Previous PageJohn F. Lomax, Jr. Partner

John Lomax is an AV® peer review rated trial lawyer who specializes in the defense of labor and employment matters. He is listed in Best Lawyers in America®, Chambers & Partners USA Guide and Southwest Super Lawyers magazine. John advises employers on EEO matters, wage and hour issues, restrictive covenants and trade secrets. He handles litigation in those and other areas including matters related to federal Indian law, copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, shareholder disputes and tax controversies. John has handled arbitrations, bench and jury trials.

John also represents management in union organizing efforts, unfair labor practices cases, and negotiating collective bargaining agreements. He counsels companies on plant closures and layoffs. John also advises employers on executive employment agreements, affirmative action plans, and wage and hour matters.

Representative Experience

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Significant Representations

  • Obtained directed verdicts at the close of a four-week trial for an employer on all major wage and tort claims and contract claims asserted by an employee/shareholder. The remaining claims settled on a walk-away basis.
  • Obtained defense verdict on all counts in week-long arbitration on behalf of a health care provider who faced contract, wage payment, whistleblower and tort claims.
  • Represented multi-state employer in defense of three Fair Labor Standards Act off-the-clock cases. On the second day of trial in lead case, the court approved a very favorable settlement covering all three plaintiffs and ending a threatened collective action.
  • Member of a National Coordinating Counsel team overseeing litigation of a large number of wage/hour class actions, FLSA collective actions and MDL proceedings on behalf of national employer.
  • Defended executive in a contentious non-competition lawsuit and after two years ended with a full recovery of all defense costs and attorneys’ fees. Litigation included a four-day preliminary injunction where an effort to impose preliminary injunction related to a non-competition clause was defeated. Court awarded several monetary sanctions against plaintiff for discovery abuses.
  • Represented telecommunications provider in trade secrets and non-solicitation of customers and employees case. Obtained preliminary and permanent injunctions against competitor in federal court and permanent injunction against former employees in arbitration. Client recovered all costs and attorneys’ fees incurred in litigation.
  • Represented computer reseller in contentious anti-piracy case involving a competitor and six former employees. Obtained injunctive relief and prevailed on appeal.

John Lomax routinely represents private companies doing business on the Navajo Nation and other federally recognized Native American reservations.  On the Navajo reservation, he advises employers on the Navajo Preference Employment Act and Navajo Nation Business Opportunity Act.  He assists employers with i) investigations and charges before the Office of Navajo Labor Relations, ii) hearings before the Navajo Nation Labor Commission, and iii) cases before tribal and federal courts.  In the course of representing companies doing business on reservations, John regularly advises companies on the regulatory expectations, and at times conflicting demands, the companies face under federal law and tribal laws.  Drawing on his experience as an employer-side labor and employment lawyer, John works with clients to comply with applicable laws, develop strategies for community relations, and achieve business objectives while working with native peoples and their governments.

Education

  • Emory University School of Law (J.D., 1996)
    • American Jurisprudence Awards for Constitutional Law and State and Local Tax
    • Executive Articles Editor, Bankruptcy Developments Journal
  • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (B.A., with honors, 1991)

Court Admissions

  • Supreme Court of Arizona
  • United States District Court, District of Arizona
  • United States District Court, Northern District of Georgia
  • United States District Court, Western District of North Carolina
  • United States District Court, District of South Carolina
  • United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit
  • United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit
  • United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
  • Tribal Courts of the Navajo Nation
  • United States Supreme Court

Professional Memberships & Activities

  • American Bar Association, Labor and Employment Section, Member

Representative Presentations & Publications

  • Labor and Employment Laws Applicable to Organized Delivery Systems, Contributing Author, Health Care Administration, Jones & Bartlett 4th ed. (2004)
  • RICO and Labor Law, Contributing Author, The Developing Labor Law, American Bar Association, 4th ed. (2000)
  • Disparate Impact Discrimination, Author, Labor and Employment Law for South Carolina Lawyers, South Carolina Bar (1999)
  • Protecting the Growing Number of Older Women: The Age Discrimination in Employment Act, Editor, Procedures, 1997 Supp., George Mason University (1998)
  • Privacy in the Workplace, Author, South Carolina Lawyer (January 1997)
  • Information Technology and Workplace Privacy, Author, American Textiles International, 48 (February 1997)
  • Solving Employment Disputes Without Court¸ Author, American Textiles International, 32 (November 1996)
  • Future Electric Utility Bankruptcies, Author, Bankruptcy Developments Journal, 12 (1996)

Professional Recognition & Awards

  • The Best Lawyers in America®, Labor & Employment Litigation (2008-2012); Employment Law - Management, Labor Law - Management (2012)
  • The Best Lawyers in America®, Business Edition, Labor & Employment Law (2012)
  • Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, Labor & Employment (2008-2011)
  • Southwest Super Lawyers®, Employment & Labor (2009-2012)
    • Top 50 in Arizona (2011)
  • Super Lawyers®, Employment & Labor - Business Edition (2011)
  • Super Lawyers®, Employment & Labor - Corporate Counsel Edition (2009-2010)

Community Involvement

  • Teach for America, Phoenix Regional Advisory Board, Past-Chair (2000-2006)
  • Valley of the Sun Human Resources Association, Board of Directors, Past-Member
  • Paradise Valley United Methodist Church, Board of Trustees, Former-Member
  • All Saints Episcopal Day School, Board of Directors

Other Professional Experience

  • Greenberg Traurig, LLP, Shareholder (1999-2010)
  • Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C., Associate (1996-1999)