Lani Blake

Lani counsels clients on the entire range of employment issues they face. With experience across many industries and sectors (including life sciences, energy, manufacturing, and professional services), she is a go-to resource on hiring and training, leave and disability management under the FMLA and ADA, performance management and discipline, and layoffs and terminations. Lani drafts key agreements and materials for employers, including employment agreements, offer letters, restrictive covenants, handbooks and policies, and separation and severance agreements.

As a litigator, Lani defends employers in state and federal courts and before administrative agencies against a wide range of claims brought by employees, including workplace discrimination, harassment, and retaliation. Her experience includes defending individual and class action wage and hour matters, and she also represents employers in high-stakes cases involving theft and misappropriation of company confidential information and trade secrets.

Lani is an award-winning legal writer and oral advocate, with nearly a decade of experience counseling and defending employers.

Employment Advice

Lani regularly provides strategic advice to employers on matters relating to:

• Leave management, including the interactive process and employee requests for reasonable accommodations under the ADA as well as leave issues arising under the FMLA and other associated laws.
• Individual terminations and group layoffs, reductions in workforce, and furloughs.
• Performance issues and employee discipline.
• Specific policies and full employment handbooks for local, national, and global companies across various industries.
• The enforceability of restrictive covenants, including non-competition, non-solicitation, and non-disclosure agreements under various state laws.
• Proper pay practices and employee classification under the FLSA and state law equivalents.
• Sexual harassment prevention, investigation, and response.

Employment Litigation

• Assisted in defending a multinational biotech manufacturing company against claims of disability and age discrimination, harassment, and retaliation.
• Assisted in defending a national waste management company against claims of race, national origin, and age discrimination and harassment.
• Assisted in obtaining numerous dismissal of charges of race, sex, national origin, and age discrimination, harassment, and retaliation filed with the EEOC, Texas Workforce Commission, and other comparable state and local agencies.
• Assisted in defending numerous national oilfield service companies in individual, class, and collective actions involving allegations of unpaid overtime and employee and contractor misclassification under various state laws and the FLSA.
• Assisted in the representation of a national inspection and commercial cleaning company in a lawsuit involving the misappropriation of trade secrets and confidential information by former employees.
• Assisted in obtaining temporary and permanent injunctive relief on behalf of a petroleum laboratory and testing company in a lawsuit involving breach of employee non-solicitation and non-competition agreements and theft of trade secrets.
• Assisted in obtaining a judgment against a former employee for a breach of tuition reimbursement agreement on behalf of a national oilfield service company.
• Assisted in defending a national tank inspection company in response to Texas Anti-SLAPP allegations asserted under the Texas Citizens’ Participation Act.

• Best Lawyers in America®: Ones to Watch, Labor and Employment Law – Management (2023-2026); Litigation – Labor and Employment (2026)
• Super Lawyers® Texas Rising Star, Employment and Labor (2020-2024)
• Houstonia Magazine, Top Lawyer, Labor and Employment (2019-2020, 2022-2023)
• American Society of Legal Writers, SCRIBES Award (2017-2018)