Being able to creatively and cost-effectively solve problems for her clients is the focus of Liz’s business litigation practice. While litigation is her expertise, Liz recognizes that costly and time-consuming litigation is rarely the best business decision for her clients.
Liz has a sophisticated commercial litigation practice focused primarily in the areas of complex commercial and employment litigation, with an emphasis on non-compete, trade secret and other competition-related disputes. With more than 20 years in practice, Liz has handled cases in both state and federal courts in Georgia, as well as before the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”). In addition to her trial and arbitration experience, Liz has briefed and argued appeals at all levels in both state and federal courts across Georgia.
Liz’s restrictive covenant and unfair competition practice includes representation of both plaintiffs and defendants in disputes involving non-compete, non-solicitation of customers, non-recruitment of employees, and non-disclosure/confidential information agreements. Liz also represents clients in disputes involving trade secrets, tortious interference with business and contractual relations, breach of fiduciary duty and/or duty of loyalty, unfair and deceptive trade practices, as well as claims involving violations of the Computer Systems Protection Act, the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and the Stored Communications Act.
As part of her practice, Liz does preventative counseling with her clients and routinely drafts agreements that are instrumental in protecting her clients’ valuable business interests including employment agreements, non-competition, non-solicitation, non-recruitment, confidentiality and trade secret agreements, as well as severance agreements and other documents related to employment practice and procedure.
Liz also represents both plaintiffs and defendants in many other types of business and commercial disputes, including contract disputes, business torts, partnership disputes, corporate governance disputes, and shareholder derivative lawsuits, among other things.
Liz is well-respected in her field having been selected by her peers as a “Georgia Super Lawyer” in Business Litigation for ten consecutive years. Liz lectures on a regular basis on topics such as restrictive covenants, physician employment agreements, and other employment related topics involving federal statutes like the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Family Medical Leave Act.
Liz graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. in Political Science from Coker University in Hartsville, South Carolina, where she was honored as both an athletic and academic All-American for her efforts on the softball field and in the classroom. Among other accolades, Liz was also named Coker University’s athlete of the year for two consecutive years at Coker and was named NCAA Woman of the Year for the State of South Carolina in 1995. Liz went on to earn her J.D. cum laude from Baylor University School of Law, where she was the First Honor Graduate for her class. While at Baylor, Liz served as a Managing Editor for the Baylor Law Review. She then began her legal career with a clerkship for the Honorable William C. O’Kelley, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. A Gwinnett County native, Liz found her way back to her Gwinnett County roots when she began her legal practice at Andersen Tate and Carr in 2001.
Liz resides in the Grayson community in Gwinnett County with her husband of more than 25 years, Shawn, and their four children. When not practicing law, Liz enjoys watching her children compete in youth, high school and travel sports and has coached youth sports in the Grayson community for more than a decade. Liz also has a passion for fastpitch softball and manages a USSSA Jr. Pride softball team where she spends much of her free time helping teenage girls chase their dreams of playing college-level softball like she did. Liz and her husband are also active members of First Baptist Church of Loganville where they have served in the pre-school ministry for more than 20 years.