Nancy L. Patterson

Partner

Nancy L. Patterson is a partner in Morgan Lewis's Labor and Employment Practice. Ms. Patterson focuses her practice in the healthcare, transportation, telecommunications, energy, construction, accounting, and chemical manufacturing industries. She frequently represents clients before administrative regulatory agencies, including the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Texas Commission on Human Rights, the Texas Workforce Commission, the National Labor Relations Board, the U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Ms. Patterson is board certified in civil trial law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and has tried dozens of jury and nonjury cases in state and federal courts throughout the United States. She has also handled numerous appeals in both state and federal appellate courts. She has litigated discrimination, retaliation, and harassment claims arising under various state and federal statutes, including Title VII, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act, and the whistleblower provision of the Texas Health & Safety Code. She also has experience litigating claims involving violations of noncompetition agreements, nonsolicitation agreements, and theft of employer trade secrets, and has handled significant breach of contract matters involving executive severance and stock option issues.

Prior to joining Morgan Lewis, Ms. Patterson was an employment partner at an international law firm.

Ms. Patterson received her J.D. from Southern Methodist University School of Law in 1988 and her B.A. from the University of Missouri in 1985.

In 2006, Ms. Patterson was named by Texas Monthly magazine as one of the "Top 100 Lawyers" in the state of Texas. She has been recognized by her peers as a "Texas Super Lawyer" from 2003 through 2007 and, in each of these years, was also named one of the "Top 50 Female Lawyers" in Texas. In 2004, 2005, and 2006, she was named one of the "Top 100 Lawyers" in Houston. Ms. Patterson is listed in the 2003–2004 and 2005–2006 editions of The Best Lawyers in America and in the 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008 editions of Chambers USA as a "Leader in the Field." She is also listed in the 2007 edition of Who's Who Legal.

Ms. Patterson is a frequent speaker on employment topics and is a member of the American, Texas, and Houston Bar Associations, as well as the Houston Chapter of the Federal Bar Association and the Houston World Affairs Council. In addition, she is a member and former vice-chair of the Houston Management Lawyer's Forum, and a fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation.

Ms. Patterson is admitted to practice in Texas and before the U.S. Supreme Court; the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Fifth and Sixth Circuits; the U.S. District Courts for the Northern, Eastern, Southern, and Western Districts of Texas; and the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma.