practice areas
practice accolades
The American Lawyer Magazine's Litigation Department of the Year – Labor and Employment Law Finalist 2004, Winner 2006, Finalist 2008, Finalist 2010, and Finalist 2012
Listed in the highest tier for National Labor and Employment Practice in Chambers USA 2011
Ranked in the top tier by The Legal 500 for Labor and Employment Litigation, ERISA Litigation, Labor-Management Relations, and Workplace and Employment Counseling (2011)
Ranked, National Tier 1: Employment Law – Management, U.S. News and Best Lawyers (2010)
Named one of Law360's Employment Groups of the Year (2010)
Ranked #1 for "Most Prestigious" Labor and Employment Practice, Vault 2012 Associate Survey
honors + affiliations
Member, American Bar Association
Member, Houston Bar Association, Labor and Employment and Litigation Sections
Member, Houston Bar Association Lawyers for Literacy Committee
Member, Houston Young Lawyers Association
Member, Phi Beta Kappa Alumni Association of Houston
Board of Directors, Houston Business and Tax Law Journal
Lifetime Member, Texas Exes (University of Texas Alumni Association)
Board Certified, Labor and Employment Law — Texas Board of Legal Specialization
bar admissions
- Texas
Court Admissions
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
- U.S. District Courts for the Northern, Southern, Eastern, and Western Districts of Texas
- Houston
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1000 Louisiana St., Suite 4000
Houston, TX 77002-5006
Phone: 713.890.5758
Fax: 713.890.5001
Alison Jacobs Gates is an associate in Morgan Lewis's Labor and Employment Practice. Ms. Gates represents employers in a broad range of labor and employment litigation and counseling matters. She represents employers in federal and state courts and before agencies such as the Texas Workforce Commission, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the Department of Labor. Ms. Gates has represented employers in a variety of contexts, including workers' compensation retaliation; Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) interference and retaliation; sexual and other types of harassment, and race, national origin, sex, gender, religious, pregnancy, age, and disability discrimination and retaliation.
Ms. Gates also has represented clients under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the Texas Payday Act, and other state wage and hour laws, and has experience assisting clients in FLSA collective action matters. She also handles cases on appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and to various state appellate courts. She regularly provides counseling and advice to employers on issues involving workplace violence; weapons and pornography in the workplace; wrongful termination; and the intersection of the FMLA, ADA, and state workers' compensation laws, among others.
Prior to joining Morgan Lewis, Ms. Gates was an associate in the Houston office of the nation's largest employment litigation boutique firm.
Ms. Gates earned her J.D. from the University of Houston Law Center in 2006 where she served as editor-in-chief of the Houston Business and Tax Law Journal. During law school, she interned for Judge Nancy F. Atlas of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division. Ms. Gates earned her B.A., with high honors, from the University of Texas at Austin in 2003, where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.
Ms. Gates is admitted to practice in Texas and before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and the U.S. District Courts for the Northern, Southern, Eastern, and Western Districts of Texas. She is also board certified in labor and employment law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.
education
- University of Houston Law Center, 2006, J.D.
- University of Texas at Austin, 2003, B.A., With High Honors