Parker Hudson assists Georgia inmate in Eleventh Circuit appeal raising important issues for incarcerated plaintiffs asserting violations of First Amendment rights
Oct 23, 2019
anne baroody
Associate
Atlanta
Overview
Anne is an associate in the firm’s Litigation practice group. She focuses on complex commercial disputes and litigation before federal and state courts, and in arbitration proceedings. While Anne’s prior clerkship experience helps her adeptly navigate federal and state courts, she also works hard to find pre-litigation and negotiated solutions for her clients.
Anne enjoys guiding clients in numerous industries through commercial and unfair competition disputes. Her matters often involve trade secrets, restrictive covenants, business torts, deceptive practices, trademarks, marketing, contract disputes, employment discrimination, and consumer protection statutes, such as the TCPA. In every matter, Anne channels her analytical style and attention to detail to develop and highlight the strengths of her client’s case.
Experience
- Represented a large financial services institution in a series of lawsuits with a major competitor that involved allegations of corporate raiding, misappropriation of trade secrets, and alleged violation of restrictive covenants. The competitor of our client and a former employee initiated a lawsuit in state court, seeking a temporary restraining order to prevent our client from enforcing certain restrictive covenants. The firm removed the case to federal court and successfully defeated a motion to remand when the federal court found that the competitor had fraudulently joined an affiliate of our client in an effort to defeat diversity jurisdiction. The competitor then withdrew its motion for temporary restraining order and instead filed a motion for preliminary injunction. The firm then asserted several counterclaims against the competitor and former employee, defending the enforceability of the restrictive covenants and asserting trade secret claims, tort claims, and claims for breaches of the covenants. After some discovery, the competitor and former employee withdrew their motion for preliminary injunction, and the case resulted in a substantial settlement in favor of our client.
- Represent two entrepreneurs in defense of claims for alleged misappropriation of trade secrets, misuse of confidential information, trademark infringement, and related claims. The case involves new, cutting-edge technology relating to small satellites (cube satellites) and the internet of things. The firm obtained summary judgment for our clients on several claims, including on the plaintiff's claims for trademark infringement, breach of contractual client and employee non-solicits, and violation of the Georgia computer systems protection statute.
- Served as lead counsel on behalf of a national broker/dealer client in a series of FINRA arbitrations arising out the departure of multiple employees following the client's sale of its wealth division. The firm filed individual arbitrations to recover amounts owed by the former employees and defended against their various employment-related counterclaims. The firm was successful in recovering over $16 million for the client and defeating more than $17 million in claims against the client.
- Defend national clinical lab testing company against claims of race, age, color, sex, national origin, and disability discrimination and retaliation brought by senior level current employee. Following dismissal of some claims, we were able to resolve remaining claims through lower-cost settlement.
- Represent inmate in appeal to the Eleventh Circuit from adverse judgment on First Amendment retaliation claims against prison officials.
- Assisted the Lawyers’ Committee for Cultural Heritage Preservation (LCCHP) in drafting an Amicus Brief in support of a Petition for Certiorari in the United States Supreme Court in Schoeps v. Free State of Bavaria, Federal Republic of Germany, Docket No. 15-447. The LCCHP argued that the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act of 1976 should be read to permit the heirs of Nazi-confiscated-art victims to bring suit for restitution of those artworks held in foreign public art collections in federal court in New York, a prominent hub in the global art market, consistent with modern personal jurisdiction principles.
- Represent several tenants threatened with eviction and assist tenants in asserting wrongful eviction claims through participation in the Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation Saturday Lawyer Program and Eviction Defense Program. In one such matter, successfully vacated a prior writ of possession and won monetary judgment following a bench trial on behalf of a tenant who was wrongfully evicted by former roommate.
Areas of focus
- Alternative Dispute Resolution
- Appellate Litigation
- Business Torts & Unfair Competition
- Commercial Disputes
- Consumer Class and Mass Action Defense
- Financial Services Litigation
- Franchise Disputes
- Intellectual Property & Restrictive Covenants
Education
- University of Georgia School of Law (J.D., summa cum laude, 2014) Georgia Law Review (Managing and Editorial Boards); Appellate Litigation Clinic; Order of the Coif
- Davidson College (B.A., cum laude, 2009) Phi Beta Kappa
Accolades
- Selected as a Georgia Super Lawyers "Rising Star" in Business Litigation by Law & Politics Media and Atlanta Magazine (2018, 2019) (top 2.5% of attorneys in Georgia 40 years old or younger or in practice 10 years or less)
- Winner of the Andrew P. Vance Memorial Writing Competition - Hosted by the Customs and International Trade Bar Association and Brooklyn Law School
- Winner of the LCCHP Student Writing Competition - Hosted by the Lawyers’ Committee for Cultural Heritage Preservation
Professional affiliations
- Barrister, Lumpkin Inn of Court (2018-2020)
- Volunteer Lawyer, Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation
- Advisory Board Member, Georgia Lawyer for the Arts
- Advocacy Committee Member, Lawyers’ Committee for Cultural Heritage Preservation
- Meritas Young Lawyer Representative
Admitted to practice
- Georgia
- United States District Court, Northern District of Georgia
- United States District Court, Middle District of Georgia
- United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit
Clerkship
- The Honorable Orinda D. Evans, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia