Rachel Steely

Practice Areas

Commercial Litigation, Labor & Employment, Litigation, Trade Secret Noncompete Litigation

Career

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 is a go-to trial lawyer for clients nationwide, having tried cases in multiple jurisdictions involving highly contentious and bet-the company 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 was recently recognized by Corporate Counsel/Law.com Women, Influence & Power in Law, named a legal Trailblazer by the National Law Journal and selected as a breakthrough leader by the Greater Houston Women’s Chamber of Commerce.

Rachel is regularly recognized by Best Lawyers and Chambers and has been a Texas Super Lawyer for more than 20 years. She was selected by the Houston Business Journal as the inaugural Women Who Means Business Award winner for legal services and 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.

Rachel’s experience in managing large trial teams under strenuous deadlines, cross-examination, and closing argument has earned her the reputation as a go-to trial attorney with the ability to enter cases late at the trial stage. Rachel has led large trial teams in expedited proceedings handling several terabytes of data, dozens of depositions and forensic review under severe time limitations. She is able to quickly assemble litigation teams to efficiently tackle issues.

Industry Sector Expertise

Carbon Capture, Energy & Infrastructure, Energy Transition, Health Care & Life Sciences, Racial Justice & Equity

Education

Experience

Representative Experience

Prosecuted and defended numerous TRO and injunction proceedings in state and federal court involving unfair competition, trade secrets, and restrictive covenants.

Served as lead trial attorney for a plastics solutions company in litigation against former employees, obtaining a multimillion-dollar jury verdict establishing trade secret status and misappropriation.

Served as lead trial lawyer in a successful three-month, US$42 million expedited trade secret trial representing 12 defendants launching a new competitor division.

Represented employees and a business owner of a newly formed company in scorched-earth litigation brought in three states by a former employer.

Defeated an injunction that would have prevented eight executives and salespeople from joining a newly formed competitor based on alleged trade secret theft.

Provided defense in multimillion-dollar trade secret and noncompete litigation against a plastics company and executives, achieving a quick favorable resolution.

Led successful prosecution of multistate trade secret, non-solicitation, and partnership litigation, including expedited and Anti-SLAPP proceedings, for amusement park companies.

Defeated efforts by a competitor to halt construction of a facility based on noncompete, trade secret, and fiduciary duty claims.

Successfully defended a multinational company against allegations of employee raiding and trade secret theft, resulting in the opponent paying triple the attorney’s fees for dismissal of claims.

Represented departing executives and managers of an international insurance brokerage in claims involving partnership, stock option, noncompetition, non-solicitation, and confidentiality agreements.

Assisted in developing restrictive covenants for a staffing company.

Obtained an injunction stopping a competing energy technology company from building similar downhole tools.

Represented a new insurance brokerage firm in litigation over alleged tortious interference and breach of noncompetition, non-solicitation, and confidentiality agreements.

Represented a fire and security company in cases involving misappropriation of confidential information, breach of fiduciary duties, and breach of non-solicitation agreements.

Served as lead counsel for a multinational supply chain technology company against employees leaving en masse for a competitor.

Successfully defended a multi-plaintiff race discrimination case in federal court by excluding key evidence, resulting in resolution on the first day of trial.

Successfully defended a highly publicized gender and pregnancy discrimination trial in federal court in Austin.

Prevailed on summary judgment in defense of race and gender discrimination claims for a homebuilder.

Defended numerous discrimination lawsuits for construction clients.

Provided OSHA representation for construction, agricultural, and oil and gas clients involving fatalities, injuries, and environmental issues.

Advised on investigations of top executives following allegations of race and sex harassment, retaliation, and discrimination.

Represented companies in litigation and EEOC charges alleging race, disability, FMLA, age, religion, sex, and national origin discrimination, harassment, and retaliation.

Represented energy companies in litigation and charges alleging race, age, sex, and national origin discrimination.

Prevailed on summary judgment, affirmed by the Fifth Circuit, for a chemical company on discrimination, harassment, and retaliation claims.

Represented companies in workers’ injury, retaliation, same-sex harassment, and sex discrimination claims.

Advised and defended clients on Sarbanes-Oxley whistleblower claims, including guidance to boards and officers on investigations and response.

Represented an employer in workers’ compensation retaliation litigation through the Supreme Court of Texas.

Defended companies against OSHA willful and serious citations while coordinating with counsel in related personal injury actions.

Represented an oil and gas services company against EEOC harassment and discrimination claims in federal court.

Represented an accounting and consulting firm in a former employee’s job misclassification and FMLA retaliation action.

Served as lead counsel defending California Labor Code and PAGA claims involving meal and rest breaks, travel time, and overtime, with more than 75 individual cases proceeding to trial in under a year.

Represented numerous oilfield companies in FLSA collective actions involving overtime, bonuses, day rates, travel time, donning and doffing, and independent contractor issues.

Obtained dismissal at the class certification stage for an energy company.

Served as lead counsel in a wage and hour collective action for a multinational technology company involving comp time, bonus, and overtime allegations.

Audited companies on wage and hour classifications and FLSA overtime compliance.

Served as lead counsel for an E&P company against FLSA misclassification allegations involving wellsite supervisors and other positions.

Represented and advised energy companies in litigation, DOL investigations, and self-audits regarding pay practices, contractor status, overtime, and exemptions.

Assisted employers with exempt and nonexempt classifications and competitive pay strategies.

Represented distributors, construction companies, retailers, and restaurants in FLSA wage and hour disputes, including collective actions.

Assisted multinational companies with employee embezzlement investigations and claims, including coordination with the FBI and local authorities.

Served as a summary witness for federal prosecutors in an embezzlement case after conducting a lengthy investigation.

Negotiated and drafted executive and employee agreements with stock option, noncompetition, commission, Section 409A, and intellectual property provisions.

Represented pension plan fiduciaries in an investment dispute.

Represented construction companies in OFCCP and FLSA investigations and litigation.

Represented an employer in OSHA safety litigation before the Fifth Circuit.

Represented an employer in threatened union concerted activity under the NLRA.

Represented companies against executive claims for amounts allegedly owed under change-of-control and good-reason provisions.

Represented a chief risk officer in an employment dispute and SEC investigation.

Represented partners in dissolution litigation involving theft of inventory, breach of fiduciary duties, and winding down.

Represented a large insurance underwriter in an action by a former employee for amounts allegedly due under an executive contract.

Assisted employers with terminations and mass layoffs under the ADEA, FMLA, ARRA, and WARN.

Represented corporate officers on cause issues and severance negotiations following termination.

Investigated employee and shareholder whistleblower, discrimination, safety, and theft complaints.

Assisted employers with manager training, performance management, and evaluation processes.

Worked with companies and boards on preventative measures to reduce litigation, whistleblower complaints, and safety issues through compliance, training, and policy guidance.

Conducted confidential investigations reporting directly to boards on harassment, retaliation, embezzlement, discrimination, and theft.

Advised clients on new laws and decisions affecting workforces, policies, and benefits.

Consulted with American companies on employment agreements and issues for overseas workers.

Provided recurring seminars on key employment topics and strategies.

Represented a landowner in a pipeline condemnation dispute.

Served as lead counsel in a multistate distribution agreement dispute for an agricultural client.

Represented an amusement park in customer personal injury claims.

Represented a large refinery in breach of contract claims against a service provider.

Served as lead counsel in a physician office dispute involving Stark Law and Medicare issues.

Represented partners in partnership disputes, including trial victories resulting in reimbursement of attorney’s fees.