DeAndrea C. Washington
Overview
DeAndrea Washington focuses her practice on a variety of labor employment litigation matters. She provides preventive counsel and litigates employment disputes on behalf of public and private employers in federal and state courts, arbitration, and before administrative agencies, such as the Texas Workforce Commission, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the U.S. Department of Labor. DeAndrea handles litigation matters at the pre-trial, trial, and appellate levels.
DeAndrea represents management in employment discrimination, sexual harassment, retaliation, noncompetition, and wage and hour disputes. Her litigation practice also includes breach of contract litigation.
With a client-driven approach to practicing law, DeAndrea has successfully advised and resolved matters on behalf of employers of all sizes across a wide range of industries. She prides herself on helping clients identify and defuse potential lawsuits before they are filed. She also has experience representing public and private schools, charter schools, public and private universities, and governmental entities. With extensive trial and oral advocacy experience, DeAndrea has tried jury trials to verdict, arbitrated claims resulting in favorable awards, and has successfully defended judgments for clients on appeal in state and federal court.
While attending law school, DeAndrea served as a judicial intern for the Honorable Nancy F. Atlas, a U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of Texas. She also interned for the First Court of Appeals of Texas.
DeAndrea is also a diversity, equity, and inclusion advisor to Spencer Fane’s Executive Committee. As an advisory member for the Executive Committee, DeAndrea is directly involved in the most significant strategic decisions the firm encounters and plays a leading part in ensuring our firm continues its evolution on all fronts.
Credentials
Education
- University of Houston Law Center, 2009 (J.D.)
- Washington University in St. Louis, 2006 (B.A.)
Court Admissions
- U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, 2021
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, 2021
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, 2010
- U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, 2010
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, 2010
- Second-chaired jury trial resulting in favorable verdict on behalf of prestigious university including award of attorneys’ fees and punitive damages in breach of contract action.
- Second-chaired arbitration resulting in award in favor of water treatment and process improvement company accused of retaliation and wrongful discharge.
- Second-chaired jury trial resulting in favorable verdict on behalf of local school district in Texas Whistleblower Act retaliation action.
- Second-chaired jury trial resulting in favorable verdict on behalf of employer including award of attorneys’ fees and punitive damages in breach of contract action.
- Drafted successful MSJ in retaliation, race, and gender discrimination suit.
- Second-chaired arbitration resulting in award in favor of water treatment and process improvement company accused of retaliation and wrongful discharge.
- Second-chaired arbitration resulting in award in favor of multinational telecommunicates company accused of violating Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
- Drafted successful 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss in FLSA collective action.
- Drafted successful appellate brief in appeal of Texas Workforce Commission’s denial of unemployment benefits.
- Obtained temporary restraining order, temporary injunction, and permanent injunction in breach of contract and misappropriation of trade secret and confidential information suit.
- Drafted successful MSJ in ADA disability discrimination suit.
- Drafted and successfully argued MSJ in race and gender discrimination suit resulting in an award of attorneys’ fees.
- Successfully defeated petition for review to Texas Supreme Court in race and retaliation suit.
- Successfully argued merits of FMLA suit resulting in dismissal during initial conference.
- Second-chaired two-week jury trial and secured favorable jury verdict for employer in whistleblower action.
- Drafted successful MSJ in Title VII and Section 1983 suit.
- Third-chaired bench trial resulting in judgment in favor of employer in retaliation, disability, gender, and nation origin discrimination suit.
- Drafted and argued successful plea to the jurisdiction in negligence suit against employer resulting in dismissal.
- Successfully moved to dismiss constitutional and wrongful termination claims against employer; drafted successful appellate brief in subsequent appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
- Successfully moved to dismiss civil rights, Title VII, and Title VI claims; drafted successful appellate brief in subsequent appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
- Drafted plea to the jurisdiction; strategized and drafted interlocutory appellate brief on emerging governmental immunity issues in contract disputes.
- Drafted successful MSJ in negligence suit against employer and individual employees.
- Houston Bar Association, Diversity Awards, 2024
- Houston Business Journal, Women Who Mean Business, 2023
- Corporate Counsel Business Journal, 50 Women to Watch, 2023
- Houston Business Journal ,40 Under 40, 2023
- Houston Business Journal, Diversity in Business Awards, Outstanding Diversity Champion, 2023
- Texas Lawyer, Texas Legal Excellence Awards, On the Rise, 2022
- Women We Admire, Top 50 Women Leaders of Houston, 2022
- National Black Lawyers, Top 100 Lawyers in Texas, 2021-2022
- Leadership Council on Diversity, Fellow, 2024
- State Bar of Texas
- American Bar Association, Labor and Employment Section
- National Employment Law Council (NELC)
- Houston Bar Association, Labor and Employment Section
- Houston Association of Women Attorneys (AWA)
- Houston Young Lawyers Association
- The Downtown Group
- “The Growing Role of Legal Ops,” National Employment Law Council Western Regional Conference
- “When Mental Health Enters the Workplace: Navigating Reasonable Accommodations for Mental Illnesses Under the ADA,” Gulf Coast Symposium on HR Issues, Houston, Texas
- “When Mental Health Enters the Workplace: Navigating Reasonable Accommodations for Mental Illnesses Under the ADA,” HR Houston, CLE, Houston, Texas
- “Social Media – Minimizing Legal Risks” Client CLE, Houston, Texas
- “When are My Communications Truly Secret?: Protecting Attorney-Client and Work-Product Privileges for In-House Counsel,” Client CLE, Houston, Texas
- “What Employers Need to Know Right Now to Maintain Compliance,” Client CLE, Houston, Texas
- “Understanding Cultural Diversity in the Workplace,” Training Seminar, Houston, Texas
- “Nuts and Bolts of Employment Law 101,” United Way Nonprofit Employment Law Academy, Houston, Texas
- “Record Retention and Destruction,” Client Seminar, Houston, Texas
- “How to Develop a Legally Defensible Employee Drug-Testing Policy,” Texas Association of School Administrators / Texas Association of School Boards Convention, Houston, Texas