Overview
Brian Mead is an employment litigator and transactional advisor. He leads McDermott’s Trade Secrets and Restrictive Covenants Subgroup. Clients call upon him for his substantial experience prosecuting and defending employee mobility, restrictive covenant and trade secret litigation cases across various industries including private equity, healthcare, professional services, technology and manufacturing.
Brian regularly advises private equity firms and strategic buyers and sellers on the employment aspects of M&A transactions on both the buy-side and sell-side, assisting clients to understand and mitigate employment-relate risks and exposure. He is experienced in drafting employment agreements and multi-jurisdictional restrictive covenants, as well as termination and separation agreements, ranging from non-exempt employees to CEOs.
On a daily basis, Brian leverages his experience on non-compete and non-solicit agreements to advise clients a recommended course of action that aligns with their business needs and the requirements outlined by federal and state laws. He also advises employers on policies related to employee leaves of absence, discipline and performance issues, disability accommodation, structuring of restrictive covenants and independent contractor relationships.
Brian also provides regular counsel to employers on employee handbooks and policies, employee leaves of absence, discipline and performance issues, disability accommodation, structuring of restrictive covenants and independent contractor relationships. He is skilled in researching multi-jurisdictional employment issues and preparing memoranda explaining the nuances of these issues and providing a recommended course of action.
Results
- Successfully litigated for a US healthcare provider on an arbitration related to dozens of employees violating their non-solicit and non-compete agreements
- Represented an employee of a trucking company on a non-compete issue before the Delaware Chancery Court
- Successfully affirmed a summary judgment for a manufacturing company on a discrimination case
- Successfully defended healthcare company against a TRO for claims of trade secret theft and breach of a non-compete
- Briefed the Fifth Circuit on a petition for rehearing en banc to issue a new, more favorable opinion for a national accounting firm
- Advising individual physicians on their non-compete and non-solicit agreements in the healthcare
Recognitions
- The Best Lawyers in America: Ones to Watch, Labor and Employment Law – Management, 2022-2024
- Chambers USA, Labor & Employment, 2024
Credentials
Education
Northwestern University School of Law, JD, cum laude, 2014
University of Iowa, BA, with highest distinction, 2009
Admissions
Illinois
Courts/Agencies
Illinois Supreme Court
US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
US District Court for the Southern District of Illinois
US District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin
