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Edward G. Phillips has a wealth of knowledge and trial experience in his practice areas of Litigation and Employment and Labor and heads the Employment and Labor group. He is a forceful, effective litigator and has been described by Chambers and Partners USA as, "one of the most talented lawyers in the state with a varied practice of litigation avoidance and successful litigation." Employment law is his passion, and he gives his clients prompt and lawful prospective advice (i.e., how to deal with problem employees and structure policies). For his Employment and Labor law practice, the prestigious peer-review publication, Best Lawyers in America, selected Mr. Phillips for inclusion to its list each and every year since 1995, and also selected him as Lawyer of the Year in Labor Law - Management for 2012. Mid-South Super Lawyers, another highly respected publication which uses a multi-phased selection process, including independent research and peer nominations and evaluations, selected him to its list for the years 2004-2011 for his Employment and Labor law practice. Mr. Phillips represents management exclusively in all areas of employment and labor relations. He represents clients before the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, in various federal district courts, and in the Tennessee Supreme Court. In his practice, he focuses on:
He also represents his clients in administrative proceedings before the following:
He has recently reported Sixth Circuit affirmations of summary judgments in:
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Representative Matters Mr. Phillips recently headed a defense team that successfully defended a putative class action with 17 named plaintiffs. They were alleging race discrimination in termination, racial harassment, racial failure to promote or transfer, and retaliation for complaining about race discrimination. All 17 plaintiffs' claims were either dismissed on summary judgment or were voluntarily dismissed with prejudice in exchange for waiver of court costs after summary judgment was filed. One of these summary judgment dismissals was recently affirmed by the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. In another instance, Mr. Phillips was also lead counsel in defense of a putative class action involving over 300 members alleging race discrimination in failure to hire. The motion to certify the class was denied. One plaintiff was dismissed on summary judgment, and the second plaintiff's case was rejected by the jury. He recently obtained summary judgment defending the president of a major university in a reverse race and gender discrimination case which was affirmed by the 6th Circuit. Mr. Phillips has defended a municipality in a Fair Labor Standards Act case involving over 70 plaintiffs. He also defended a putative class action involving up to 80 plaintiffs. He has recently reported Sixth Circuit affirmations of summary judgment in age discrimination and race discrimination and retaliation, USERRA retaliation, racial harassment, and age, gender and race discrimination claims involving reductions in force. Of Note
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