PROFILE
EXPERIENCE
AWARDS
AFFILIATIONS
Warren's Profile
Warren is a Shareholder and member of Maynard Cooper’s Litigation Section. A member of the Firm’s Labor and Employment Practice Group, he has more than 26 years of experience representing and advising clients in all aspects of labor and employment matters, including significant wage and hour and federal discrimination litigation. Warren’s commercial litigation and business tort practice encompasses all aspects of non-compete enforcement, trade secret litigation, and competitive torts, as well as fraud, contract, and insurance disputes. He has successfully litigated, as lead counsel, dozens of such cases and, in his business tort practice, has obtained or defended companies against injunctions across the country.
Highly respected by his peers, Warren served as Chairman of the Alabama State Bar Labor & Employment Section. His skills and accomplishments as a lawyer have earned him numerous accolades, among which are his distinction as a Leading Practitioner in Labor & Employment by Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business. He is also consistently included in The Best Lawyers in America© for his experience in the areas of Employment Management, Litigation: Labor and Employment, and Litigation: Mining Law, as well as in Alabama Super Lawyers and Mid-South Super Lawyers in the area of Employment and Labor Law.
“Warren is a very good adviser, and he is really good at responding and getting us help. He helps us to get a resolution….a good problem solver, a peacemaker and efficient.” — Client Testimonial
Warren's Experience
- Obtained preliminary injunction based on non-compete agreement and trade secrets claims for aerospace defense contracting firm against engineering development and weapons development executives in the Circuit Court of Madison County, Alabama
- Obtained dismissal of a sexual harassment and retaliation suit for a home healthcare company in the Northern District of Georgia; judgment affirmed by the Eleventh Circuit
- Provided general counsel employment and management services for California based international cybersecurity company in transition after spin-off
- Won jury verdict in tortious interference suit in the Circuit Court of Madison County, Alabama
- Successfully enforced duty of loyalty and trade secrets misappropriation case and obtained significant monetary recovery for insurance brokerage agency in the Northern District of Florida
- Successfully defended marketing firm against multi-million dollar claims of fraud and shareholder oppression in the Circuit Court of Jefferson County, Alabama
- Obtained permanent injunction for health care information systems company against former salesman in the District Court of Tarrant County, Texas
- Obtained summary judgment for a financial services company in an age, race and sex discrimination termination suit brought by a long-time management employee claiming $800,000 in damages in the Northern District of Alabama; judgment affirmed by the Eleventh Circuit
- Successfully defeated non-compete enforcement claim in sensor technology industry in the Superior Court of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina
- Obtained summary judgment in a disability discrimination case brought against financial services company and three individual management defendants under the Missouri Human Rights Act in the Circuit Court of St. Louis County, Missouri
- Won arbitration in Florida defending hospital district against million dollar executive compensation/severance claim
- Successfully defended insurance company in banking industry against multi-million dollar fraud claims brought by trucking firm in the Circuit Court of Lamar County, Alabama
- Obtained temporary restraining order for healthcare laboratory in Southern District of Alabama
- Successfully enforced non-compete agreement against on-air personality in radio industry in the Northern District of Alabama
- Obtained dismissal of FLSA class action for national retailer in the Southern District of Alabama
- Defeated preliminary injunction based on non-compete claims in temporary staffing industry in the Middle District of Georgia
- Obtained temporary restraining order, injunction and favorable settlement for distributor of auto parts in theft of trade secrets matter against former employees and their employers in the Circuit Court of Montgomery County, Alabama
- Defeated enforcement of non-compete agreement by automobile publication company against salesperson in the Circuit Court of Jefferson County, Alabama
Warren's Awards
- Chambers USA, Leading Practitioner in Labor and Employment (2016-present)
- The Best Lawyers in America© for Employment Law: Management (2011 – present), Litigation: Labor and Employment (2011 – present), Mining Law (2011 – present), Workers’ Compensation Law: Employers (2016 – present), and Labor Law: Management (2019 – present)
- Benchmark Litigation “Labor & Employment Star” (2020)
- Mid-South Super Lawyers for Employment and Labor Law (2016 – present)
- Alabama Super Lawyers for Employment & Labor (2008 – 2016)
- Martindale-Hubbell AV® Preeminent Rating
Warren's Affiliations and Civic Involvement
Affiliations
- American Bar Association, Labor & Employment Section
- Alabama Bar Association, Executive Committee, Labor & Employment Section
- Birmingham Bar Association
Civic Involvement
- Restoration Academy, Board Member
- Center for Executive Leadership, Board Member and President
BAR ADMISSIONS
State Bar:Alabama
U.S. District Court:Alabama (Northern, Middle, Southern)
U.S. Court of Appeals:Eleventh Circuit, D.C. Circuit
EDUCATION
Vanderbilt University Law School (1991, J.D., Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law, Editorial Staff)
University of Virginia (1988, B.A)
July 1, 2020
WARREN B. LIGHTFOOT, JR. ELECTED TO COLLEGE OF LABOR & EMPLOYMENT LAWYERS
Maynard Cooper & Gale is proud to announce that Warren Lightfoot, Jr., Shareholder in the Firm’s...
June 17, 2020
Title VII Prohibits Terminations Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity
This Monday, the Supreme Court held that Title VII’s protections against discrimination on the basis of sex extend to protect individuals against employment terminations based in part on sexual orientation and gender identity. In a 6-3 majority opi...
May 1, 2020
MAYNARD COOPER DISTINGUISHED IN 2020 CHAMBERS USA GUIDE
Maynard Cooper & Gale (Maynard Cooper) is pleased to announce that 41 of its attorneys and 11 areas of practice received high marks in the 2020 edition of Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, the industry’s well res...
March 13, 2020
MAYNARD COOPER COVID-19 CONTINGENCY PLAN AND TASK FORCE
Dear Clients,
In this time of growing concern surrounding the COVID-19 virus, we want to assure our clients that Maynard, Cooper & Gale is prepared with an emergency business contingency plan.
We continue to closely monitor developments and...
October 16, 2019
CLIENT ALERT: DOL FINAL OVERTIME RULE
On September 24, 2019, the United States Department of Labor (“DOL”) announced its long-anticipated final rule regarding the earnings threshold for employees to qualify for “white collar exemptions” under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA...
August 15, 2019
130 Maynard Cooper & Gale Attorneys Listed in The Best Lawyers in America© 2020
Maynard Cooper & Gale is pleased to announce that 130 of the Firm’s attorneys have been recognized as leaders in their practice areas in the 2020 edition of The Best Lawyers in America©, a peer-review guide highlighting att...
May 1, 2019
39 Maynard Cooper & Gale Attorneys And 8 Practice Groups Receive Recognition In The 2019 Chambers USA Guide
Maynard Cooper & Gale (Maynard Cooper) is pleased to announce that 39 of its attorneys and eight of its practice groups have received high marks in the 2019 edition of Chambers USA, the industry’s most respected legal rankings publicat...
March 8, 2019
CLIENT ALERT - NEW OVERTIME PAY RULES PROPOSED, AT LAST
After years of debate and waiting, the USDOL has issued its newly-proposed overtime rules. The USDOL has released a rule that, if adopted, will set a minimum salary for the OT exemption at $679 per week or annually at $35,308 per year. The increase t...
November 9, 2018
MAYNARD COOPER & GALE RECEIVES RECOGNITION IN RECENT U.S. NEWS/BEST LAWYERS “BEST LAW FIRMS” AND SUPER LAWYERS LISTINGS
The recently released edition of the U.S. News-Best Lawyers® “Best Law Firms” positions Maynard Cooper in the National Tier Rankings in 10 areas of practice, including Commercial Litigation, Corporate Law, Land Use & Zoning Law, L...
March 29, 2018
MAYNARD COOPER & GALE EARNS HIGH RANKINGS IN THE 2018 CHAMBERS USA, AMERICA’S LEADING LAWYERS FOR BUSINESS
Maynard Cooper & Gale is pleased to announce that the Firm and many of its attorneys have earned distinguished rankings in the 2018 edition of Chambers USA, America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, the highly respected referral directory of the...
August 15, 2018
116 MAYNARD COOPER & GALE ATTORNEYS RECOGNIZED IN THE 2019 BEST LAWYERS IN AMERICA©
Birmingham, AL. Maynard Cooper & Gale is pleased to announce that 116 of the Firm’s attorneys have been recognized as leaders in their areas of practice in the 2019 edition of The Best Lawyers in America©. Included in the dis...
