Michael Kelsheimer
Partner

I aim to treat my clients like my closest friends. Sometimes this means a call to stand by their side in a fight and sometimes it means saying what no one else can say. Always, it means trying to ensure the best possible outcome. 

Michael Kelsheimer focuses his practice on the employment law needs of Texas businesses and executives through litigation and, more and more frequently, as a mediator. Clients and lawyers count on Michael to find effective solutions for their disputes and workplace problems in and out of the courtroom.
 
Michael has achieved favorable results for clients and litigants in matters involving discrimination, retaliation, wage/hour, non-competition, contract disputes, trade secret, and the myriad of other issues employers face.  Michael is always on call to guide employers through day-to-day and emergency decisions regarding the hiring, compensation, investigation, discipline and termination of employees.
 
Michael also serves as outside general counsel to several businesses offering both direct advice and leveraging the expertise of his colleagues to help these companies navigate today’s complex business environment.  In service of these clients, Michael has secured favorable solutions to disputes and litigation involving business dissolution, deceptive trade practice, fraud, contract disputes and other complex matters.
 
Michael is the author of the Texas Employer Handbook, a plain-English explanation complex employment issues created to help business owners quickly diagnose problem and avoid the unreliable and impractical advice of other resources.
 
Before joining the firm, Michael worked as a briefing attorney for the Honorable Sam R. Cummings of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, which gave him a unique opportunity to see how a variety of employment and business disputes are evaluated from behind the bench.

Representative Experience

Employment

  • Non-Competition Agreements: Michael has successfully represented employers and employees in post-employment disputes regarding non-competition issues.  Michael has both obtained and precluded injunctions for clients in this area and has significant experience representing physician groups and physician-owned hospitals in this area. 
  • Discrimination Claims:  Michael has successfully defended dozens of discrimination allegations against employers both before governmental agencies and in court cases. 
  • Employment Audits:  Michael has represented and defended numerous employers and physician groups in overtime and misclassification audits before the Internal Revenue Service, Department of Labor, and Texas Workforce Commission.
  • Proactive Planning:  Michael is a big proponent of proactive planning to avoid issues with audits and claims later.  He has conducted innumerable preventative employment practice audits for employers and healthcare providers.
  • Employment Agreements:  Michael regularly prepares and reviews employment agreements for executives and employers in the medical field and all other areas of business. 

Commercial Litigation

  • Michael has recovered monies for clients in contract disputes,  real estate, construction, collection, deceptive trade practices, and other areas.
  • Michael has successfully defended multi-million dollar clients in breach of contract, deceptive trade, foreclosure, and personal injury litigation.
  • Successfully defended appeals to the Texas Supreme Court on matters of real estate and arbitration.
Thought Leadership / News
Spotlights
Honors
  • Selected as a Rising Star by Texas Super Lawyers (a Thomson Reuters business) as published in Texas Monthly and Law & Politics magazine (2008 - 2012)
Related Employment
  • Briefing Attorney, United States Federal District Court Judge Sam R. Cummings (2000 - 2001)
Organizational Involvement

Professional Activities, Memberships & Affiliations

  • Texas Association of Mediators, Association of Attorney-Mediators, Dallas Bar Association
  • Chair of U.S. Employment Section, Lexwork International (2013 - 2016)
  • State Bar of Texas

Community Activities, Memberships & Affiliations

Education
  • Certificate in Dispute Resolution, Pepperdine University School of Law (2022)
  • J.D., Baylor University School of Law (2000)
  • B.A., Economics and Political Science, Texas Tech University (1996)
Bar Admission
  • Texas
Court Admissions
  • United States Tax Court
  • United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit
  • United States District Court, Northern District of Texas
  • United States District Court, Southern District of Texas
  • United States District Court, Eastern District of Texas
  • United States District Court, Western District of Texas
When I Feel Most At Home
  • History Buff – “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat . . .”
  • Track Day – Straight roads are for fast cars.  Corners are for fast drivers!
  • Sporting Clays – Pull!  Aim . . . Shoot . . . Smash!
  • Dog Walker – I aspire to be the person my dogs think I am.