Rachel Steely

Experience

Rachel Powitzky Steely is a skilled trial lawyer who helps companies protect their technology, confidential information and workforces, and assists executives during career transitions that may lead to litigation.

Rachel has been recognized as one of the top 50 female lawyers in Texas, selected as a Houston elite 100 lawyer, and was named a top 20 female trial lawyer by Texas Lawyer Magazine, the only trade secret/employment attorney to receive the honor. Rachel’s trial experience includes employment, commercial, corporate, and insurance matters. She has won multimillion-dollar verdicts and defended companies against claims exceeding US$100 million.

Rachel is regularly recognized by Best Lawyers and Chambers and has been a Texas Super Lawyer for more than 20 years. She was named Houston Business Journal’s Outstanding Business Leader in Professional Services and selected for Who’s Who in Energy. She is a former student investigator for the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor and is Board Certified, Labor & Employment Law, by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. She serves as vice chair of the firm’s Labor & Employment Practice, of which the firm’s national and Houston office groups have been recognized by Best Lawyers as Tier 1 practices.

Rachel is highly skilled in the field of unfair competition litigation, and has extensive experience representing clients in prosecuting and defending expedited proceedings seeking emergency injunctive relief related to noncompetes, trade secret theft and embezzlement, which allows her to provide quick, strategic and efficient representation for companies and executives.

Rachel also has particular proficiency in wage and hour litigation and a wide variety of employment matters, including disability laws; discrimination, retaliation and harassment; executive agreements; OSHA and safety; terminations, hiring and layoffs, and severance agreements. She maintains an active trial docket while also providing the necessary preventative counseling to help clients avoid costly litigation.