Russell D. Cawyer

Russell D. Cawyer is a partner and chairs the firm’s Labor and Employment Practice. He received his juris doctor, cum laude, from Texas Tech University School of Law, where he also served as a note editor on its law review. Mr. Cawyer received his Bachelor of Science, cum laude, from the University of North Texas. Mr. Cawyer’s practice focuses exclusively on labor and employment-related legal matters including litigation in federal and state courts and administrative proceedings before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, United States Department of Labor, the Texas Workforce Commission - Civil Rights Division, the National Labor Relations Board (including defending both charges of unfair labor practices and representation election proceedings), Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and other state fair employment practices agencies.

Additionally, Mr. Cawyer has defended employers in multiple complex wage, hour and benefit class actions having nearly 20,000 total putative class members. He also has litigated both federal and state court cases involving numerous workplace claims, including among others, alleged discrimination, harassment and retaliation, workers’ compensation retaliation, breach of contract, and the enforceability of numerous covenants-not-to-compete. Mr. Cawyer’s defense of employers has included both successful jury and bench trials.

Mr. Cawyer regularly advises employers on employment issues involving federal and state court cases alleging discrimination and sexual harassment. He has litigated employment cases and arbitrated matters arising under collective bargaining agreements. Mr. Cawyer is a frequent author and speaker on human resource, employee relations, and labor and employment law developments. He has been board certified in Labor and Employment Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization since 2000.

U.S. News and World Reports has included Mr. Cawyer on The Best Lawyers in America® ranking every year since 2015. From 2005 through 2009, he was named a Texas Super Lawyer Rising Star, and was similarly named a Texas Super Lawyer every year since 2009 - both lists are published in Texas Monthly magazine by Thomson Reuters. Mr. Cawyer was also voted by his peers as among the city’s best attorneys in polls conducted by Fort Worth, Texas magazine and 360 West. He also has been recognized as a "Forty Under Forty" honoree by the Fort Worth Business Press.

Mr. Cawyer is the publisher of the Texas Employment Law Update.