Ed Sullivan is an experienced Houston employment attorney who is Board Certified in Labor and Employment Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. He represents companies, executives, and employees in labor and employment disputes, and is known for his quick wit, diligent advocacy, and plain-spokenness.
--Argued and won before the U.S. Supreme Court in Hewitt v. Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc., an important case under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. He previously argued and won the same case before 18 judges of the en banc U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
--Obtained several favorable verdicts at trial for both companies and employees, including one of the largest verdicts recorded in a single-plaintiff retaliation trial in the Southern District of Texas -- over $3 million, more than 30 times the ex-employee’s annual pay.
--Defended well-known companies in cutting-edge discrimination class action cases that garnered national attention.
--Awarded the University of Houston Law Center's "Private Practice Achievement Award" in 2023 at its 46th Annual Law Gala and Auction.
Ed was born in Alice, Texas. He attended high school in San Antonio, graduating second in his class from Antonian College Preparatory in 1989. He then attended the University of Texas at Austin, graduating early with a double major in Government and History and a minor in English.
After college, he moved to Washington D.C. to work for U.S. Congressman Dick Armey as a Legislative Analyst. He toiled away reading legislation and then writing summaries of it for Members of Congress, most of whom neither read the actual legislation nor his summaries.
He soon grew weary of our nation’s capital, particularly its high rent and lack of available parking. He drove back to Texas to attend law school at the University of Houston Law Center. During law school, he dedicated most of his time putting his verbal and social talents to use on the school’s mock trial team, which he later coached for ten years.
After law school, he joined the Texas Attorney General’s office in Austin and represented the state before every federal district court in Texas, and handled dozens of appeals before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Marcia A. Crone, now a District Judge, hired him as her Law Clerk within the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division, where he worked from 2000-2002. After assisting Judge Crone with hundreds of cases, he liked labor and employment cases the most, primarily because of the passionate parties, intriguing facts, and challenging legal intricacies.
In 2002, he joined Seyfarth Shaw LLP, one of the nation’s most respected labor and employment law firms, which assigned him to work on some of its most complex cases. In 2005, the firm made him the youngest partner in the then 600+ attorney firm.
In 2010, he co-founded Oberti Sullivan LLP to set the standard for employment lawyers in Houston. He only takes on matters he believes in and works diligently every day to get the best result possible for his clients.
In his spare time, he is a top player of Diplomacy and blogs about this challenging strategy game.
Pictured below is famous sketch artist Todd Crespi's depiction of Ed's October 12, 2022, Supreme Court argument.
J.D., University of Houston (1997)
Order of the Barristers
State Bar of Texas (Labor and Employment Section)
Supreme Court of the United States
United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
United States District Courts for the Southern, Northern, Eastern, and Western Districts of Texas
United States District Court for the District of Colorado
Texas Board of Legal Specialization (Labor and Employment)
Fellow in the College of The State Bar of Texas
Houston Bar Association (Labor and Employment Section)
Board of Directors, Regis School of the Sacred Heart (2017-2023); Chair (2021-2023)
"The Impact of Recent Supreme Court and Fifth Circuit Cases on Your Employment Practice," Houston Bar Association's Labor and Employment Section (September 2024)
“Top Fifth Circuit Employment Law Cases of 2023,” State Bar of Texas, Austin, Texas (January 2024)
“Supreme Surprise: How a Texas Employment Lawyer Found Himself Before the U.S. Supreme Court,” Southern District of Texas, Houston, Texas (June 2023)
“Supreme Surprise: How a Texas Employment Lawyer Found Himself Before the U.S. Supreme Court,” State Bar of Texas Labor and Employment Section (June 2023). Presentation here.
“Not Exempt! Helix Energy Solutions v. Hewitt: The Houston Perspective,” Federal Bar Association (Houston Chapter), Houston, Texas (March 2023)
“Supreme Surprise: How a Texas Employment Lawyer Found Himself Before the U.S. Supreme Court,” University of North Texas (March 2023)
“Top Fifth Circuit Employment Law Cases of 2022,” State Bar of Texas, Austin, Texas (January 2023)
“Supreme Surprise: How a Texas Employment Lawyer Found Himself Before the U.S. Supreme Court,” American Inns of Court (Beaumont Chapter), Beaumont, Texas (January 2023). Presentation here.
“Supreme Surprise: How a Texas Employment Lawyer Found Himself Before the U.S. Supreme Court,” National Employment Law Institute (Houston Chapter), Houston, Texas (January 2023). Presentation here.
"Top Fifth Circuit Cases of 2021-22," Houston Bar Association (August 2022)
"Top Fifth Circuit Cases of 2021," State Bar of Texas, via Zoom (January 2022)
"Effective Mediation Strategies," State Bar of Texas, via Zoom (April 2021)
"Top Fifth Circuit Cases of 2020," Houston Bar Association's Labor and Employment Section, via Zoom (February 2021)
"Top Fifth Circuit Cases of 2020," State Bar of Texas, via Zoom (February 2021)
"Employment Law in the Wake of COVID-19” LNH Leadership North Houston, Houston TX (December 2020)
"Best Practices and Strategies for Litigating Non-Compete Agreements," State Bar of Texas, via Zoom (May 2020)
"Top 10 Damage Traps For Lawyers Bringing Employment Law Cases," Houston Bar Association, via Zoom (May 2020)
"Top 15 Fifth Circuit Employment Law Cases of 2019," State Bar of Texas, Austin, TX (December 2019)
"Best Mediation Practices," Oberti Sullivan CLE, Houston, TX (May 2019)
"What Mediators Need to Know About Employment Litigation," Houston Bar Association, Houston, TX (May 2019)
“Top 15 Fifth Circuit Employment Law Cases of 2018,” State Bar of Texas, Austin, TX (January 2019)
“Top 15 Fifth Circuit Employment Law Cases of 2018,” Houston Bar Association, Houston, TX (January 2019)
"Ethics in the Workplace - How To Handle The Sensitive Investigation," Institute for Energy Law, Houston, TX (October 2018)
"SLAPP Your Opponents (And Save Your Clients Lots Of Money) By Learning About The Texas Anti-SLAPP Act, The Most Useful New Tool In The Employment Lawyer’s Toolkit," State Bar of Texas, Austin, TX (October 2018)
"Best Mediation Practices," Oberti Sullivan CLE, Houston, TX (June 2018)
“Top 15 Fifth Circuit Employment Law Cases of 2017,” State Bar of Texas, Austin, TX (February 2018)
“Top 12 Fifth Circuit Employment Law Cases of 2017,” Houston Bar Association, Houston, TX (January 2018)
"Top 10 Labor and Employment Law Mistakes Employers Make," State Bar of Texas, Austin, TX (November 2017)
"2017: Cutting Edge Retaliation and Whistleblowing Claims And Defenses," State Bar of Texas, Austin, TX (August 2017)
"Suing or Defending the Departing Texas Employee, Including Non-Competes, Trade Secrets, and Fiduciary Duties," Houston Bar Association, Houston, TX (June 2017)
"Injunctive Relief-What Judges Care About," Oberti Sullivan CLE, Houston, TX (May 2017)
"Top 12 Mistakes Made By Employers And How To Counsel Your Client To Avoid Them," Houston Bar Association, Houston, TX (May 2017)
"Sexual Harassment In The Workplace," KCOH Radio, Houston, TX (April 2017)
"2017 Non-Compete, Trade Secrets, and Inevitable Disclosures," State Bar of Texas, Austin, TX (April 2017)
"Top Ten Fifth Circuit Employment Law Cases of 2016," Houston Bar Association, Houston, TX (March 2017)
"Top Ten Fifth Circuit Employment Law Cases of 2016," State Bar of Texas, Austin, TX (February 2017)
"Ten ADA Issues That Continue to Confound and Confuse Employers, and Give Hope To Even Slightly Impaired Plaintiffs and their Lawyers," State Bar of Texas, Austin TX (November 2016)
“Top 10 Ways Plaintiffs Try to Prove Pretext in Discrimination and Retaliation Cases,” State Bar of Texas, Austin, TX (August 2016)
"ADA Issues That Continue to Confound and Confuse Employers, and Give Hope To Even Slightly Impaired Plaintiffs and their Lawyers," Houston Bar Association's Labor & Employment Section, Houston, Texas (August 2016)
"Top 5 Fifth CIrcuit Cases of the Past 12 Months," Oberti Sullivan CLE, Houston, TX (May 2016)
"Top 10 Fifth Circuit Cases Of the Past Twelve Months," Houston Bar Association, Houston, TX (April 2016)
"In House Counsel Employment Law Primer: 10 Tips For Identifying Risk, Minimizing Liability, and Creating Clarity and Calm out of Confusion and Chaos," State Bar of Texas, Austin, TX (March 2016)
"Top 10 Recent Fifth Circuit Cases," State Bar of Texas, Austin, Texas (November 2015)
"Voir Dire: Finding Your Enemies," UT Law CLE, Houston, TX (October 2015)
"Labor and Employment Seminar," Jackson Walker LLP Presentation, Houston, TX (October 2015)
“The Fifth Circuit and Employment Law Cases 2014-2015: What You Need To Know,” Houston Bar Association's Labor and Employment Section, Houston, TX (October 2015)
"Hot Topics In Employment Law," Annual Judicial Education Conference, Dallas, TX (September 2015)
"The FLSA: Ask the 800lb Gorillas," Oberti Sullivan LLP CLE, Houston, TX (April 2015)
"Top 10 Employment Law Issues In The Oil Patch," State Bar of Texas, Austin, TX (April 2015)
"Recent Developments in Causation Standards in Employment Cases," 2015 Advanced Employment Law CLE in Dallas, Texas (January 2015)
"Four Examples of Modern Constitutional Interpretation," Garland Walker American Inn of Court, Houston, TX (January 2015)
"Top 10 Fifth Circuit Employment Law Cases Every Lawyer Must Know," State Bar of Texas, Austin, TX (October 2014)
"Voir Dire Tactics," State Bar of Texas, Austin, TX (October 2014).
"FLSA Litigation: Views from the Tips of the Spears," Houston Bar Association's Labor and Employment Section, Houston, TX (August 2014)
"ADA and FMLA: Solving Their Most Complex Challenges," Top Trial Lawyer CLE, Houston, Texas (May 2014)
"Sex, Words, and 50 Shades of Causation," Fifth Circuit Judicial Conference, San Antonio, Texas (May 2014)
"ADA: Direct Threat and Enforcing Conduct Rules," State Bar of Texas, Austin, Texas (April 2014)
“Department of Labor Practice & Procedure,” Houston Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Section, Houston, Texas (January 2014)
“Supreme Court Review,” Houston Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Section, Houston, Texas (August 2013)
“Punitive Damages: How Employers Avoid Them, How Employees Obtain Them,” South Texas College of Law’s In House Counsel Conference and 26th Annual Employment Law Conference, Houston, Texas (July 2013)
“2013 Update: Texas Noncompete Law; Trade Secrets Litigation; Texas Adopts The Uniform Trade Secrets Act; Inevitable Disclosure Doctrine; and Fiduciary Duties,” State Bar of Texas, Austin, Texas (June 2013)
“15 Things You Need To Know About The New Wave of Retaliation, Dodd-Frank, and SOX Whistleblower Claims,” State Bar of Texas, Austin, Texas (March 2013)
“Top 10 Ethical Traps for Employment Lawyers (And How To Avoid Them),” State Bar of Texas, Austin, Texas (November 2012)
"Employment Law Ethics - Surreptitiously Recording Conversations," American Petroleum Labor Lawyers' Association, Houston, Texas (October 2012)
"Employment Law 2012 - 10 Hot New Developments All Lawyers Need to Know," State Bar of Texas, Austin, Texas (July 2012)
"FLSA: How to Prosecute and Defend Texas Overtime Claims," State Bar of Texas (December 2011)
"Rumbles in the 'C' Suite – Representing Texas Executives in Employment Disputes," State Bar of Texas (October 2011)
"Retaliation Claims: Welcome to the Danger Zone," State Bar of Texas, Austin, Texas (July 2011)
"Analysis of the Supreme Court's Decision in Wal-mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes," Oberti Sullivan LLP website (June 2011)
"A Day in the Life Of An Employment Lawyer," University of Houston Law Center, Houston, Texas (February 2011)
"Family and Medical Leave Act – How to Comply," State Bar of Texas, Austin, Texas (February 2011)
"Texas Non-Compete and Trade Secrets Update," State Bar of Texas, Austin, Texas (December 2010)
"Alternative Fee Arrangements In The New Economy" Garland Walker American Inn of Court, Houston, Texas (November 2010)
"Ethical Issues In The Employment Context," Houston Bar Association, Houston, Texas (November 2010)
"Disability Law Update 2010," Houston Bar Association, Houston, Texas, (October 2010)
"Top 10 Mistakes Employers Make, and How to Prevent Them."
FLSA Litigation – Including Collective Actions" University of Houston Advanced Employment Law CLE, Houston, Texas (May 2009)
"Disability Law Update 2009"
"Courtroom Advocacy," Illinois Bar Association, Chicago Illinois (November 2008)
"Handling Reductions In Force in This Economy," Seyfarth Shaw LLP Breakfast Briefing in Houston, Texas (November 2008)
"Five Ways to Reduce Employment Litigation Costs," Association of Corporate Counsel of America, Houston, Texas (May 2008)
