Holly H. Williamson

Holly represents management in labor and employment law litigation, contract negotiations, drug testing and arbitrations. Holly represents clients before administrative agencies, such as the Department of Labor,  the Department of Justice, the EEOC, the Texas Commissions on Human Rights and the Texas Workforce Commission.

She serves as primary regional employment counsel to companies in the oil and gas exploration and production, oil and gas tools and service, restaurant, retail, financial, chemical, health care, drug testing and administration, transportation, and telecommunications industries. She conducts training for clients and advises on all aspects of employment issues. Holly handles complex litigation and appeals involving trade secrets, unfair competition,  discrimination, harassment, and retaliation claims, employee benefit claims under ERISA, employment torts, defamation, drug testing, privacy, and class and collective action wage and hour claims.

Holly is admitted to practice in the US Supreme Court, US Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, and the US District Courts for the Eastern, Northern, Southern, and Western Districts of Texas, and she has tried cases in counties throughout Texas and in all four US Texas district courts. Holly has extensive appellate practice and has prepared briefs presented to the US Texas, and Louisiana Supreme Courts, several of which have been argued before these Courts

• Successfully tried and defended cases alleging discrimination, equal pay violations, retaliation, harassment, retaliation against whistleblowers, and those with class and collective wage and hour allegations. 
• Successfully tried and defended high-ranking corporate executives accused by employees of sexual assault and fraud. 
• Coordinated, conducted, and assisted with the resolutions of numerous confidential investigations involving alleged executive misconduct, and claims and issues involving Sarbanes-Oxley, False Claims Act, sexual harassment, sexual assault, equal pay, wage and hour, company-wide discrimination, fraud, and criminal immigration hiring and harboring. 
• Report to members of executive management, boards of directors, audit committees and Department of Justice on issues involving allegations of corporate or executive misconduct. 
• Successfully tried and defended employers in nationwide collective wage and hour cases. 
• Conducts audits of employers’ workplace practices and policies, as well as I-9 and hiring/promotion audits, and wage and hour assessments and audits. 
• Successfully resolved Commissioner’s Charges claiming ADA, race, sex, age and ethnicity.
• Successfully tried and handled cases involving breach of contract, unfair competition, and defamation.
• Successfully handled numerous cases and claims involving drug testing and drug test administration.
• First-chaired numerous trials in state and federal courts, including: a 70-plaintiff age discrimination case arising out of a reduction-in-force; an FLSA collective action; a multi-plaintiff case for severance benefits under ERISA involving potential claims amounting to tens of millions of dollars; claims against former employees/competitors under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, trade secrets laws, and other unfair competition laws; and cases involving claims of exposure to a sexually-hostile working environment, sexual assault, sex and pregnancy discrimination and retaliation, FMLA interference and retaliation, employment torts, workers' compensation retaliation, racial discrimination and racial harassment, including claims of retaliation and allegations of derogatory racial remarks, Equal Pay Act, fraud and negligent misrepresentation, and breach of contract.
• Argued several cases to the Texas Supreme Court, including one that set forth the standards for employers accused of defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress, many Texas courts of appeal, the US Court of Appeals for the 4th and 5th Circuits, Texas, Louisiana, Maryland, West Virginia, Illinois, Idaho, California, New Mexico, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
• Provides management training designed to prevent employment litigation or other employment disputes, and advice and counseling regarding employment contracts, reductions-in-force, audits, hiring, severance packages, and agreements.

• Listed as a Litigation Star (2025) and Labor and Employment Star (2018-2024), Texas, Benchmark Litigation
• Recognized as a Leader in Labor & Employment, Texas, Chambers USA, 2004-2024
• Recognized as one of the Top 10 Most Influential Labor & Employment Lawyers in Texas, Business Today, 2023

• Recognized as a Lawdragon 500 Leading U.S. Corporate Employment Lawyer, 2020-2025

• Named among the Best Lawyers in Labor and Employment, Corporate Counsel magazine, 2007-present 
• Voted by readers and professional community as one of Houston’s top lawyers, H Texas Magazine, 2007-present
• Selected as a Super Lawyer for Employment Litigation Law, Texas Monthly magazine, 2003-2024
• Selected as a Best Lawyer for Labor and Employment, Texas (2005-present); Women in Litigation Law, Labor and Employment and for Employment Law-Management (2013-present); and Best Women Lawyers in Texas (2013-present), Best Lawyers in America, 2005-present. Also named among the 50 Best Women Lawyers in Texas (2006, 2009, 2013) and among the Top 100 Lawyers in Houston (2007, 2013), Texas Monthly magazine and Best Lawyers
• AV^® Peer Review Rated in Martindale-Hubbell and named among Texas’ Legal Leaders for Labor and Employment Law (2008-present), ALM based on Martindale-Hubbell

• Life Sustaining Fellow, Texas Bar Foundation
• Member, Texas Bar Association, Labor and Employment Section
• Fellow, Houston Bar Foundation
• Member, Houston Bar Association, Labor and Employment Section
• Member, American Bar Association, Labor and Employment Section
• Board Member, Texas General Counsel Forum, 2008 - present
• Former Member, Planning Committee, Texas Corporate Counsel Institute
• Former Co-Chair, Candidate and Recruitment Committee, R Club
• Former Board Member, March of Dimes, (Special Events Committee)
• Former Advisory Committee, Federalist Society
• Delegate to the Fifth Circuit Conference, 1996-1998, 2007, 2009, 2011
• Lifetime Member, Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo; former member of Grand Entry Committee
• Former Board Member, Texas Board on Aging, Texas Department on Aging, (Finance Committee)
• Tyson Foods, Inc. Preferred Legal Services Provider