Christopher E. Howe

Biography

Christopher E. Howe is a partner in the Labor and Employment practice group at Kelly Hart & Hallman LLP. Mr. Howe attended Yale University, where he received his bachelors of arts in 1980. He graduated from William and Mary Law School in 1986. He joined the firm in 1995 and has over 15 years experience representing employers in state and federal trials (both jury and non-jury), in state and federal appellate courts, in labor and employment arbitration, and before administrative agencies such as the Department of Labor and the National Labor Relations Board.

Mr. Howe's practice concentration in labor, employment and ERISA focuses on the representation of management and has included the following: defending discrimination, harassment, and retaliation lawsuits; defending claims brought under federal whistle-blower statutes; interpretation and enforcement of trade secret and non-compete agreements and obtaining temporary injunctions to stop the breach of contractual duties; preparation of employment agreements; employment benefit litigation under ERISA; representation in union organizational campaigns and defending unfair labor practice charges; negotiating collective bargaining agreements; and advocating management decisions in labor arbitration. Mr. Howe also represents management in administrative actions brought by the Department of Labor under wage and hour and whistle-blower laws, by OSHA under the Occupational Safety and Health Act, and by the Texas Workforce Commission under the Texas Payday Act. He advises and counsels management in a wide variety of employment-related issues and in avoiding employment litigation. Mr. Howe and other attorneys in the Labor and Employment practice group frequently conduct in-house seminars on the foregoing issues for the benefit of employer clients.

Mr. Howe currently serves as Vice-Chair of the State Bar Standing Committee on Paralegals and previously served on the board of directors of the Jesuit Volunteer Corps. Chris and his wife, Sue, have two children. He enjoys movies directed by the Coen brothers and the fiction of Cormac McCarthy.

Education & Honors

• Yale University, B.A., 1980
• William and Mary Law School, J.D., 1986

Admission & Affiliations

• Texas, 1986
• US Supreme Court, Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, all US District Courts in Texas

Significant Matters

• Lead counsel at trial and on appeal of significant covenant-not-to-compete case in which both the trial and appellate courts found enforceable our client's covenant-not-to-compete agreement. Rattikin Title Company v. O'Brien, 2006 WL 417237 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth Feb. 23, 2006) (No. 2-05-238-CV), review dismissed w.o.j. (June 23, 2006)
• Lead counsel in significant labor arbitration case in which the trial and appellate courts overturned a flawed labor arbitrator's decision against our client. Int'l Union of Operating Eng'rs, Local 351 v. Cooper Natural Res., Inc., 163 F.3d 916 (5th Cir. 1999)
• Lead counsel in obtaining successful jury verdict for our client against an entity for theft and deceptive trade practices
• Lead counsel in successfully defending clients at trial and arbitration, including whistleblower claims, retaliation claims, and labor agreement claims

Publications & Speeches

• Speaker, "The National Labor Relations Act – What the Non-Union Employer Needs to Know," Labor and Employment Law Conference, Fort Worth, 2001
• Speaker, "Sexual and Other Forms of Harassment," Labor and Employment Law Conference, Fort Worth, 2001