G. Scott Fiddler

Practice Areas

Labor & Employment; Trial & Appellate Litigation

Areas of Experience: Business Litigation; Discrimination & Harassment Claims; Hiring, Performance Management, & Termination; Labor & Employment Litigation; Non-Compete Issues; Wage & Hour

Career

Scott Fiddler is board certified in both labor & employment law and civil trial law, placing him among only approximately 25 attorneys in Texas board certified in both specialties. As lead trial attorney, Scott has tried nearly 60 cases, including 40 jury trials and nearly 20 arbitrations and bench trials. Scott’s resume is one of impressive wins in jury trials and published cases. He has obtained jury verdicts for clients in FLSA wage and hour cases, non-compete and misappropriation of trade secret cases, discrimination, executive termination, and sexual harassment cases.

Scott’s focus is on high-stakes employment litigation involving non-compete agreements and trade secret misappropriation, executive terminations, and wage and hour class and collective actions. He has successfully defended FLSA class and collective action cases across the country in bet-the-company litigation, and he is routinely either seeking or opposing applications for temporary and preliminary injunctions on behalf of companies in state and federal court in trade secret and non-compete litigation. In litigation Scott has represented companies in the oil and gas, technology, software, staffing, insurance, food, medical, home building, hotel, industrial cleaning, and energy industries, among others.

Scott’s litigation experience is broad and has included representation of executives, physicians, and lawyers, as well as celebrities, professional athletes, and a professional basketball coach, among others. His versatility as a trial lawyer has been demonstrated by his having obtained one of the largest verdicts in Texas for a plaintiff in a race discrimination retaliation case, and having obtained one of the few attorney fee awards for an individual in Texas in defending a case under the Texas Covenants Not to Compete Act. He is recognized for his work by his peers and publications alike and has been featured in the attorney profile sections of Forbes and Newsweek.

Work Highlights

- Defended company and two individuals in non-compete and misappropriation of trade secrets case where the plaintiff sought $30 million in damages. After a six-week trial, the jury in less than 90 minutes rendered defense verdict for clients on all 25 claims and found in favor of client on the sole counterclaim in the case, allowing client to recover attorney’s fees through trial and in the event of any appeal.

- Represented oilfield services company in misappropriation of trade secrets case where employee secretly stole CAD drawings of company’s principal piece of proprietary equipment and built a prototype with the intent to compete against his employer. After obtaining a temporary restraining order against the former employee, obtained permanent injunction against the former employee and start-up company imposing lifetime competitive ban and obtaining forfeiture of all rights to and return of the prototype former employee and start-up company had built, in addition to a financial settlement.

- Represented Canadian technology company in breach of non-compete agreement and misappropriation of trade secrets case against departing employees who set up competing company, obtaining temporary restraining order and temporary injunction after full evidentiary hearing, which quickly led to favorable settlement.

- Represented a German manufacturer of mobile electrification products as the respondent with a counterclaim in an employment arbitration tribunal by the American Arbitration Association. The arbitrator awarded the client the full amount presented in the damages model, including pre- and post-judgment interest, and attorneys’ fees.

- Represented oilfield inspection company in class and collective action FLSA wage and hour case in federal court in Ohio, avoiding a class action, and negotiating a favorable collective action class, and then resolving the case favorably to client to avoid potential seven-figure liability.

- Obtained jury verdict for client in FLSA wage and hour case based on alleged tip credit violations.

- Represented high-profile nonprofit in case against former contractor for diverting company funds to her company; obtained jury verdict for company with findings of fraud and breach of contract. When the contractor filed for bankruptcy, represented company in bankruptcy trial and obtained a finding of fraud and that the debt was non-dischargeable.

- Obtained jury verdict for physicians’ group against physician on breach of an employment contract for failing to start with group after group had hired and nearly completed credentialing process for physician.

- Obtained one of the largest jury verdicts in Texas in a race discrimination retaliation case in 2008 against one of the largest companies in the world.

- Tried one of the first jury trials in the Fifth Circuit under the American with Disabilities Act.