Marlene Williams is a seasoned litigator who guides her clients through complex labor and employment matters, defending Fortune 100 companies in class action disputes and collective action litigation.
With clients spanning a variety of industries, including energy, chemical, media, retail, manufacturing and healthcare services, she has served as lead counsel in bench and jury trials, in appeals in federal and state appellate courts, and in arbitrations, including cases involving multiple parties and millions of dollars in claims.
In addition to her varied commercial litigation experience, Marlene assists clients in resolving a wide range of employment law issues, including wage and hour cases; discrimination, retaliation and harassment; whistleblower claims; business torts, Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) compliance; employment agreements; hiring and onboarding processes; and general human resources practices. Marlene also has extensive experience representing clients in non-compete and trade secret matters.
A well-respected advocate on employment law, her in-depth knowledge of these topics also allows Marlene to effectively train clients on their policy and enforcement matters, internal investigations, and document retention and employee retention issues.
Awards and Rankings
fellow, Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (2016-2017)
Recognized as Houston’s Top Lawyer in the area of labor and employment by Houston Business Journal (2015)
Experience
Obtained summary judgment and won a Fifth Circuit appeal for a petrochemical company in a race discrimination and retaliation dispute.
Won on summary judgment for a national homebuilder in a hotly contested overtime misclassification FLSA case.
Obtained partial summary judgment and judgment as a matter of law at trial on all remaining claims in a multi-plaintiff “off-the-clock” overtime FLSA litigation.
Obtained decertification of an FLSA collective action and summary judgment on multiple other claims in an overtime misclassification case.
Secured summary judgment in an age discrimination declaratory judgment proceeding.
Obtained summary judgment in an FMLA case.
Prevailed in numerous labor arbitrations involving wrongful discharge claims.
Won summary judgment for a multinational chemical company in litigation involving claims including of race and age discrimination under federal and state laws, as well as retaliation claims under FMLA.
Won dismissal of a defamation lawsuit for a former employee of our client, who was named in her individual capacity in the litigation.
Won summary judgment for an international chemical company in an FMLA case.
Won summary judgment for a storage facility in an FLSA overtime and retaliation case.
Multimedia
A global conversation: post-COVID-19 re-entry/return-to-work planning (May 4, 2020)
We are pleased to invite our renewable and alternative energy clients and friends to join us for a global conversation with Eversheds Sutherland Partners Louise Lightfoot and Marlene Williams as they ...
COVID-19 - Considerations for employers (March 26, 2020)
Join Eversheds Sutherland to discuss the issues employers should be cognizant of as they prepare their response to employees around Coronavirus. Bringing together perspectives from employment law, ...
Employers' response to the coronavirus - Part II: Application and interview process (March 16, 2020)
This podcast provides a basic overview of measures employers can take in the application interview process in response to COVID-19 (coronavirus). In this Legal Insights Podcast, Marlene Williams and ...
Employers’ response to the coronavirus (March 9, 2020)
This podcast provides an overview of basic precautions employers can take in responding to COVID-19 (coronavirus), as well as duties employers have under various federal employment laws when ...
News
In the News
Movers and Shakers (May 1, 2018)
State Bar of Texas
Scott McLaughlin and Marlene Williams are mentioned in this State Bar of Texas article for recently joining Eversheds Sutherland's Labor and Employment Practice Group as partners in the Houston office.
Eversheds Sutherland Adds Litigators on Both Sides of the Atlantic (February 28, 2018)
CDR Magazine
Eversheds Sutherland is featured in this article published by CDR Magazine regarding the recent expansion of its Litigation Practice Group with the addition of veteran litigators to offices in both ...
Law Firm News for February 16, 2018 (February 16, 2018)
Bloomberg Law - Occupational Safety & Health Reporter
Partners Scott McLaughlin and Marlene Williams are mentioned in this Bloomberg Law article for joining Eversheds Sutherland’s Litigation Practice Group in Houston.
Eversheds Sutherland Adds Labor and Employment Pros (February 12, 2018)
Texas Lawbook
Scott McLaughlin and Marlene Williams are featured in this Texas Lawbook article for joining Eversheds Sutherland’s Litigation Practice Group as partners in the Houston office.
Eversheds Sutherland Snags Two Jackson Walker Attorneys in Texas (February 9, 2018)
Law360
In this article published by Law360, Scott McLaughlin and Marlene Williams are featured for joining Eversheds Sutherland’s Litigation Practice Group as partners in the Houston office, expanding its ...
Two Employment Lawyers Leave Jackson Walker and Move to Eversheds Sutherland (February 9, 2018)
Houston Chronicle
Partners Scott McLaughlin and Marlene Williams are mentioned in this Houston Chronicle article for joining Eversheds Sutherland’s Litigation Practice Group in Houston.
Eversheds Sutherland Lands Two Prominent Litigators in Houston Office (February 8, 2018)
Houston Citybizlist
Scott McLaughlin and Marlene Williams are featured in this Houston Citybizlist article for joining Eversheds Sutherland’s Litigation Practice Group as partners in the Houston office.
At Client's Bidding, Houston Litigators Talk to Eversheds Sutherland and Make Lateral Move (February 8, 2018)
Texas Lawyer
Scott McLaughlin and Marlene Williams are featured in this Texas Lawyer article for joining Eversheds Sutherland’s Litigation Practice Group as partners in the Houston office, expanding its service ...
Press Releases
Eversheds Sutherland’s Cannabis Industry team publishes The State of Cannabis Law (May 18, 2020)
Eversheds Sutherland is pleased to announce the publication of its comprehensive cannabis book, The State of Cannabis Law. Authored and researched by the firm’s Cannabis Industry team and published ...
Eversheds Sutherland Lands Two Prominent Litigators in Houston Office (February 8, 2018)
HOUSTON-Eversheds Sutherland (US) LLP is pleased to announce that Scott R. McLaughlin and Marlene C. Williams have joined the Litigation Practice Group as partners in the Houston office, expanding ...
Publications
Legal Alerts
Legal Alert: COVID-19 Update: President Trump signs federal paid leave law (March 20, 2020)
On Wednesday, March 18, President Trump signed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, which includes new requirements for paid sick leave, an expansion of the Family and Medical Leave Act ...
NLRB issues new rule regarding joint employer status (February 26, 2020)
After notice of proposed rulemaking and request for comments, the NLRB released its final rule for governing joint employer status under the NLRA-which takes effect on April 27, 2020. Per the ...
Legal Alert: Department of Labor unveils new overtime salary requirements (September 24, 2019)
On September 24, 2019, the DOL announced new rules regarding the salary requirement for exempt employees under the FLSA. The DOL stated that the new rules would make 1.3 million American workers ...
SCOTUS rules exhaustion of administrative remedies is not jurisdictional - Does it matter? (June 4, 2019)
On June 3, 2019, the Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision holding that Title VII’s administrative exhaustion requirement is not a jurisdictional bar to filing a lawsuit in court. The lawsuit ...
The evolving landscape of non-compete agreements-change is underway in New York State-could non-compete clauses become unenforceable? (April 30, 2019)
Employers commonly use non-compete agreements to protect the use of their trade secrets and other confidential business information from employers who leave to join competitors. New York State ...
California’s Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 - The HR Perspective (July 18, 2018)
Businesses with consumers in California may soon find themselves subject to the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (the Act). The Act arrives on the heels of the expansive consumer protections ...
Legal Alert: Supreme Court rules in favor of class action waivers contained in employee arbitration agreements (May 22, 2018)
The Supreme Court of the United States handed employers a huge win with respect to employee class and collective actions. In Epic Systems Corp v. Lewis, the Court actually resolved three cases-Ernst ...
Auto dealers and the exempt service advisor (April 9, 2018)
Auto dealers finally have the answer they have sought regarding compensation for service advisors-and it is favorable. On April 2, 2018, the US Supreme Court issued its much-awaited decision in ...
Circuit split grows-Second Circuit expands protection under Title VII based on sexual orientation (February 28, 2018)
On February 26, 2018, the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit became the second federal circuit to hold that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII) prohibits sexual orientation ...
Articles
Eversheds Sutherland presents annual Industrial Foresight Report 2020 (February, 2020)
In collaboration with Eversheds Sutherland Managing Partner Dr. Matthias Heisse .
Our global Diversified Industrials sector team are proud to present our annual Industrial Foresight Report 2020. This report identifies key risks, legislation and commercial developments your company ...
Cybersecurity and Data Privacy review and update: Looking back on 2018 and planning ahead for 2019 (March 1, 2019)
From the implementation of the GDPR to the passage of the CCPA, the year 2018 proved to be a monumental one for cybersecurity and data privacy. Regulators from around the world responded to ...
Books
The State of Cannabis Law: A Fifty State Compendium (May 18, 2020)
Wolters Kluwer
Currently, more than two-thirds of the states and Washington DC have legalized marijuana for medical use while eleven states and Washington, DC have legalized marijuana for adult or recreational use. ...
