Partner | Fisher Phillips

D. Albert Brannen

As the partner of the Atlanta office, Bert Brannen mentors attorneys in the Atlanta office and helps them serve the Firm’s clients.

Bert advises employers on a wide variety of union-related matters and assists them with the administration, negotiation, mediation and arbitration of collective bargaining agreements. He also counsels employers who want to remain union-free with training, preventive strategies and counter-organizing educational campaigns.

Employers rely on Bert to help avoid workplace crises, comply with all applicable laws and prevent litigation. As part of his preventive practice, he prepares and reviews documents associated with the employment experience, including employee handbooks, employment contracts, restrictive covenants, ethics and confidentiality agreements, non-competition or non-solicitation agreements, and severance agreements.

The esteemed College of Labor and Employment Lawyers admitted Bert in 2015. He is “AV” Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell and has been included in Georgia Super Lawyers since 2005. He has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America since 2010 and has been recognized as a member of Georgia’s “Legal Elite.”

Attorney | Elarbee Thompson

Keely Collins

As both counselor and advocate for businesses large and small across all sectors, unionized and non-unionized, Keely takes a practical approach to advising and advocating for businesses nationwide. Both small family businesses and corporate boards of directors have benefited from Keely’s attention to the details of law and business, creative solutions, and zealous advocacy for businesses in negotiations before numerous administrative agencies, and in all levels of state and federal court. As an experienced collaborator with large organizations’ in-house counsel and general and employment counsel, Keely is trusted by other attorneys to strengthen the value they offer to the organizations they serve.

Keely was selected by her peers as a 2019 Super Lawyers Rising Star. She holds an LL.M. in tax, with a specialization in employee benefits, from Villanova University School of Law, and she earned her Juris Doctorate from Widener University School of Law.

Of Counsel | Hall Benefits Law

Fred Dawkins

Fred Dawkins has over 29 years’ experience helping public and private employers manage personnel-related issues. Mr. Dawkins’ services include providing day-to-day counselling on workplace matters; handling discrimination, harassment, and unpaid overtime claims; advisement on performance management and disciplinary matters; conducting training for supervisors; and performing workplace investigations. Mr. Dawkins’ specific expertise also includes diversity and inclusion training, and counselling on leave obligation requirements, disability accommodation requirements, and severance plans/reductions in force.

For seven years, Mr. Dawkins served on the board of directors of Atlanta Diversity Managers Advocacy Group (ADMAG). He is on the Partnership Gwinnett Advisory Committee and chaired the Partnership Gwinnett Diversity Leadership Council. Mr. Dawkins is a graduate of the 2016 Leadership Gwinnett class, and a member of the Citizens’ Advisory Board of Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful, the board of directors of the Gwinnett County Chamber of Commerce, the board of directors of the Gwinnett County Police Foundation, and the Board of Trustees of Eastside Medical Center.

Shareholder | Ogletree Deakins

Greg Hare

Greg Hare has been an employment lawyer at Ogletree his entire career, ever since 1991. He assists companies with human resources and employment-related litigation matters, including wrongful termination claims, sexual harassment, employment discrimination, employment contracts, trade secrets, and non-compete agreements.

He advises clients on a wide range of human resources topics, such as drug testing, employee discipline and discharge, severance planning, independent contractor classifications, wage payment, family and medical leave, disability law, military leave, joint employment issues, affirmative action and reductions in force.

Mr. Hare also counsels clients on traditional labor relations matters involving union avoidance, decertification, strike contingency planning, double-breasting, grievance administration and arbitration, collective bargaining, unfair labor practice litigation, and other matters involving the National Labor Relations Board, including “protected concerted activity” cases.

Mr. Hare encourages companies to develop proactive human resources strategies that are designed to minimize exposure to costly litigation and disputes. This commonly includes conducting comprehensive employment law compliance audits, employment policy design and review, management training and counseling, and simulated problem solving workshops.

Member | Cozen O'Connor

Aaron Holt

Aaron is board certified in labor and employment law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and partners with employers and human resources professionals across the country to provide practical legal advice, solve employment disputes, and avoid costly litigation. Aaron exclusively represents employers across the country and his clients include Fortune 500 companies in the manufacturing, grocery, retail, gaming, hospitality, health care, banking, and energy industries.

When litigation cannot be avoided, Aaron’s decades of trial experience as a former felony prosecutor in Houston, Texas informs his litigation strategy and practice legal advice to employers on all types of labor and employment litigation issues. This experience includes defending against single plaintiff lawsuits, class actions, and investigations resulting in litigation brought by state and federal administrative agencies, such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Aaron’s traditional labor experience includes representing management before the National Labor Relations Board involving union elections, claims of unfair labor practices, injunction hearings, and labor arbitrations.

Because of Aaron’s practical and common-sense advice and counsel to a wide variety of employers and industries, he is often interviewed by newspapers, television programs, and magazines. To name a few, Aaron has been quoted in Texas Monthly, National Public Radio (NPR), Bloomberg Law, The Huffington Post, the Chicago Tribune, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal. Aaron is also a contributing author to the American Bar Association’s Midwinter Treatise on the Fair Labor Standards Act in 2019, 2020, and 2021, as well as a contributing author to the American Bar Association’s How to Take a Case Before the NLRB.

Aaron earned his undergraduate degree from Texas A&M University and his law degree from Texas Tech University School of Law.