Robert L. Bowman is an extremely qualified, experienced, and effective trial attorney whose practice areas are Employment and Labor and Local Government and Public Utilities. He is recognized by Best Lawyers in America and Mid-South Super Lawyers in the Employment and Labor practice area. Mr. Bowman has over 30 years of experience and is a Rule 31 Listed General Civil Mediator. He represents Fortune 500 companies as well as small business owners in complex litigation involving employment discrimination, Fair Labor Standards Act, non-competition, and trade secret issues. He also represents numerous quick-serve restaurant franchisees across the entire State of Tennessee and a cellular telephone retailer throughout the United States.
Helping his clients resolve their issues in a cost-effective and timely manner is one of Mr. Bowman's most important goals, while simultaneously providing a high degree of quality legal work. When representing a client, he looks for solutions and paths to prompt dismissal or summary judgment of the lawsuit. Employment Law is a constantly changing and challenging arena, and he is adept at keeping his clients proactively informed about laws that help protect their business interests.
Mr. Bowman has successfully tried numerous jury and non-jury cases involving a wide range of issues and industries in various state and federal district courts. In one such instance, he successfully defended in the Tennessee Court of Appeals and Supreme Court an award of summary judgment to an employer accused of retaliation. He also recently won a sex and disability discrimination case before the Florida Division of Administrative Hearings
His important areas of focus within his Employment and Labor practice include:
• Litigating employment discrimination, retaliation, and Fair Labor Standards Act cases, including class and collective action cases
• Defending throughout the country employment discrimination charges filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)and overtime complaints filed with the Department of Labor
• Providing daily employment law advice and feedback to clients
• Providing training, as necessary, to his clients on Employment Law related topics
• Arbitrating employment claims
• Litigating Non-Competition Agreements and Trade Secret Cases
His Local Government and Public Utilities practice includes:
• Litigating Open Records Act lawsuits
• Reviewing contracts
• Giving daily advice and feedback on zoning and planning issues
• Interpreting statutory law applicable to local governments
His Professional Liability practice includes:
• Defending manifold professional negligence claims
• Litigating claims on behalf of mortgage brokers, title examiners, and bookkeepers
• Advising engineers and other professionals on contract issuesMany of Mr. Bowman’s cases have involved multiple plaintiffs; for example, he defended a municipality in a Fair Labor Standards Act case involving over 70 plaintiffs and played a significant role by handling discovery, drafting a dispositive motion, and negotiating a favorable settlement for his client. He defended a multi-national mining company in several counties in East Tennessee which had 125 separate employee benefits cases pending against it. Mr. Bowman has also defended several class and collective action overtime cases brought against quick-serve restaurants and retailers.
He represented a national school photography company in a non-competition and trade secrets lawsuit and obtained a verdict for compensatory damages of over $530,000, plus punitive damages, in his client’s favor against the defendants, a former salesperson and his new employer.
Mr. Bowman was successful in getting a sexual harassment case dismissed on summary judgment, with the result of sanctions and costs entered against the plaintiff and her counsel, during his representation of the owner and president of an East Tennessee textile company.
He defended a lawsuit brought by a former manager against a convenience store chain who claimed that the company provided materially false information about the employee in a reference check from a prospective employer. Mr. Bowman was able to have the case dismissed on summary judgment due to the fact that the plaintiff had given a release encompassing his client.
Mr. Bowman recently defended a national retail client in a sexual harassment and retaliation claim in federal court. He obtained a summary judgment for the client from the district court, and the decision was affirmed by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.
CLASSES & SEMINARS
• 'Work Arrangements that (actually) Work' Kramer Rayson LLP Employment Law Seminar, Knoxville 2015
• 'Employee Misclassification' Kramer Rayson LLP Employment Law Seminar, Knoxville 2013
• “The Wage and Hour Investigators Are Coming, Be Prepared” Kramer Rayson LLP Employment Law Seminar, Knoxville 2010
• “Public Employers’ New and Unique Issues” Kramer Rayson LLP Employment Law Seminar, Knoxville 2009
• “Lessons Learned From Bad Facts, Behavior and Decisions” Kramer Rayson LLP Employment Law Seminar, Knoxville 2008
• “How to Deal With a Department of Labor Wage Hour Audit” Kramer Rayson LLP Employment Law Seminar, Knoxville 2007
• “Selecting the Best Employees Within the Law' Kramer Rayson LLP Employment Law Seminar, Knoxville 2005
• “Retaliation Claims: How to Avoid Winning the Battle and Losing the War” Kramer Rayson LLP Employment Law Seminar, Knoxville 2004
HONORS & AWARDS
• Best Lawyers in America, Labor and Employment Law - Management and Mid-South Super Lawyers, Employment and Labor
• fellow, Knoxville Bar Foundation 2015 Inductee
• Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 31 Listed General Civil Mediator
• Greater Knoxville Business Journal - 'Top 40 Under 40' Business Leaders in East Tennessee
• City View - 2009-2024 Top Attorney Awards for Class Action, Labor & Employment, Federal Court Practice, Constitutional/Civil Rights or General Civil Litigation
• AV rating in Martindale-Hubbell
CIVIC & COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
• Serving as a Vestryman and Assistant Lead Usher for St. John’s Cathedral
• Advisor to the Sportsmen’s Wildlife Foundation
PAST EMPLOYMENT POSITIONS
• Minority Floor Leader of the Tennessee House of Representatives, Legislative Aid
(Also at Oak Ridge Office)
