Lindsay Burke Rejoins Covington’s International Employment Practice

Lindsay Burke Rejoins Covington’s International Employment Practice

July 30, 2013

WASHINGTON, DC, July 30, 2013 — Covington & Burling is pleased to announce that Lindsay Buchanan Burke has returned to the firm, expanding the firm’s employment practice.

Ms. Burke will be based in the firm’s Washington office as special counsel and will work with the firm’s employment, international employment, employee benefits, privacy and executive compensation practice groups.

“Lindsay is an exceptionally talented lawyer,” said Tom Williamson, co-chair of the firm's employment practice group and immediate past president of the D.C. Bar. “Her proven track record as a savvy advisor and top flight employment litigator will benefit our clients greatly.”

Ms. Burke represents clients on the full range of employment-related matters, including equal pay, discrimination, privacy, leave, whistleblower, and wage and hour issues. She also advises on matters related to state workplace law such as restrictive covenants, employment agreements, common law business torts, and protection of trade secrets. Ms. Burke’s practice also includes advice pertaining to employment issues that arise in the context of corporate mergers and acquisitions. Her recent experience includes advising a media company concerning the reduction of its workforce in an effort to streamline operations and reduce costs, and negotiating a favorable settlement on behalf of a telecommunications client when a former employee breached post-employment non-competition and confidentiality obligations and misappropriated trade secrets. In the litigation area, she secured a summary judgment ruling for a pharmaceutical company in a whistleblower retaliation case under the False Claims Act brought by a former employee and then successfully argued for affirmance in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.

“We are thrilled to have Lindsay back on our team,” said Jeffrey Huvelle, a firm litigator whose record includes winning 15 consecutive employment discrimination suits. “Her wise counsel on employment issues will be a tremendous asset for our clients."

Ms. Burke will also work closely with the firm’s London-based international employment group and will advise multinational employers on thorny HR-legal compliance issues outside the U.S., including the implementation of global policies/codes of conduct, global privacy compliance programs and the expatriate assignment of senior employees.

“Our international practice operates from three regional hubs in Asia, the U.S. and Europe. Lindsay will be our practice representative in the U.S., leading projects in Canada and Latin America and adding further weight to the practice generally. She brings great talent and experience to the role and we are very pleased to be working with her,” said Christopher Walter, who leads the firm’s international employment group from the London office.

“I am delighted to return to Covington,” said Ms. Burke, who was an associate in the firm’s litigation practice for five years before joining a boutique law firm that specializes in management-side employment issues. “Covington offers an exceptional international platform for an employment practice that provides advice to domestic, international, and multinational companies and litigates their issues.”

Ms. Burke, a member of the D.C. and Virginia bars, earned her law degree from the University of Virginia, where she was executive editor of the Law Review. After law school, she clerked for U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. She received her undergraduate degree from Kenyon College.