Lamendola Jonathan Clark

Overview Honors Insights Digital Media Overview Jonathan Clark is a partner in the Labor and Employment Practice Group in the firms Dallas office. Areas of Practice Jonathan is an experienced, strategic, and aggressive trial lawyer who specializes in employee departure litigation. To that end, Jonathan frequently represents businesses seeking to enforce restrictive covenants against high-level, departing employees who gained access to their former employers most valuable confidential information, trade secrets, and customer relationships. Conversely, he also defends companies seeking to hire personnel who may be bound by restrictive covenants with a former employer. These scenarios often require immediate and precise legal maneuvers. Accordingly, Jonathan often spearheads emergency injunction actions in state and federal court designed to halt contractual and legal violations before the damage is done and its too late. Jonathan also defends employers in departure-related litigation filed by current or former employees. And he has successfully handled the defense of single-plaintiff and class-action claims for discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and wage-and-hour violations in state and federal court. These cases often hinge on securing valuable written discovery and deposition testimony for use in summary judgment motions. Jonathan therefore works these cases aggressively, to ensure the employer can put on a complete and vigorous defense. While court action is often required, Jonathan understands the immense value to clients of preventing litigation altogether. With this in mind, Jonathan helps employers draft iron-clad employment agreements and restrictive covenants that provide businesses clarity and security. Jonathan also counsels employers in such crucial areas as handbook and workplace policy development. In addition, Jonathan frequently oversees highly sensitive internal workplace investigations. In short, Jonathan helps employers navigate the entire life cycle of the employment relationship so that businesses can mitigate risk and are prepared for any scenario. Over the course of his career, Jonathan has honed his skills in numerous practices areas critical to the labor and employment space, including: Restrictive covenant litigation Harassment; retaliation discrimination on the basis of age, sex, race, orientation, gender identity, national origin and disability; FLSA and state-law wage and hour claims; Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act violations; enforcement of non-competition agreements; drafting and editing employee handbooks; workplace investigations; and responses to EEOC charges. But Jonathans litigation skills and experience are not limited to labor and employment. Jonathan is deeply versed in business and commercial litigation matters. In these cases, he achieved successful outcomes for clients seeking to enforce contracts, protect confidential business information and trade secrets, enforce fiduciary obligations and minimize liability. Importantly, Jonathans deep understanding of how complex commercial cases proceed allows him to provide strategic advice to clients at every stage of the litigation process. And when a resolution is reached, Jonathan understands the absolute necessity of drafting rock-solid settlement agreements that protect the clients interests moving forward in the months and years after litigation has ended. Honors Honors Ones to Watch - Labor and Employment, Best Lawyers, 2021-2025 Insights Articles DOL Gives Extra Leeway for Independent Contractor Classification Society for Human Resource Management, 05.09.2025 Fifth Circuit Affirms Dismissal Of Anti-Woke Hiring Bias Suit The Texas Lawbook, 11.18.2024 Jones Paternity Case Highlights Parental Contract Rules for Minors Headnotes, Dallas Bar Association, 11.2024 By Ditching Chevron Deference, SCOTUS Drastically Changes the Litigation and Compliance Landscape The Texas Lawbook, 07.17.2024 Balancing Employe Surveillance and Privacy Headnotes, Dallas Bar Association, 07.2024 How SCOTUS Shook the Rails on State Court Jurisdiction The Texas Lawbook, 07.12.2023 Justices Jurisdiction Ruling Could Increase Business Liability Law360, 06.02.2022 OSHA Emergency Temporary Standard Survival Guide12.22.2021 View More View Less Corporate & Securities Law Posts No Move to Greener Pastures: Texas Business Court Holds Parties May Not Remove Pre-September 1, 2024 Cases to New Court System, December 10, 2024 Texas Revolution: State Legislature Creates New Business Court System to Handle Significant Commercial Disputes, July 28, 2023 Labor & Employment Law Posts Texas Enacts Massive Reforms to Healthcare Provider Non-Competes, July 10, 2025 DOL Retracts Biden-Era Independent Contractor Classification Rule, May 16, 2025 Vax On: Fourth Circuit Reinstates Plaintiffs Religious Bias Suit in COVID Vaccine Mandate Case, February 10, 2025 Its Over for Overtime Expansion: Texas Court Axes DOL Rule That Would Have Reclassified Millions of Employees as Overtime Eligible, November 22, 2024 In With the Old, Out With the New: Second Trump Administration Will Usher in Significant Changes at the EEOC, DOL and NLRB, November 14, 2024 Final Word on Final Rule? Texas District Court Eviscerates FTCs Non-Compete Ban, August 21, 2024 Not So Final? Texas Federal Court Enjoins Enforcement of FTCs Noncompete Ban, Leaving Future of Commissions Rule in Doubt, July 8, 2024 New SCOTUS Case Could Make Fair Labor Standards Act Claims More Difficult for Employers to Defend, June 28, 2024 FTC Votes to Ban Noncompete Agreements, April 24, 2024 Supreme Court Eases Burden for Title VII Plaintiffs Challenging Transfer Decisions, April 19, 2024 Fifth Circuit Upends 30 Years of Title VII Precedent, Making it Easier for Employees to Bring Discrimination Claims, August 21, 2023 Missed Assignments: The Importance of Assignability Clauses in Restrictive Covenant Agreements, February 21, 2023 What Employers Need to Know in a Post-Dobbs Landscape, August 3, 2022 OSHA Emergency Temporary Standard Survival Guide, December 22, 2021 COVID Confusion: Texas Governor Issues Executive Order Effectively Banning Vaccine Mandates, October 14, 2021 New Texas Law Expands Employee Rights and Employer Liability for Sexual Harassment Claims, September 2, 2021 Go Home, Dallas: County Enacts Shelter in Place Order in Wake of Pandemic March 23, 2020 Title VII Reversal: Fifth Circuit Holds No Transgender Protections Under Civil Rights Statute, June 26, 2019 EEOC Data Confirms #MeToos Impact: Six Keys for Employers in the Wake of This Powerful Cultural Moment, October 31, 2018 Uber Drivers Class Action Lawsuit Hits Permanent Red Light, April 24, 2018 Texas Federal Court Rules That Anti-Discrimination Statute Protects Transgender Individuals, April 19, 2018 Trade Secrets Law Posts Signed, Sealed, Delivered? Fifth Circuit Finds Sealing of Sensitive Information Requires Far More Than a Protective Order, May 9, 2022 Protecting Trade Secrets During An Acquisition: Showing Off The Goods Without Giving Away The Store, June 1, 2020 Media Mentions Supreme Court: No Raised Standard for Showing a Worker Is Exempt SHRM, 01.16.2025 Builder Ends EEOC Suit Accusing it of Firing White Worker Law360, 04.16.2024 Sheppard Mullin Team Receives Litigator of the Week Honor in Falcon Healthcare Case ALM, 01.12.2024 Speaking EngagementsWhat Happened in Hamilton?, Presentation to the Dallas Bar Association Labor and Employment Group, October 2023 Should I Stay or Should I Go: Drafting and Enforcing Non-Competition and Non-Solicitation Restrictions in Texas, The Virtual HRSouthwest Conference, October 7, 2020 Events Multigenerational Juries: Trial Strategy Tips for Navigating Differences Without Underestimating Shared Motivators Communicating, Connecting With, and Presenting Evidence to Baby Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z, Webinar, 08.12.2025 The FTCs Rule Banning Noncompetes is Final: What Do We Do Now?Webinar, 05.07.2024 Jury Selection in Employment Litigation: Preparing for Voir Dire, Identifying Bias, Leveraging Strikes Webinar, 06.22.2022 Do We Still Have A Deal? An Overview of Force Majeure and Impossibility In Texas Contracts Webinar, 03.26.2020 Cross-Examining the Plaintiff in Employment Harassment and Discrimination Cases Strafford Webinar, 08.21.2019 Jury Selection in Employment Litigation: Preparing for Voir Dire, Identifying Bias, Leveraging Strikes Strafford Webinar, 12.04.2018 Workplace Religious Accommodations: Practical Guidance for Employers Clear Law Institute Webinar, 05.29.2018 View More View Less Digital Media Digital Media The FTCs Rule Banning Noncompetes is Final: What Do We Do Now?More Info Do We Still Have A Deal? An Overview of Force Majeure and Impossibility In Texas Contracts