![Ann Marie Painter headshot](/sites/default/files/styles/portrait_4x5_360x450_1x/public/2024-08/Painter_AnnMarie_6038x7292.jpg?itok=oxEHWtR7)
![Ann Marie Painter headshot](/sites/default/files/styles/portrait_4x5_360x450_1x/public/2024-08/Painter_AnnMarie_6038x7292.jpg?itok=oxEHWtR7)
Ann Marie Painter
- Firmwide Chair, Labor & Employment Practice
A seasoned management-side employment lawyer, Ann Marie represents clients in litigation, internal investigations, and employment counseling.
Ann Marie Painter defends employers against a variety of individual and collective/multi-plaintiff complaints. These include alleged employment discrimination, harassment and retaliation, Fair Labor Standards Act and state wage-and-hour/pay, breach of contract, and tort claims.
Ann Marie represents employers seeking to enforce or defend noncompete agreements and protect against trade secret theft. She also helps computer forensic specialists establish data recovery and preservation protocols and investigate claims of trade secret theft or other violations. Ann Marie also leads high-profile internal investigations for employers related to workplace harassment, discrimination, and misconduct allegations and has established a multidisciplinary working group within the firm to help employers address issues associated with such investigations.
When helping employers reduce their litigation risk, Ann Marie provides strategic counsel on day-to-day issues. These include executive and employment agreements, medical leave, accommodation and job restructuring issues, and workforce change policies, agreements, processes, and implementation. She protects clients' interests before the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and state workforce agencies, including the Texas Commission on Human Rights. Ann Marie partners with employers in a breadth of industries, including technology, defense contracting, manufacturing, hospitality, retail, and finance.
Deeply committed to her community, Ann Marie serves on the boards of directors of The Arts Community Alliance (TACA), Texas Appleseed, and Vogel Alcove.
Education & Credentials
Education
- University of Tennessee College of Law, J.D., high honors, 1992
- Carson–Newman University, B.A., summa cum laude, 1988
Bar and Court Admissions
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Texas
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas
- U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas
- U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas
Professional Recognition
Listed in Chambers USA "America's Leading Lawyers" for Labor and Employment, 2011-2024
Listed in Lawdragon 500: Leading Corporate Employment Lawyers, 2020-2024
Named "Litigation - Labor and Employment Lawyer of the Year" by Best Lawyers in America, 2023
Listed in Best Lawyers in America: Employment Law - Management, Litigation - Labor and Employment, 2015-2024
Named by D Magazine as one of the Dallas 500, “The most influential leaders in North Texas,” 2018-2023
Recognized in Super Lawyers Magazine as a "Rising Star," 2004-2005; "Super Lawyer," 2006, 2014-2020, 2022-2023
Named one of D Magazine’s Best Lawyers in Dallas, 2011-2022
Impact
Professional Leadership
- Law360, Employment Editorial Advisory Board, Member, 2014-2016
- American Bar Association, Section of Litigation, Member, Distance CLE Committee, Co-Chair 2009-2010, Employment and Labor Relations Committee, Co-Chair 2005-2008
- Chief, Member
- Dallas Bar Association, Employment Law Section, Member
- Texas Bar Association, Labor & Employment Law Section, Member
- American Bar Association, Labor & Employment Section, Member
- Texas Bar Association, Sustaining Fellow
- American Bar Association, Sustaining Fellow
- American Employment Law Council (AELC), Member
- Cambridge Forum on Employment Law, Steering Committee Member
Community Involvement
- Ignite National, Board of Directors, Member
- The Arts Community Alliance (TACA), Board of Directors
- Texas Appleseed, Board President
- Vogel Alcove, Board of Directors, Member
Insights
![International](/sites/default/files/styles/widescreen_16x9_625x352_1x/public/2024-07/International.jpg?itok=hkvYD0nU)