Areas of Practice

Clara (C.B.) Burns, who is Board Certified in Labor and Employment Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, is a partner in and Chair of the firm's Labor and Employment Department. C.B. has successfully defended clients in discrimination, discharge and other employment matters in the federal and state courts of Texas and New Mexico and before numerous governmental agencies.

Some of her recent successes include:

• A defense verdict in a workers compensation retaliation case in Nueces County, Texas.
• A permanent injuction, a monetary judgment and an award of attorney's fees on behalf of an employer in a noncompete case in El Paso County.
• A defense award in an age discrimination arbitration on behalf of a national hospital company.
• A defense award in an age discrimination and retaliation arbitration on behalf of a national manufacturer of food safety products.
• A defense award in an FMLA arbitration on behalf of a global manufacturer of automotive products.
• A defense award in an age discrimination and FMLA arbitration on behalf of a national hospital company.
• The successful defense of a national hospital company in an FMLA retaliation and constructive discharge arbitration.
• A defense verdict in a sexual harassment and retaliation case on behalf of a fast food franchise in El Paso County.
• Successful argument before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on behalf of a federal contractor operating at Fort Bliss, Texas that removal of a state law discrimination claim to federal court, followed by dismissal of that claim, is appropriate based on the federal enclave doctrine.

C.B. is a member of the Executive Council of the State Bar of Texas Labor and Employment Law Section, and is a frequent speaker at national, state and local seminars. In addition, she is the editor of the Family and Medical Leave Act chapter in the Texas Association of Business' Texas Employment Law Handbook and has served as an editor of the Health Care Employment Law Letter.

C.B. has been recognized as a top Labor and Employment Lawyer by Chambers USA, and as both a "Texas Rising Star" and a "Super Lawyer" in the area of employoment litigation by the publisher Thomson Reuters. C.B. is also listed in The Best Lawyers in America in the field of Labor and Employment Law.

• Labor and Employment

Professional Affiliations

• State Bar of Texas
• State Bar of New Mexico
• El Paso Bar Association
• Texas Bar Foundation
• Federal Bar Association
• Texas Association of Business
• El Paso Society for Human Resource Management

Bars & Courts

• Texas, 1990
• New Mexico, 1994
• U.S. District Court, Western District of Texas and Northern District of Texas
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit

Education

• McMurry College, B.A., 1987, summa cum laude
• Texas Tech University School of Law, J.D., magna cum laude, 1990, Order of the Coif
• At Texas Tech, C.B. served as the Managing Editor of the Texas Tech Law Review and authored the comment, The Prima Face Case of Age Discrimination in Reduction-in-Force Layoffs: A Flexible Standard.

Professional & Civic Involvement

C.B. is a past president of the El Paso Young Lawyers Association and is active in the El Paso Society for Human Resources Management and the Texas Association of Business. C.B. has served on the Board of Directors of the YWCA El Paso Del Norte Region. In addition she is a past president and current board member of the Paso del Norte Childrens Development Center Board of Directors. C.B. is a Fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation and is a graduate of Leadership El Paso, Class XIX.

Certifications

• Board Certified, Labor and Employment Law - Texas Board of Legal Specialization