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Firm Description:
The Firm: Kiesewetter Wise Kaplan Prather, PLC limits its practice exclusively to representing management in all areas of labor relations and employment law, and enjoys attorney-client relationships with both national and international corporations.
The firm's clientele includes a broad mix of both national and regional companies, including many Fortune 500 corporations. Our diverse client base includes companies in health care, transportation, telecommunications, technology, hospitality, automotive, retail, and pharmaceuticals.
The geographically central location of the Firm's offices in Memphis, Tennessee enables our professionals to reach most business destinations across the United States within a matter of hours.
We believe that in labor relations and employment law, it is not sufficient simply to advise clients as to the status of the law. Rather, preventative education, planning, and proactive advice is the best recipe for success in labor and employment relations matters in today's complex business environment. We achieve this success through a combination of skill, innovation, and consistency, working together as a team with out clients. We offer our clients professionals who are unafraid of taking reasonable risks and are dedicated to winning. Our team members embody these attributes and bring a unique combination of talents and diverse backgrounds to our practice.
Our Mission: We will spare no effort to help our clients resolve their legal issues and concerns as favorably as possible, and to assist our clients in improving the human resources environments of their workplaces by providing high quality, responsive, innovative, and aggressive legal representation in the areas of employment relations and employment law, along with creative, proactive legal advice and consultation services, consistent with contemporary principles of positive human relations, and the legal profession's highest ethical standards.
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Biographies:
Members:
Howard L. Cleveland, IV
Mr. Cleveland graduated from Rhodes College in Memphis in 1992 with a B.A. degree in Psychology. He received his J.D. degree cum laude from the University of Tennessee in 1995. While attending law school, Mr. Cleveland served as Executive Editor for The Tennessee Law Review and was elected to the Moot Court Board.
In addition to working with employers to address employment and labor relations issues, Mr. Cleveland frequently partners with union and non-union employers to integrate their business immigration needs and opportunities into their overall labor and employment strategies. Mr. Cleveland not only assists employers in identifying and filing the most strategically appropriate immigrant and non-immigrant petitions, but also works with management to develop corporate immigration policies, identify potential immigration opportunities and challenges before they arise, and assess the impact of immigration issues on hiring, firing and corporate restructuring decisions.
Mr. Cleveland is a member of the Society for Human Resource Management, the American Immigration Lawyers Association, and the Labor and Employment Law Sections of the American, Tennessee and Memphis Bar Associations.
Steven Hymowitz
Mr. Hymowitz received his B.S. degree in Pharmacy from Fordham University and graduated from the University of Memphis School of Law, where he was an Associate Editor of The University of Memphis Law Review.
Mr. Hymowitz has been practicing labor and employment law representing management since 1974. He is admitted to practice law in Tennessee and Louisiana, as well as numerous federal and appellate courts.
Mr. Hymowitz is past Management Co-Chair of the American Bar Association Labor and Employment Law Section’s Committee on Employee Rights and Responsibilities, and a former Management Co-Chair of the Program and Privacy Subcommittees of that Committee. Mr. Hymowitz frequently participates as a faculty member of the American Bar Association National Institutes and other programs concerning employment law. He is a member of the faculty and Advisory Board of the National Employment Law Institute. He has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America since 1989, Corporate Counsel Magazine’s, Best Labor and Employment Lawyers, the International Who’s Who of Labour & Employment Lawyers, and is a Fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers. Mr. Hymowitz is a Senior Editor of the 2003 Supplement to “Employment Termination, Rights and Remedies” published by the American Bar Association and BNA Books.
Mr. Hymowitz was lead counsel in what has been called the largest unfair labor practice trial in the history of the NLRB, involving over 250 consolidated allegations of unfair labor practices.
Jonathan E. Kaplan
Mr. Kaplan has devoted his entire career to representing management clients exclusively in all areas of labor relations, employment law, and human resource management. In his practice, which spans litigation, training and consulting, he has handled client matters in more than 40 states and Canada. Mr. Kaplan also is a frequent speaker before management and legal groups and has published numerous articles on labor and employment issues. He is listed in The Best Lawyers in America and Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers.
Mr. Kaplan is a Senior Editor of How To Take A Case Before the NLRB, Seventh Edition (BNA, Supp. 2003). Mr. Kaplan is admitted to practice law before the United States Courts of Appeals for the Fifth, Sixth, Eleventh and District of Columbia Circuits, as well as numerous federal district courts and the Supreme Court of Tennessee. Mr. Kaplan also practices extensively before the NLRB across the country, and has been admitted specially to practice in state courts in California, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan and Ohio.
Mr. Kaplan is an active member of the American Bar Association, Labor and Employment Law Section, Practice and Procedure Under the NLRA Committee. He also previously served as Management Co-Chair of the ABA’s Subcommittee on Drug and Alcohol Abuse in the Workplace of the Employee Rights and Responsibilities Committee. Mr. Kaplan is a past Chair of the Labor and Employment Law Section of the Tennessee Bar Association, and he is an active member of the Memphis Bar Association. He also is a member of the Board of Directors of United Way of the Mid-South.
Mr. Kaplan attended Columbia University and received a B.A. degree cum laude from Rhodes College in 1979. He received his J.D. degree from the University of Memphis in 1982, where he was Research Editor of The University of Memphis Law Review and a member of the National Wagner Labor Law Moot Court Team.
Jay W. Kiesewetter
Mr. Kiesewetter has devoted his practice to representing and counseling clients in the “traditional” areas of labor relations and employment law. He counsels employers in all aspects of union-free management and represents them in unfair labor practice and representational proceedings before the National Labor Relations Board and U.S. Courts of Appeal. He also works with companies that have unions to improve union-management relations and represents management in contract negotiations, arbitrations, and labor disputes. Mr. Kiesewetter travels coast to coast assisting clients with their labor relations matters and advising non-union companies, particularly those afflicted with low employee morale and/or facing union organizing activity. He regularly assists clients in developing creative strategies and implementing effective initiatives to overcome their labor relations challenges and reduce their exposure to future problems.
Mr. Kiesewetter received a J.D. degree, cum laude, from the St. Louis University School of Law in 1974. While at St. Louis University, he was the recipient of the Second Year Class Scholarship Award from Phi Delta Phi Legal Fraternity. He received an A.B. degree in 1967 from the University of Missouri and an M.A. degree from the University of Southern California in 1971. Before entering private practice, Mr. Kiesewetter served as a trial attorney with the National Labor Relations Board’s Fourteenth Region in St. Louis, Missouri.
Mr. Kiesewetter is admitted to practice before various federal district courts, four United States Courts of Appeal, as well as the state courts of Tennessee and Missouri. In addition, Mr. Kiesewetter is an active member of the American Bar Association’s Section on Labor and Employment Law (Committees on the Development of the Law Under the NLRB, and Practices and Procedures Before the NLRB), and has served as an officer of the Labor and Employment Law Section of the Tennessee Bar Association. He also is a member of the Federal Bar Association, the Memphis and Shelby County Bar Association, and the Metropolitan Bar Association of St. Louis. He is listed in Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers.
George W. Loveland, II
Mr. Loveland served as a trial attorney in the National Labor Relations Board’s Pittsburgh office before entering private practice in 1979. Mr. Loveland joined the corporate law department of Holiday Inns, Inc. in Memphis in 1982, where he was responsible for labor and employment law matters company-wide. Mr. Loveland subsequently assumed various duties and responsibilities in addition to labor and employment law, including litigation management, legal compliance, casino licensing and gaming regulatory matters. As its labor and employment counsel, Mr. Loveland successfully guided the company through several corporate transitions, including its final transition from a hotel and casino company to Harrah’s Entertainment, Inc., a pure gaming company, in 1995.
Mr. Loveland graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1971 with an A.B. degree in Economics magna cum laude. He received his J.D. degree cum laude from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh in 1976.
Mr. Loveland is admitted to practice before the United States Courts of Appeal for the Third and Sixth Circuits, as well as numerous federal district courts, and the Supreme Courts of Pennsylvania and Tennessee. In addition, he is a member of the American Bar Association’s Section on Labor and Employment and Business Law, the Memphis Bar Association’s Section on Labor and Employment Law, and the Tennessee and Allegheny County (Pittsburgh) Bar Associations.
Robert D. Meyers
Mr. Meyers is certified as a Civil Trial Specialist by the Tennessee Commission on Continuing Legal Education and Specialization and the National Board of Trial Advocacy.
Mr. Meyers received his B.S. degree from the University of Tennessee at Martin in 1979. He received his B.S.N. degree in 1981 from the University of Tennessee at Memphis, and his J.D. degree from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville in 1986. He was a member of The Tennessee Law Review and president of the Student Bar Association.
Mr. Meyers has varied litigation experience. He has defended companies and individuals before state courts in Tennessee, Texas, Georgia, Louisiana and Virginia. Mr. Meyers has been instrumental in assisting clients in dealing with employee medical issues including ADA, FMLA and workers’ compensation concerns. Additionally, he has extensive experience in representing companies in workers’ compensation actions in the state of Tennessee.
Mr. Meyers is admitted to practice before the state courts in Tennessee, the federal district courts in Eastern, Western and Middle Tennessee, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court. He is a member of the Memphis, Tennessee and American Bar Associations. He is also a member of the Defense Research Institute’s Employment and Governmental Tort Liability Committees.
Paul E. Prather
Mr. Prather represents management exclusively in all areas of employment and labor relations, including state and federal employment litigation throughout the region and in administrative proceedings before the National Labor Relations Board, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the United States Department of Labor.
Mr. Prather has been instrumental in developing and presenting training programs in many areas of employee relations and jury trial litigation. He serves as Executive Editor of the Healthcare Employment Law Letter and is a Contributing Editor of Workplace Privacy: Real Answers and Practical Solutions (Thompson Publishing Group 2000) and has been recognized by his peers in the 2003-04 edition of the Best Lawyers in America and in Chambers USA: America’s Leading Business Lawyers.
Mr. Prather holds an A.A. degree in Speech Communications from Freed-Hardeman University, a B.A. degree summa cum laude and a J.D. degree from the University of Memphis. While attending law school, he served as Editor-in-Chief of The University of Memphis Law Review. Upon graduation in 1982, Mr. Prather served as law clerk for United States District Judge Robert M. McRae, Jr.
Mr. Prather is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court, the United States Courts of Appeals for the Fifth, Sixth, and Eighth Circuits, various federal district courts and the Tennessee Supreme Court. Mr. Prather is a member of the American Bar Association’s Sections on Labor and Employment Law and Litigation, the Defense Research Institute, the Tennessee Bar Association, SHRM, and a Director of the Management Labor and Employment Roundtable.
John W. Simmons
Mr. Simmons is a founding member of the law and consulting firm of Kiesewetter Wise Kaplan Prather, PLC.
Mr. Simmons was admitted to practice law in Tennessee in 1986 and was admitted to practice in Mississippi in 1988. Mr. Simmons represents management clients in all aspects of employment litigation.
Mr. Simmons is the immediate past Chair of the Employment Law Committee of the Section of International Law and Practice of the American Bar Association. Mr. Simmons is also a member of the ABA’s Section of Labor and Employment Law and the ABA’s Section of Business Law. Mr. Simmons co-authored the International Employment 2001 Year-in-Review Article for the Section of International Law and Practice’s quarterly publication, The International Lawyer (Summer 2002, Vol. 36, No. 2, Summer 2003, Vol. 37, No. 2). Mr. Simmons was also a past editorial board member of the is The Mississippi Labor Letter (1995-2000). Mr. Simmons is also the author of Five Questions Board Members of International Companies Should Ask Management About Sustainable Development Workplace Practices (Boardmember.com, February 28, 2002). Mr. Simmons has recently participated in presentations on global employment, labor relations and human rights workplace practices for The World Bank, the American Corporate Counsel Association, Greater New York Chapter, and the Bar of the State of Michigan.
Mr. Simmons’ management practice includes advising clients on employment law and labor relations concerns. He represents management clients in federal and state court employment and labor litigation, in proceedings before various state and federal administrative bodies such as the National Labor Relations Board and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and in arbitration proceedings.
J. Edward Wise
Mr. Wise, before entering private practice, served as a trial and supervisory attorney with the National Labor Relations Board from 1960 through 1965. Thereafter, he devoted his practice in the areas of labor relations and employment law, including employment discrimination, wage and hour and disability rights law. He has been recognized for his work in counseling management regarding labor and employment relations issues
Mr. Wise graduated from Washington and Lee University with an A.B. degree in 1953. He received his L.L.B. from Vanderbilt University in 1956. While in law school, he was a member of the Phi Delta Phi legal fraternity.
Mr. Wise is admitted to practice before the Tennessee Supreme Court and other Tennessee courts, the United States Courts of Appeals for the Fifth and Sixth Circuits, as well as numerous federal district courts.
He is a member of the Labor and Employment Law Sections of the American, Tennessee and Memphis Bar Associations.
Human Resources Consultant:
Patrick T. Fleming
Mr. Fleming received his B.S. degree from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville in 1977. He served for more than 11 years as a human resources professional for a Fortune 500 corporation in various locations throughout the South. As Manager of Human Resources at the corporation’s largest manufacturing facility in Tennessee, Mr. Fleming pioneered a team concept program that later was implemented at various other company locations.
Mr. Fleming’s broad experience includes organizational analysis, government agency investigations, management and supervisory training programs, and the development of personnel policies and procedures. His experience also includes substantial work in the area of union avoidance and representation elections.
Mr. Fleming has been a member of the Society for Human Resource Management, as well as past vice chairman for Tennessee’s Area 11 Private Industry Counsel Job Training Partnership Act.
Associates:
Sylvia R. Adams
Ms. Adams graduated cum laude from Atlantic Union College in South Lancaster, Massachusetts in 1992 with a B.A. degree in English. She received her J.D. degree, cum laude, from University of Minnesota Law School in 1998.
While attending law school, Ms. Adams was a member of the Civil Rights Moot Court competition team and served as the Administrative Director of the National Civil Rights Moot Court Competition. She also was a member of the Minnesota Justice Foundation.
Ms. Adams' experience involves both state and federal employment litigation as well as administrative proceedings before state and federal agencies. Ms. Adams also has experience in assessing workforce concerns and in developing employer programs which are intended to improve employee morale, to develop further relationships between management, employees and the company, to improve productivity and to improve the overall work environment in a company.
Ms. Adams is a member of the Labor and Employment Law Sections of the American, Tennessee, and Memphis Bar Associations, and is admitted to practice before the state courts of Tennessee, Mississippi, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, various federal district courts, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth and Sixth Circuits. She also practices before the National Labor Relations Board in both representation case proceedings and in unfair labor practice litigation.
R. Alex Boals
Mr. Boals attended the University of Virginia, where he received Intermediate Honors for Outstanding Scholarship, and graduated summa cum laude from the University of Memphis in 1999 with a B.A. degree in History. He received his J.D. degree magna cum laude from the University of Memphis in 2003. While attending law school as a Cecil C. Humphreys Merit Scholar, Mr. Boals was a member of the championship team for both the Freshman Moot Court and Advanced Moot Court Competitions. He also served as a member of the University of Memphis Law Review and the Moot Court Board.
Upon graduation, Mr. Boals served as law clerk for the Honorable Alan E. Highers of the Tennessee Court of Appeals for the Western District of Tennessee, where he worked exclusively in the area of civil litigation, including labor and employment issues.
Mr. Boals represents management clients in federal and state court employment litigation, including class action litigation, as well as all phases of labor relations. He is a member of the American and Tennessee Bar Associations and is admitted to practice before the state courts of Tennessee and the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee.
Amber Isom-Thompson
Ms. Isom-Thompson graduated from Rhodes College in Memphis with a B.A. degree in English in 1996, where she was the recipient of a University Scholarship. Ms. Isom-Thompson received her J.D. degree with high distinction from the University of Iowa in 1999. While attending law school, Ms. Isom-Thompson was the recipient of a College of Law Merit Fellowship. She also served as a member of the Journal of Gender, Race & Justice and participated in the Van Oosterhout Memorial Moot Court Competition.
Ms Isom-Thompson represents management clients in federal and state court employment litigation and all phases of labor relations. She is admitted to practice before the state courts of Colorado and Tennessee, the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee and the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
Ms. Isom-Thompson is a member of the Labor and Employment Law Section of the American, Tennessee, Colorado and Memphis Bar Associations.
Lisa L. Leach
Ms. Leach graduated in 1987 with a B.A. degree in Business from Rhodes College in Memphis. She received her J.D. degree from Vanderbilt University in 1990 after participating in a visiting law student program at Columbia University during the 1989-1990 academic year. While attending Vanderbilt University, Ms. Leach served as a member of the Vanderbilt Journal of Transactional Law.
Upon graduation from law school, Ms. Leach served as a law clerk for the Honorable Odell Horton, Chief Judge for the United States District Court, Western District of Tennessee, from 1991-1992. From 1992 to 1998, Ms. Leach served as general counsel for a regional sales company, with a significant portion of her job duties being devoted to training supervisors and to human resources and employment law issues.
Ms Leach is a member of the Labor and Employment Law Sections of the American, Tennessee and Memphis Bar Associations, and she is admitted to practice before the state courts of Tennessee and the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee.
J. Ashley Mills
Ms. Mills attended the University of Central Arkansas, where she graduated cum laude in 2000 with a B.S. degree in Biology. She received her J.D. degree with honors from the University of Arkansas in 2004. While attending law school, Ms. Mills served as a member of the Board of Advocates, the W.B. Putman American Inn of Court and the National First Amendment Moot Court competition team.
Ms. Mills represents management clients in federal and state court employment litigation as well as all phases of labor relations. She is admitted to practice before the state and federal courts of Arkansas and the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee. Ms. Mills is a member of the Arkansas Bar Association.
Brent E. Siler
Mr. Siler graduated with honors from the University of Memphis, Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law where he served as the Chief Justice of the Moot Court Board. Mr. Siler also served on the staff of the University of Memphis Law Review. He is the author of “Should Arbitration Agreements In Employment Agreements Be Enforced Where the Parties Are required to Split Fees” in the University of Memphis Law Review. He received the Dean’s Award for Academic Excellence and CALI and awards for Labor Law, Civil Procedure II, Litigation Clinic, Legal Methods-Best Brief, as well as the Dean’s Distinguished Service Award. He also served as a pupil in the Leo Bearman Sr. American Inn of Court.
Mr. Siler represents employers in federal and state court employment litigation and in proceedings before various state and federal administrative bodies, including the National Labor Relations Board, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Tennessee Department of Employment Security. He is licensed to practice before the state courts of Tennessee and Mississippi, as well as the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, the United States District Courts for the Northern and Southern Districts of Mississippi, and the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. He is a member of the Labor and Employment Law Sections of the American, Tennessee, and Memphis Bar Associations. He is also a member of MPACT Memphis.
Tanja L. Thompson
Ms. Thompson graduated from Rhodes College in Memphis in 1993 with a B.A. degree in English. She received her J.D. degree from the University of Memphis in 1997. While attending law school, Ms. Thompson served as Articles Editor for The University of Memphis Law Review. She also served as an officer of Phi Delta Phi legal fraternity.
Ms. Thompson is the author of Weapons in the Workplace: The Effect of Tennessee’s Concealed Weapons Statute on Employer Liability, 28 University of Memphis Law Review 281 (1997).
Ms. Thompson represents management clients in federal and state court labor and employment litigation, including proceedings before various state and federal administrative agencies such as the National Labor Relations Board and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Additionally, Ms. Thompson conducts employee and supervisory training programs, assists management in union-free initiatives, and represents management in contract negotiations and labor arbitrations.
Ms. Thompson is a member of the Labor and Employment Law Sections of the American, Tennessee, and Memphis Bar Associations and is a member of the American Bar Association’s Committee on the Development of the Law Under the National Labor Relations Board. She is admitted to practice before the state courts of Tennessee, various federal district courts, and the United States Courts of Appeals for the Sixth and Seventh Circuits.
Legal Research Specialist:
R. Bradley Mokros
Mr. Mokros received his B.A. degree in Economics from Washington University at St. Louis in 1984. He worked as a research assistant for Patrick Hardin, Editor-in-Chief of the American Bar Association’s treatise The Developing Labor Law (3rd ed. 1992). While working for Professor Hardin, Mr. Mokros authored Chapter 30 in The Developing Labor Law, “Accommodations to Other Federal Enactments.” Mr. Mokros is an editor of the ABA Section of International Law and Practice’s up-coming book titled Human Rights, Employment Rights and Labor Rights In Employment by Multinational Enterprises in the Developing World.
Mr. Mokros performs legal research and writing in federal and state employment litigation and all areas of labor relations. He assists the firm’s clients with union avoidance matters, including human resources and leadership training for supervisors and consulting activities related to countering low employee morale and union organizing drives. Mr. Mokros prepares affirmative action plans for federal contractors and other employers. He also conducts training seminars on legal writing and research.
Mr. Mokros is on the Editorial Board of Health Care Employment Law Letter, published monthly by M. Lee Smith, and regularly contributes articles on labor and employment law issues impacting health care employers. Mr. Mokros co-authored the International Employment 2001 and 2002 Year-in-Review articles for the Section of International Law and Practice’s quarterly publication, The International Lawyer. In April 2000, Mr. Mokros co-authored a paper presented at the annual meeting of the ABA’s Committee on Employment Rights and Responsibilities titled “Off-Duty Conduct That Can Be Used Against an Employer in Court: A View from the Defense Side on Employee Information That Should Not Be Considered ‘Private’.”
Paralegals:
Paige Downs
Ms. Downs’ work primarily involves document organization and retrieval in major employment litigation. Ms. Downs received a Bachelors of Science degree from the University of Tennessee. She has been with the firm since 2004.
Gena Monroe
Ms. Monroe’s work involves various types of labor and employment litigation. Ms. Monroe received her Bachelors Degree in Business Administration from Christian Brothers University in Memphis, Tennessee. She has over 10 years of legal experience and has been with the firm since 1998.
Rachel Spencer
Ms. Spencer is the Senior Paralegal at Kiesewetter Wise Kaplan Prather, PLC. She works in all areas of labor and employment law. Ms. Spencer attended the University of Mississippi and received an Associate Paralegal Studies degree from Northwest Mississippi Junior College.
Ms. Spencer’s work supports various types of employment litigation in federal and state courts, as well as labor matters before the National Labor Relations Board and arbitrators. She also supports injunction and other legal proceedings regarding covenants not to compete and strikes. She assists the firm’s clients with union avoidance matters, including human resources and leadership training for supervisors.
Ms. Spencer is a member of the National Association of Legal Assistants and the Memphis Paralegal Association. She is charter president of the Mississippi Association of Legal Assistants.
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