Practice Areas: Employment & Labor
Licensed in Texas since: 1993
Education: The University of Texas School of Law
Selected to Super Lawyers: 2015 - 2024 Williams Law Firm, PC
1209 W Texas AveMidland, TX 79701 Phone: 432-682-7800 Email: Holly B. Williams Visit website
Details
Attorney Holly Williams is a seasoned employment lawyer with an active practice representing plaintiffs and defendants in the fast-growing and petroleum-rich Permian Basin region of West Texas. Break-neck growth and the boom-bust economic cycles inherent in the energy sector have brought complicated employment and business issues that Holly and her firm are uniquely capable to handle. She is the only lawyer in the Permian Basin who is Board Certified in Labor and Employment Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.
She represents plaintiffs in litigation involving racial discrimination, sexual harassment and workplace retaliation, taking these cases to jury verdict and appeal. Her work for plaintiffs has resulted in several recent high-profile cases and outcomes, including a 2018 sexual harassment and pregnancy jury verdict in excess of $1 million and a 2013 jury verdict recognized by VerdictSearch as the No. 3 discrimination lawsuit verdict in Texas.
Her practice includes providing strategic employment law counsel to a range of clients, from oilfield workers to business professionals, medical providers to closely-held and public companies in West Texas. In addition, Holly’s practice includes proactively tailoring employment policies and contracts, providing guidance on hiring and firing, and assisting clients with wage and hour audits, OSHA investigations, and other government audits.
First Admitted: 1993, Texas
Professional Webpage: https://www.williamslawpc.com/people/holly-williams/
- Holly Williams is the only lawyer in the Midland/Odessa metropolitan area who is Board Certified in Labor and Employment Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.
- "The 10 Biggest Legal Mistakes Physicians Make in Dealing with Noncompete Issues," in The Biggest Legal Mistakes Physicians Make and How to Avoid Them, Steven Babitsky, Esq. and James J. Magraviti, Jr., Esq., Eds. (2005) – Contributor
- "Injuries to Third Parties Arising from Oil & Gas Operations: An Analytical Framework for Examining Indemnity and Additional Insured Issues," Journal of Natural Resources & Environmental Law (Spring 2000) – Co-Author
- National Employment Lawyers Association
- Permian Basin SHRM (President 2003 - 2004) (Legislative Director 2018-2021)
- Midland County Bar Association - (President 2000 – 2001)
- Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM)
- State Bar of Texas Committee on Pattern Jury Charges - Business, Consumer, Insurance, and Employment (2009 - 2018)
- Texas Employment Lawyers Association Treasurer (2017-2019) Director (2021-2023)
- League of Women Voters of Texas Director (1999 – 2001)
- Junior League of Midland Community Advisory Panel
- UTPB College of Business Advisory Council
- Casa de Amigos, Vice President. Midland non-profit dedicated to improving the quality of life throughout the community by helping people help themselves., 2019
- Midland College Adjunct Instructor, Government (2001 – 2002), Employment Law (2009)
- Midland Need to Read Board of Directors (2004 – 2010, President 2008)
- League of Women Voters of Midland Treasurer (1994 – 1995), President (1995 – 1997), Vice President (2004)
- Rice University School of Social Sciences Dean's Advisory Council (2010 - 2018)
- Rice University, B.A. English and Political Science, 1989
- The University of Texas at Austin, School of Law and LBJ School of Public Affairs, J.D./M.P.Aff. , 1993
- Washington & Lee University, Lexington, Virginia, 1985-1987
- Admitted to practice, State Bar of New Mexico, 2001
- Board Certified, Labor & Employment Law, Texas Board of Legal Specialization, 2000
- Amber Ibarra v. United Parcel Service. A $600,000 federal gender discrimination and wrongful termination jury verdict on behalf of a female UPS driver. This verdict was recognized by VerdictSearch as the third largest discrimination verdict of 2013 in Texas., 2013
- Sara Roberts v. Brinkerhoff Inspection Inc. dba SMOB. A $1 million sexual harassment and pregnancy discrimination verdict against an Odessa-based oilfield services company., 2018
- Appellate Opinion, Midland Judicial Dist. Community Supervision & Corrections Dep't v. Jones, 92 S.W.3d 486 (Tex. 2002). Reaffirmed doctrine of employment at will.
- Appellate Opinion: Walton v. Phillips Petroleum Co., 65 S.W.3d 262 (Tex. App. El Paso 2001, pet. denied)
- Wetherbe v Texas Tech University et al: Represented Texas Tech University professor in a federal First Amendment/discrimination lawsuit against Texas Tech University. Developments in this lawsuit have raised provocative questions and generated a national discussion about the future of tenure in academia.
- Appellate Opinion: Brim v. ExxonMobil Pipeline Co., 213 Fed.Appx. 303, 2007 WL 62866 (5th Cir. 2007)
- EEOC v. Blue Ridge Resources LLC, (7:10-CV-00117-RAJ). Intervened in a national origin and discrimination lawsuit filed by the EEOC, essentially serving as co-counsel. Lawsuit charged that that Blue Ridge Resources subjected three former oil rig workers to a hostile work environment based on their Mexican national origin. The discrimination alleged was at the hands of a supervisor who repeatedly referred to the subordinates as “wetbacks” irrespective of the fact that one was born in the United States and the other two were permanent residents who have been authorized to work in the U.S. for decades. The lawsuit settled on the second day of trial in July 2012., 2012
- Appellate Opinion: City of Colorado City v. Ponko, 216 S.W.3d 924 (Tex. App. – Eastland 2007, no pet.)
- Appellate Opinion - Ibarra v. United Parcel Service, 695 F.3d 354 (5th Cir. 2012). Obtained reversal of summary judgment so case could be tried to a verdict. Held that employee's statutory right to be free of discrimination under Title VII was separate and independent from contractual rights under the collective bargaining agreement, and therefore CBA was not employee's exclusive remedy.
Office location for Holly B. Williams
1209 W Texas Ave
Midland, TX 79701
Selections
- Super Lawyers: 2015 - 2024