lawyer Janet Ayyad Ismail received the 2017 Buhrmester Rising Star Award from the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences at The University of Texas at Dallas in September. The award annually recognizes a School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences graduate who has shown outstanding early-career accomplishment.
A BBS graduate, Ismail received her BA from UTD in 2005, majoring in psychology and minoring in mathematics. She graduated summa cum laude with Collegium V honors, and received the Dean’s Award for Highest Academic and Overall Excellence in Psychology that year.
Ismail was honored at an event for BBS graduating seniors and faculty where she spoke about her journey through undergrad and her decision to pursue a law degree. She discussed how her winding path to declaring a major and determining her post-undergraduate plans unexpectedly led to her decision to attend law school and pursue a legal career where she could equally apply the aspects she enjoyed most about psychology and math: problem solving, logical reasoning and analytical thinking. Ismail also emphasized the importance of having great mentors, overcoming fear of failure, and recognizing how our unique paths contribute to our strengths and success.
Ismail, an associate in Haynes and Boone’s Labor and Employment Practice Group, is Board Certified in Labor and Employment Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Her hybrid practice includes representing clients in litigation and non-litigation matters. She has defended clients in employment-related investigations and lawsuits involving a variety of federal and state labor and employment laws. She also has prosecuted and defended complex unfair-competition claims, including breach of non-competition agreements, misappropriation of trade secrets, tortious interference and breach of fiduciary duty claims. She regularly provides advice and counsel to employers concerning a variety of labor and employment issues, including compliance with the Family and Medical Leave Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act, and she advises leadership during mergers and acquisitions on labor and employment aspects of the transactions. She also regularly assists clients with drafting and reviewing various employment-related agreements, employee handbooks and workplace policies and procedures.