Rebecca L Baker

Rebecca (Becky) Baker is a partner in the firm’s labor & employment group. She counsels and represents employers in all aspects of the employment relationship. Becky devotes a significant part of her practice to the management of the labor and employment aspects of complex business sales, acquisitions and other transactions. She has extensive experience drafting employment provisions in transaction documents, managing employment diligence, assisting with post-transaction employment integration, including transition services agreements, and drafting executive employment and retention agreements. Her work in this field spans a variety of industries, including energy, manufacturing, hospitality, healthcare, and banking. With her depth of experience in the transactional employment support space, Becky enjoys guiding her clients through the intricacies presented by these deals.

In addition, Becky provides day-to-day advice and counsel to help employers address issues related to the hiring, management, retention and termination of employees. Her experience includes matters involving discrimination, harassment, retaliation, whistleblower protection, wage and hour issues, employment, severance and non-competition agreements, occupational safety and health, and large-scale reductions in force. She has successfully resolved countless demand letters, EEOC charges of discrimination, and lawsuits alleging various employment claims. In addition, Becky assists clients with respect to employment matters implicated in Environmental, Social and Governance topics, such as the intersection of ESG initiatives and employment laws, the ESG rating process as it relates to employer policies, and the employment aspects of sustainability-linked loans. She also takes an interest in studying emerging workplace topics, such as vaccine policies and remote work implications highlighted by the COVID pandemic, the prevention of violence in the workplace, and the impact of Dobbs on employer policies and benefits.

As one Chambers USA source reported, “She is highly responsive and practical. She explains what the regulations mean practically for our business and assists with the implementation of her guidance.” The following experience was completed prior to joining Vinson & Elkins.

Chair, Labor & Employment Practice

State Bar of Texas; Houston Bar Association; Houston Young Lawyers Association; Houston Bar Association, Labor and Employment Section