Matthew Lockaby

Matt Lockaby is the founder and managing partner of Lockaby PLLC in Lexington, Kentucky. He focuses his practice on employment law, representing both employees and employers throughout Kentucky in nearly every aspect of workplace law:

M&A COUNSEL -- Matt provides specialized labor-and-employment guidance for buyers and sellers in M&A transactions, including pre-deal due diligence (i.e., a review of employment contracts, restrictive covenants, policies, and practices that impact the transaction), liability analysis (i.e., liabilities related to employment claims, wage-and-hour compliance, and employee benefits), and compliance analysis (i.e., classification and pay audits and other "stress testing" under federal, state, and local regulations).

PREVENTATIVE COUNSEL -- Matt provides compassionate yet business-minded guidance to owners and HR personnel on a wide variety of issues that arise during the employment lifespan, from recruiting and hiring to termination, layoffs, and reductions in force--and everything in between.

TRANSACTIONAL COUNSEL -- Matt drafts and negotiates workplace contracts, including operating and buy-sell agreements and other employment agreements, such as non-compete agreements, confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements, independent contractor agreements, arbitration agreements, and severance agreements.

INVESTIGATIONS COUNSEL -- Matt oversees and conducts internal investigations into director, officer, and employee misconduct, which requires interviewing witnesses, preparing factual findings, and advising directors, owners, and HR personnel.

LITIGATION COUNSEL -- Matt also defends discrimination, retaliation, harassment, wage-and-hour, and breach-of-contract claims in state and federal courts, administrative agencies, and arbitration, including both class-action and FLSA collective-action claims. In particular, Matt's practice defending against non-compete restrictions extends well beyond Kentucky and, in recent years, he has successfully litigated these actions in New York and Florida.

No matter the client, Matt's singular focus is the same: vigorous yet transparent, cost-effective representation specifically tailored to resolve each client's problem, and achieve each client's goals, as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Matt graduated from Centre College in Danville, Kentucky, and earned his law degree, cum laude, from Northern Kentucky University-Chase College of Law. As a law student, he served as Executive Editor of the Northern Kentucky Law Review, mentored first-year law students, and worked as an extern for a former U.S Magistrate Judge in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio.

Matt is admitted to practice in the state courts of Ohio and Kentucky, as well as the U.S. District Courts for the Eastern and Western Districts of Kentucky, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit and the Supreme Court of the United States.

Matt's accomplishments have earned the respect of his peers. He was recognized as a Kentucky Super Lawyer from 2022-2024, as a Rising Star from 2013-2017, and the attorney peer-review service Martindale-Hubbell gave him its highest rating*, AV Preeminent.

Matt is a member of the American Bar Association, Kentucky Bar Association, and the Fayette County Bar Association. Having previously served as the chair, vice-chair, and secretary of the KBA's Labor and Employment Law Section, Matt regularly speaks on employment law topics at conferences and seminars for the Kentucky Bar Association and groups such as the National Business Institute. And he has authored a variety of articles for bar associations and other publications.

*AV®, BV®, AV Preeminent® and BV Distinguished® are registered certification marks of Reed Elsevier Properties Inc., used in accordance with the Martindale-Hubbell certification procedures, standards and policies. Martindale-Hubbell is the facilitator of a peer-review rating process. Ratings reflect the anonymous opinions of members of the bar and the judiciary. Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Ratings fall into two categories – legal ability and general practice standards.