David L. Johnson

Specialization

• Business Litigation
• Employment Litigation
• Non-Compete and Trade Secret Litigation
• Employment Compliance, Counseling and Training
• Appellate
• Intellectual Property Litigation

About David's Practice

David L. Johnson is a member of  Butler Snow's Labor and Employment Group, Appellate and Written Advocacy Group, and Intellectual Property Group. His practice focuses on business and employment litigation, noncompete and trade secret litigation, as well as employment compliance, counseling, and training.  Mr. Johnson regularly speaks on employment-related topics including covenants not to compete,  noncompete and nonsolicitation agreements, and workplace harassment.

Education

• Vanderbilt University, J.D., Vanderbilt Law Review Associate Managing Editor, 1997
• Wake Forest University, B.A., 1993

Major Publications & Speaking Engagements

• Editor, Tennessee Employment Law Letter
• Contributing Editor, Midsouth Employment Law Letter
• Author, "'Go back to where you came from': employer liability when employees say xenophobic things," Tennessee Employment Law Letter, August 2019, and Diversity Insight, September 12, 2019
• Quoted, "Addicted but Working? What Employers Must Consider in Midst of Opioid Crisis," Diversity Insight, September 14, 2018
• Co-Author, "Tennessee court gives no quarter to fired undocumented immigrant," Tennessee Employment Law Letter, August 2018, and HR Daily Advisor, September 11, 2018
• Author, "Who let the dogs in? Handling requests for service animals at work," Tennessee Employment Law Letter, February 2018, and Diversity Insight, March 6, 2018
• Author, "Office politics: preventing disruptive discourse," Tennessee Employment Law Letter, May 2017, and Diversity Insight, October 15, 2017
• Quoted, "Solar eclipse presents opportunities for fun at work, but be careful," HR Hero Line, August 11, 2017
• Author, "New Tennessee law allows employers to pay employees once a month," Human Resources News, May 16, 2017
• Author, "Walking the workplace proselytizing tightrope," Tennessee Employment Law Letter, November 2016, and Diversity Insight, January 15, 2017
• Author, "Avoiding snares in workplace wellness programs," Tennessee Employment Law Letter, August 2016, and HR Hero Line, September 14, 2016
• Author, "To arbitrate or not to arbitrate? That is the question," Tennessee Employment Law Letter, December 2014, and HR.BLR.com, June 10, 2015
• Author, "Was early retirement offer age discrimination?" Tennessee Employment Law Letter, March 2015, and HR.BLR.com, April 9, 2015
• Quoted, "New rule extends FMLA rights to more employees in same-sex marriages," Human Resources News, February 24, 2015
• Quoted, "Tips on talking turkey about Thanksgiving time off," HR Hero Line, Nov. 21, 2014
• “How to Avoid the Tide of Lawsuits Brought By Foreign Nationals,” Pro Te Solutio, Vol. 7 No. 1, 3-11 (March 2014).
• Co-Presenter, “Updates in Retaliatory Discharge,” Tennessee Bar Association CLE, May 2014.
• Tennessee Chapter Editor, Covenants Not to Compete: A State-by-State Survey, (9th ed. 2013).
• Tennessee Chapter Editor, Tortious Interference in the Employment Context: A State-by-State Survey, (3rd ed. 2013 & Supp. 2013).
• Tennessee Chapter Editor, Trade Secrets: A State-by-State Survey, (4th ed. 2012 & Supp. 2013).
• Tennessee Chapter Editor, Employee Duty of Loyalty: A State-by-State Survey, (5th ed. 2013).
• Regional Editor, Employment At Will: A State-by-State Survey, 2013 Supplement.
• Chapter Author, Employee Duty of Loyalty: A State-by-State Survey, Fifth Edition, 2013.
• Author, Effective Use of Non-Competition/Non-Solicitation Agreements In The Workplace, Workplace Vol. 2013 No. 8, (Sept. 2013).
• Co-Presenter, Covenants Not to Compete: Overview and Drafting Tips for Tennessee Attorneys, webinar (Aug. 2013).
• Author, Federal Law Provides Enhanced Trade Secret Protection for Employers, Workplace, Vol. 2013 No. 3, April 2013.
• Co-Author, When Does Preparation to Compete Become Unlawful Conduct?, Business Torts Litigation, Winter 2013, Vol. 20, No. 2.
• Author, Panelists Address Future of Labor and Employment Practice, Labor and Employment Law, Fall 2012, Vol. 41, No. 1.
• Author, The Parameters of "Solicitation" in an Era of Non-Solicitation Covenants, 28 ABA Journal of Labor & Employment Law 99 (2012).
• Presenter, Tennessee Employment Law: Trends, Recent Cases, and New Laws, M. Lee Smith Publishers Webinar, (2012).
• Co-Author, Independent Contractors: Tennessee, Practical Law Company, November 2012.
• Presenter, Workplace Harassment: What You Need to Know, American Bar Association Section of Labor & Employment Law Annual Conference, Atlanta, Georgia (2012).
• Presenter, To Depose or Not to Depose, American Bar Association Labor & Employment Annual Conference, Seattle, WA (2011).
• Presenter, Hot Topics in Tennessee Employment Law, Nashville Bar Association Annual Conference (2011).
• Presenter, Tennessee Supreme Court Boot Camp, Tennessee Bar Association (2011).
• Presenter, State of the Union: Rule 56 and Rule 12 Motions in Tennessee, Tennessee Farmers Mutual Insurance Company Attorney's Day (2011).
• Presenter, Immigration Reform Law/Summary Judgment, Tennessee Chamber of Commerce Webinar (2011).
• Presenter, Tennessee Non-Compete and Non-Solicitation Agreements, M. Lee Smith Publishers Webinar (2011).
• Presenter, Exploiting Pleading Pitfalls, American Bar Association Labor & Employment Section (2011).
• Presenter, Retaliatory Discharge in Tennessee, Tennessee Bar Association Webcast (2011).
• Presenter, Employment Contracts in Tennessee, Lorman (2011).

Professional Recognition

• AV-rated, Martindale-Hubbell
• The Best Lawyers in America®, Litigation - Labor and Employment
• Mid-South Super Lawyers®, Employment and Labor
• Spearheaded addition of Rule 72 to the Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure
• Clerk, Tennessee Supreme Court of Justice Frank Drowota, 1998-1999
• Clerk, Tennessee Court of Appeals Judges W. Frank Crawford and Holly Kirby, 1997-1998
• Chair, 2004 Tennessee High School Mock Trial Competition
• American Bar Association-Young Lawyers Division Star of the Year Award, 2007
• Tennessee Bar Association-Young Lawyers Division Star of the Year Award, 2004
• Tennessee Bar Association-Young Lawyers Division Star of the Quarter Award, 2006 & 2007

Admitted to Practice

• Tennessee, 1997
• U.S. District Courts
  • Tennessee: Eastern, Middle and Western Districts
• U.S. Court of Appeals
  • 6th Circuit
  • 8th Circuit
  • Federal Circuit
• U.S. Supreme Court