Brent Hockaday

Practice Areas

Brent Hockaday is a partner and a member of the Labor, Employment, and Workplace Safety practice. Knowing that teamwork drives successful outcomes, Brent views employer clients as partners, always keeping at the forefront the shared goal of business success. With an eye toward the big picture, he serves as a trusted legal advisor and advocate for numerous businesses and their leadership teams.

Board Certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in labor and employment law, Brent collaborates with company leaders, including chief legal officers, corporate counsel, and human resources executives, to provide strategic counseling and consulting and to guide them through sticky employment-related disputes and litigation—covering both prevention and execution.

On the prevention side of his practice, Brent navigates business leaders through the complexities of federal, state, and local laws. He creates contracts, policies, and procedures governing employment and business relationships. An important component of Brent’s prevention practice is the framework he establishes to protect clients against unfair competition and to secure their trade secrets and confidential information.

Brent also guides leadership groups through employment-relations issues and litigation avoidance strategies. Through effective planning and documentation on issues—ranging from accommodating an increasingly remote workforce to workplace safety, Brent helps companies create cultures that avoid future problems.

Whether investigating a potential harassment claim, planning for a reduction in force, or preparing for a potential labor dispute, on the execution side of his practice, Brent is well-equipped to map out an effective strategy from the outset of a dispute should the potential for litigation arise. Brent has substantial experience litigating matters in different forums and jurisdictions across the country, including obtaining multiple successful jury verdicts and arbitration awards.

A substantial part of Brent’s litigation practice involves enforcing and defending against restrictive covenants, with a heightened focus on the misappropriation of trade secrets and confidential and proprietary information. Brent has obtained affirmative relief pursuing such claims and successfully defended them. On multiple occasions, Brent’s defense of startup businesses implicated in trade secret misappropriation claims has allowed these businesses to continue operations without material impediment. He regularly presents to attorneys and educates industry leaders on unfair competition and trade secrets issues.

Brent frequently defends employers in federal and state courts, as well as in arbitrations and matters before administrative agencies. His employment litigation experience involves defending against claims of federal and state wage and hour violations (in individual, class, and collective actions) and workplace violations related to various types of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation. For clients in a wide array of industries, he has successfully won dismissals of charges filed before various federal, state, and local administrative agencies, including the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Texas Workforce Commission, National Labor Relations Board, and Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Professional Memberships

Dallas Bar Association, Member

Downtown Dallas, Inc., Board of Governors, 2022-2023

The Patrick Higginbotham Inn of Court, Member, 2018

Texas Bar Foundation, Fellow

Dallas Regional Chamber of Commerce

Leadership Dallas, Class of 2022

Young Professional Advisory Council, 2018-2020

LEAD Young Professionals, Class of 2017

Publications

“#MeToo Takes a Bite Out of Arbitration,” Texas Lawyer, 31 March 2022

"How The New ‘Tipped Pool’ Rule May Impact Restaurant Employers," Modern Restaurant Management, 30 October 2019

"3 employment forms that protect your business," Dallas Business Journal, 2 October 2019

Oklahoma Chapter, Employment at Will: A State-by-State Survey, 2014 Cumulative Supplement, ABA Section of Labor and Employment Law, January 2015

Oklahoma Chapter, Employment at Will: A State-by-State Survey, 2013 Supplement, ABA Section of Labor and Employment Law, January 2014

Education