2026–2027 Section Officers
Chair: Carolyn Martin, Motiva Enterprises LLC
Immediate Past Chair: Abby Kotun, Johnsen Law
Chair-Elect: Luke MacDowall, Littler Mendelson
Vice Chair: Dorian Vandenberg-Rodes, Shellist Lazarz Slobin
Secretary: Mariah Berry, Muskat Devine LLP
Treasurer: Sasha Vaikhman, Mediation Maven
Section Committees:
By-Laws Committee: chaired by Ashlee Grant
Holiday Party Committee: chaired by Alan Bush
Scholarship Committee: chaired by Lloyd S. van Oostenrijk
Social Media/Website Committee: chaired by Emma Brockway
Council Members at Large:
Don Foty, Foty Law Group
Brett Holubeck, Kane Russell Coleman Logan PC
Michelle Mahony, Murphy Oil Corporation
Deidra Norris, City of Houston Legal Department
Gregg Rosenberg, Rosenberg & Associates
Alan Bush, Bush Mediation, PLLC
Kathleen B. Colt, RoachGannon LLP
Ashlee Grant, Baker Hostetler LLP
Lloyd S. Van Oostenrijk, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Nallely Rodriguez, Quanta Services
Kristin Agnew, Sheppard Mullins
Emma Brockway, Fisher Phillips LLP
Ved Chitale, Andrews Myers P.C.
C. Keith Lea, Stuart PC
Michael Twomey, Dykema
About the Labor & Employment Law Section
The Houston Bar Association’s Labor & Employment Law Section (L&E Section) comprises about 500 members representing all perspectives of labor and employment law: plaintiff and defense attorneys, in-house counsel, public sector / government attorneys, and mediators / arbitrators with experience in labor and employment law. The L&E Section strives to provide labor and employment law attorneys in Houston and surrounding areas with networking opportunities and topical seminars.
Labor & Employment Law Section Membership Details
Section Members: $497
Section Dues: $35
Meetings:
$40 for section members
$45 for non-section members
$15 for virtual attendees
Labor & Employment Law Materials
Fifth Circuit Update (June 9, 2026)
Inside the Storm: Investigations, Whistleblowers & Navigating Corporate Crisis (May 12, 2026)
Fifth Circuit Update - The Top Fifth Circuit Employment Law Cases of 2025 (April 14, 2026)
The Texas Business Court Builds on Its Inaugural Year — With Expanded Jurisdiction Over Trade Secrets (January 13, 2026)
Rule 30(b)(6) Depositions: Procedure and Practice (November 11,2025)
A Conversation with the EEOC: Priorities, Trends, and What is New at EEOC (September 9, 2025)
Maximize Resolution’s Value: The Ethical Touchdown Before The Endzone (August 12, 2025)
Trump 2.0: Executive Orders, Enforcement Actions, Immigration, Oh My! (June 10, 2025)
Can your FLSA Settlement Pass the Judge (April 30, 2025)
The Top 5th Circuit Employment Cases of 2024 and 2025 (April 8, 2025)
From Hiring to Firing: AI's Growing Intersection with Employment Law Issues (February 11, 2025)
Reasonable Accommodations and the Interactive Process (November 12, 2024)
The Impact of Recent Supreme Court and Fifth Circuit Cases on Your Employment Practice (September 10, 2024)
The Future of Corporate DEI Initiatives – What’s an Employer or Plaintiff’s Lawyer to Do?(June 11, 2024)
2024 Update on Data Privacy Regulations and Trade Secret Protection(May 14, 2024)
U.S. EEOC’s Strategic Enforcement Plan FY 2024-2028 ( April 9, 2024)
The Care and Feeding of Senior Executives – Agreements, Compensation, Discrimination, and Non-Competes (July 11, 2023)
One Year After Dobbs: The Impact on Texas Employers (May 9, 2023)
New Protections for Pregnant Workers & Parents: The PWFA and the PUMP Act (April 11, 2023)
Updates to Chapter 21, Texas Labor Code; Ending Forced Arbitration Act; and Speak Out Act (February 14, 2023)
Non-Competes and Other Ancillary Matters (October 11, 2022)
Intersection of Employment and Criminal Law (September 13, 2022)
Top Fifth Circuit Employment Cases of 2021-2022 (August 9, 2022)
2022 Supreme Court Update (July 21, 2022)
Labor & Employment Law Resources
Bylaws of the Labor & Employment Law Section
The Timothy Bowne Fellowship
In Memoriam Timothy Bowne; 2013-2014 HBA Labor & Employment Law Section Chair
The Timothy Bowne Fellowship provides a $3,000 grant to one current law student (1L or 2L) who works in an unpaid
summer internship for a governmental entity in the greater Houston area and expresses an interest in labor and employment law.
Click here to apply for The Timothy Bowne Fellowship.
VIEW OUR ONLINE LABOR & EMPLOYMENT LAW CLE VIDEOS
HISTORY OF LABOR & EMPLOYMENT LAW SECTION CHAIRS
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