Taylor Appling is a trial lawyer and senior counsel in the firm’s Houston office and a member of both the Labor & Employment and the Commercial Litigation Practice Groups. She litigates trade secret, noncompete, unfair competition, and employment claims. Taylor is also a member of the Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG) Team and the Energy & Infrastructure Sector.

In addition to regularly defending large and mid-sized companies in state and federal court, Taylor works directly with general counsel, executive-level management, and human resources professionals to ensure compliance with employment laws and regulations and develop proactive tools for preventing employment-related litigation.

Representative Experience

Unfair Competition and Trade Secret Litigation

• Represented a group of employees and their new employer in a multimillion-dollar trade secret misappropriation case in the energy industry, leading electronic discovery, defending clients in a three-month jury trial, and authoring appellate briefs that resulted in a significant victory at the Texas Supreme Court
• Represented an industrial gas and chemicals technology company in a trade secret action in federal court against group of former employees and a competitor, obtaining a temporary restraining order and navigating complex forensic e-discovery issues through a contested remediation protocol and ultimate global settlement in client’s favor
• Represented a solar energy software company in an unfair competition and trade secret lawsuit in federal court, managing the damages expert and presenting a conservative calculation of more than $10 million in damages that led to a favorable business resolution for the client
• Represented an electrical infrastructure manufacturer in an expedited trade secret and unfair competition case against a former executive and competitor who violated restrictive covenants, achieving a favorable settlement including full remediation of the client’s confidential information from the defendant’s electronic devices
• Represented a staffing and energy services company in an unfair competition lawsuit against former employees and their start-up employer for employee raiding, violations of noncompetes, and misappropriation of trade secrets and customer relationships
• Represented a semiconductor company in a multi-jurisdictional trade secret matter, managing forensic experts and negotiating defendant’s compliance with forensic protocols for the recovery of misappropriated proprietary information, including coordinating with foreign counsel on parallel international proceedings
• Represented a private equity portfolio company in an expedited trade secret and unfair competition lawsuit in federal court involving former employees who departed to join a competitor, handling responsive briefing to successfully avoid injunctive relief, managing forensic investigations, and witness preparation
• Represented a business client and its individual co-defendants in a federal lawsuit alleging breach of restrictive covenants, trade secret misappropriation, and civil conspiracy, using targeted motion practice to force multiple amendments to the opposing party’s counterclaims and narrow the case, positioning the client for a favorable settlement.
• Represented a financial technology company in trade secret litigation against individuals and corporate defendants who misappropriated confidential data and interfered with business relationships through the purchase and use of stolen proprietary information
• Represented a professional services company to obtain a temporary restraining order on an expedited basis to cease a former employee’s online defamation and disparagement of the company
• Represented an electrical services company in restrictive-covenant and trade-secret litigation related to competitive hiring, positioning the client to successfully defend against a competitor’s subsequent lawsuit seeking injunctive relief

Trial and Litigation Experience

• Obtained a unanimous complete defense verdict in favor of a global employer in an employment discrimination and retaliation jury trial in a jurisdiction known for large plaintiff verdicts, and successfully defended the verdict on appeal, resulting in favorable law on jury charges for Texas employers
• Secured a favorable defense verdict in a Title VII pregnancy discrimination and FMLA retaliation jury trial in federal court, successfully arguing for application of the more stringent but-for causation standard and obtaining directed verdict on punitive damages, with the plaintiff ultimately settling for merely 6% of original demand
• Served as second chair in a disability discrimination and FMLA retaliation jury trial in federal court, driving trial strategy, handling pretrial motion practice, examining witnesses, and arguing the jury charge
• Obtained full summary judgment in federal court on behalf of a major chemical and specialty materials manufacturer, resulting in complete dismissal of all age discrimination and workers’ compensation retaliation claims
• Represented a hospitality and travel company in three separate lawsuits in Texas, successfully obtaining early dismissals in two matters and a favorable settlement in the third for a nominal payout
• Achieved two significant Texas Supreme Court victories in matters involving trade secret misappropriation and employment discrimination, resulting in changes to pattern jury charges in these practice areas
• Represented a medical device company in a commercial dispute in federal court, positioning the client for early favorable resolution
• Represented an employer in a Title VII discrimination and retaliation lawsuit in federal court, authoring a comprehensive motion to dismiss that resulted in significant reduction of claims and positioned the client for a favorable mediation settlement at merely 4% of the plaintiff’s initial demand

Employment Discrimination and Retaliation Defense

• Defended a major chemical and specialty materials manufacturer in multiple employment retaliation and discrimination lawsuits over several years, obtaining summary judgment, preparing for and trying jury cases, and building an ongoing trusted relationship with the client’s legal department
• Defended a global electrical infrastructure company against workers’ compensation retaliation, OSHA complaints, and EEOC charges, obtaining a no-cause finding from the EEOC and full dismissal of an OSHA retaliation complaint
• Represented a national homebuilder in an internal investigation of discrimination and harassment claims, synthesizing workforce data to evaluate potential disparate impact and counseling human resources on investigation best practices
• Defended a medical diagnostics company in FMLA employment litigation in federal court, obtaining early dismissal of claims against an individual defendant and leading litigation strategy through discovery and depositions
• Defended a large convenience store chain against claims of FMLA and ADA discrimination and retaliation in arbitration, advising the client on compliance improvements while managing discovery and fact investigation
• Defended a staffing services company against multiple lawsuits filed by former employee in state and federal court across multiple jurisdictions, obtaining dismissal in every action without the client having to answer the plaintiff’s claims
• Conducted internal investigations for a major healthcare organization involving employment-related claims

Proactive Counseling, Compliance, and Business Transactions Due Diligence

• Counsel clients on restrictive covenant compliance across multiple states, including drafting and revising noncompete, non-solicitation, and confidentiality agreements for companies undergoing leadership changes and corporate transactions
• Conducted a complete overhaul of a technology company’s employment agreements, offer letters, and confidentiality agreements for compliance under multiple state laws, guiding the company’s leadership through implementation of new protective measures
• Negotiate executive employment agreements in contentious business transactions, protecting key employees from debilitating restrictive covenants while preserving their contractual interests
• Advise clients on sensitive employee disputes, internal investigations, and documentation, including guiding in-house counsel through investigations involving senior management and developing proactive risk mitigation strategies
• Conduct employment-related due diligence reviews in mergers and acquisitions for the firm’s business law practice group, including diligence review of wage and hour compliance, employment agreements, immigration compliance, assessing employment litigation risk, and providing advice on employee mobility pre- and post- transaction
• Counsel employers on FMLA and ADA compliance, reduction-in-force decisions, severance agreements, and strategies for handling complicated personnel issues and terminations in conjunction with federal and state laws