Lawrence S. Eastwood

Lawrence S. Eastwood, Jr., a shareholder in Baker Donelson's Nashville office, concentrates his practice in the areas of employment and labor law and litigation, and commercial litigation. Mr. Eastwood has extensive experience litigating labor and employment law cases on behalf of management, including cases under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), ERISA, and applicable state employment statutes, as well as cases involving the enforcement of employment contracts, noncompete covenants, confidentiality agreements, protection of "heart of the business" trade secrets, and complex commercial disputes.

Mr. Eastwood also regularly counsels employers on employment law compliance and litigation avoidance, including such issues as management and employee training, wage and hour law, enforcement of noncompete covenants, employment contracts, protection of trade secrets, drafting and implementation of employment policies and handbooks, drug testing, union avoidance, reductions in force, recordkeeping, employee privacy rights, workplace investigations, the WARN Act and compliance with state and federal anti-discrimination laws.

Publications & Speaking Engagements

• "Tennessee Supreme Court Opens Door for More Employment Litigation," Baker Donelson Labor & Employment Alert (September 28, 2010)
• "Inadvertent Disclosures of Personal Information: Reducing Risk to Your Company and Its Employees and Customers" (April 2010)
• "Implementing a State of the Art Written Information Security Program" (March 2010)
• "Effective Workplace Investigations" (January 2010)
• "Nuts & Bolts of Practice: Garnishments," 9 Nashville Bar Journal 16 (November 2009)
• "Union Avoidance Strategies in Light of the Proposed Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA)" (May 2009)
• "Integrating your HR Department and Unit Managers into your Ethics and Compliance Program: What Every Health Care Company Should Be Doing" (April 2009)
• "The Unique Challenge of Drafting and Enforcing Physician Noncompetes under Tennessee Law" (April 2009)
• "The Amendments to the Americans With Disabilities Act" (February 2009)
• "Mastering the New FMLA" (January 2009)
• "Fostering Respect in the Workplace: Anti-Harassment Strategies for Modern Employers" (December 2008)
• "Document Retention in an Electronic Age" (April 2008)
• "Dealing With Problem Employees" (October 2007)
• "New Developments Requiring Updates to Employee Handbooks and Policy Manuals" (September 2007)
• "The ADA, the FMLA, and Workers' Compensation: Cracking the Code" (October 2006)
• "Guide to Employee Privacy Rights in the Workplace" (October 2006)
• "Effective Employer Strategies for Managing the FMLA Medical Certification Process" (July 2006)
• "What to Do When an Employee Goes to Work for a Competitor" (December 2005)
• "Interviewing Dos and Don'ts" (September 2005)
• "The Art of Hiring and Termination: Avoiding Liability" (July 2005)
• "The Use of Statistical Evidence to Prove Discrimination" (May 2005)
• "Preventing Workplace Harassment: A Training Program for Managers and Employees" (December 2004)
• "The 'White Collar' Regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act" (October 2004)
• "An Employer's Guide to Dealing with Drug Testing and Drug and Alcohol Abuse" (June 2004)
• "Secession: State Practice and International Law After the Dissolution of the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia," 3 Duke J. Comp. and Int'l L. 299 (1993)

Professional Honors & Activities

• Listed in The Best Lawyers in America® in Labor and Employment Law, 2011 and 2012
• Listed in Mid-South Super Lawyers since 2009
• AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell
• Named "Best of the Bar" in the Nashville Business Journal’s survey of Nashville attorneys in employment law
• Member – Tennessee, Georgia, Nashville, Federal and American Bar Associations
• Nashville Bar Association Fellow
• Member – Federalist Society
• Member – Phi Beta Kappa
• Board of Directors, Visionary Wellness (2007 – 2010)
• Board of Directors, NashvilleREAD (2002 – 2006)
• Named United States Presidential Scholar by President Ronald Reagan (1986)
• Notes Editor – Duke Journal of Comparative and International Law

Admissions

• Tennessee, 1993
• Georgia, 1993

Education

• Duke University School of Law, J.D., 1993
• Georgetown University, B.S., 1990, magna cum laude