Mekesha leads the firm’s Manufacturing Industry Team. She represents management in the areas of union negotiations and arbitration and employment discrimination/wrongful discharge. She has successfully represented companies defending against class and collective actions alleging employment discrimination and wage and hour violations, including class actions under the FMLA, collective actions under the FLSA and EEOC-initiated class actions. Mekesha regularly provides advice and counsel to management responding to union-initiated grievances and has represented management in numerous labor arbitrations. She also has significant experience dealing with issues arising from covenants not to compete and with ERISA and Employee Benefits Litigation.
Mekeshaโs Labor & Employment practice includes working with employers to:
Understanding that each client has different pain points and objectives in dealing with labor & employment matters, Mekesha stays informed with what is happening within the clientsโ industries she serves by attending industry events, reading industry publications and satisfying her natural nosiness through facility tours and field trips. This approach allows her to understand not only the legal challenges her clients are facing, but how those challenges directly impact operations. As a result, she can help to steer clients through a multitude of issues with an immediate understanding of the business context of the legal decisions.
Obtained jury verdict for employer in sexual harassment, gender discrimination, age discrimination and retaliation case.
Enforced individual employee arbitration agreement resulting in prompt settlement of previously highly contested case.
Settled on the eve of trial for nuisance value case where plaintiff had previously demanded a six-figure settlement after winning several key pre-trial motions.
Obtained preliminary injunction against two former employees violating covenants not to compete.
Defeated conditional certification motion for putative FLSA collective action.
Obtained summary judgment for employer in case of first impression in Kentucky state court construing wage statute.
Obtained dismissal of case after successfully enforcing arbitration agreement in age discrimination case.
Obtained summary judgment in favor of employer in intentional infliction of emotional distress case.
Obtained order from United States District Court for D.C. Circuit vacating NLRB order reinstating employee who published newsletter critical to management.
Obtained orders in two different cases denying class certification based on alleged FMLA violations.
Obtained summary judgment in favor of employer in age, gender and disability discrimination case.
Obtained defense verdict in favor of employer at trial in whistleblower action.
University of Kentucky College of Law, J.D., 1999
Kentucky Law Journal; Associate Editor, 1997-1999
University of Kentucky Moot Court, 1997-1998; Secretary/Treasurer, 1998-1999
University of Kentucky, B.A., 1996, cum laude
Departmental honors
Phi Beta Kappa
Kentucky, 1999
Ohio, 2001
Tennessee, 2007
Kentucky Supreme Court
Ohio Supreme Court
Tennessee Supreme Court
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
U.S. District Court for the Eastern and Western Districts of Kentucky
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio
U.S. District Court for the Eastern, Middle and Western Districts of Tennessee
The Best Lawyers in Americaยฉ, Employment Law – Management, 2013-2024
Selected for inclusion in โIn Charge List – Legal,โ Nashville Post, 2021
Selected for inclusion in Mid-South Super Lawyersยฎ, 2012-2014, 2020
Selected for inclusion in โWomen of Influenceโ List, Nashville Business Journal, 2019
Selected for inclusion in โMost Powerful Womenโ List, Nashville Post, 2019
Selected as Nashville ATHENA Award Nominee, Cable, 2017
American Bar Association
Tennessee, Kentucky and Ohio Bar Associations
Nashville Bar Association
Lawyersโ Association for Women, Marion Griffin Chapter
Women Presidentsโ Organization
Greater Nashville Habitat for Humanity, Board of Directors, Administration Committee
Thistle Farms, Board of Directors
Advancing Women in Nashville, Co-Founder
Womenโs Business Collaborative Leadership Circle
October 27, 2023
January 7, 2022
February 19, 2020
November 23, 2016
April 20, 2015