Experience

Juliann H. Panagos is a shareholder and member of the firm's labor and employment practice group.  Jill's defense practice focuses on representing Texas and national corporations engaged in healthcare, residential construction and consumer finance. She represents hospitals, banks, mortgage lenders, school districts and non-profit organizations such as the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the American Red Cross. 

Jill presents speeches on a wide variety of labor and employment issues in continuing legal education seminars, bar associations, EEOC outreach programs and before corporate management. She serves on the American Red Cross Human Resources and Risk Management Committees. 

Jill also served as a law clerk for the Honorable Don A. Langham in the Superior Court in Atlanta, Georgia. 

In 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2011 included in the list of Texas Super Lawyers, by Thomson Reuters.

Jill is also an elected member of the Texas Legal Foundation.

Publications

• "Compliance With the Payday Law," Executive Legal Advisor, July/August 2008
• "The American with Disabilities Act of 1990, Young Lawyers Form Book Chapter," Defense Research Institute, 2002
• "It's Not a Secret Anymore: Waiving Goodbye to the Attorney-Client Privilege," The Houston Lawyer, 1993
• "A Different Kind of Breast Implant Litigation," Texas Lawyer, 1988

Litigation

Jill has tried more than twenty jury trials, successfully defending over twenty corporate clients to take-nothing verdicts. She has extensive trial experience defending employers in discrimination and tax matters, attorneys in malpractice cases involving breast implant litigation and home builders in construction litigation including a number of jury trials under the Texas Residential Construction Liability Act.

Labor and Employment

Jill has litigated federal and state discrimination cases, handled Fair Labor Standards Act matters, arbitrated complex contract labor disputes, handled multiparty employment ERISA benefits litigation, defended school districts in civil rights litigation, and represented national non-profit institutions in negligence cases. She has represented clients before the NLRB, the EEOC, OSHA, the DOL, the TWC, and independent arbitrators. Jill is Board Certified in Labor and Employment Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.

Representative Transactions

In 2006, Jill represented four mortgage lender plaintiffs in a tax lawsuit which included one Intervenor and three defendants, all of which were government entities. After summary judgment was argued and while the plaintiffs' motion was still pending, the Texas legislature addressed the concerns of the plaintiffs in direct response to the high profile litigation and enacted HB 2438 which resolved the substantive issues in the case. The case was ordered to mediation to resolve the remaining damages issues.

Published Opinions

• Elsik v. Regency Nursing Center Partners of Kingsville, Ltd., d/b/a Kingsville Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, et al, WL 2428288 (Tex. 2007).
• Simons v. Harrison, Waldrop & Uherek, L.L.P., WL 1698273 (Tex. 2006).
• Delfino v. Perry Homes, A Joint Venture, 223 S.W.3d 32 (Tex.App.- Houston [1st Dist.] 2006).
• Elaine Chao, Secretary, Department of Labor v. Occupational Safety and Health Review and Erik K. Ho; Ho Ho Ho Express, Inc. and Houston Fruitland, Inc., 401 F.3d 355 (5th Cir. 2005).
• Calzada v. Namasco Corporation, 2005 WL 608733 (Tex.App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 2005).
• Vu v. Rosen, 2004 WL 612832 (Tex.App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 2004).
• Lovick v. Ritemoney Ltd, et al, 378 F.3d 433 (5th Cir. 2004).
• Singleton v. San Jacinto Methodist Hospital, 2003 WL 22303420 (Tex. 2003).
• Wallace v. The Methodist Hospital System, 271 F.3d 212 (5th Cir. 2001) (Tex.), cert. denied, 535 U.S. 1078 (2002).
• Abraham v. Diagnostic Center Hosp. Corp. of Texas, 138 F.Supp.2d 809 (S.D.Tex.) (2001).
• Riner v. Allstate Life Ins. Co., 131 F.3d 530 (5th Cir. 1997).
• Shinn v. College Station Independent School Dist., 96 F.3d 783, 112 Ed. Law Rep. 646 (5th Cir. 1996), cert. denied, 520 U.S. 1211 (1997).
• Sabine Independent Seagoing Officers Ass’n v. Sabine Towing and Transp. Co., 805 F.Supp. 430 (E.D.Tex.) (1992).

Professional Affiliations

• American Bar Association
• American Red Cross Greater Houston Area Chapter
• Bar Association of the Fifth Federal Circuit
• Greater Houston Society of Healthcare Risk Management
• Houston Bar Association
• Houston Management Lawyers Forum, Chair 2004 - 2005
• Manufactured Housing Institute
• Society for Human Resource Management
• State Bar of Texas
• Texas Board of Legal Specialization
• Women's Business Enterprise Alliance