Lincoln O. Bisbee

A seasoned litigator with both first- and second-chair experience, Lincoln handles a wide range of matters for clients in an assortment of different industries. He has represented clients in hundreds of disputes—in tribunals across more than 25 states—including cases under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX), the Dodd-Frank Act, the Wendell H. Ford Aviation Investment and Reform Act for the 21st Century (AIR21), the False Claims Act (FCA), the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII), the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), the Equal Pay Act (EPA), Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act of 1866 (Section 1981), the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the Energy Reorganization Act (ERA), the Surface Transportation Assistance Act (STAA), the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), the Railway Labor Act (RLA), the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA), and various state employment laws.

In addition to representing clients in all phases of litigation at both the trial court and appellate levels, Lincoln counsels clients on issues such as responding to whistleblowers, discrimination and harassment complaints, wage and hour compliance, trade secret protection, and employee hiring, discipline, and termination. He also conducts investigations of whistleblower allegations, discrimination and harassment claims, and potential misappropriation of confidential, proprietary, and trade secret information.

Lincoln regularly assists clients with their most critical and delicate employment matters, including issues arising at the C-suite and board levels. He frequently advises on matters where crisis management is a substantial part of the representation and where the stakes extend well beyond the courtroom.

Lincoln's work has been recognized repeatedly by a number of publications, including The Legal 500, Benchmark Litigation, Lawdragon, Human Resources Executive, and Best Lawyers in America. Among other recognitions, The Legal 500 has quoted clients who describe Lincoln as “creative in finding solutions to complex litigation problems” and note that he “displays a level of professional acumen and judgment that other attorneys don’t provide.”

Earlier in his career, Lincoln clerked for Judge Benson Everett Legg, then chief judge of the US District Court for the District of Maryland. 

Whistleblower and Discrimination Cases

• For a major aerospace and aircraft manufacturing company, first-chaired multiple trials in which the company defeated whistleblower claims before the US Department of Labor
• For a leading defense contractor, first-chaired a SOX whistleblower trial before the US Department of Labor and co-led an appellate team that obtained a Fourth Circuit decision dismissing the plaintiff’s complaint due to a lack of protected activity
• Represented numerous airlines, aircraft manufacturers, and other aviation companies in whistleblower litigation under AIR21, SOX, Dodd-Frank, and state law
• For a major financial services company, won motion to dismiss SOX and Dodd-Frank whistleblower claims
• For a large nuclear power provider, won summary judgment on whistleblower claims under the ERA
• Represented a major aerospace and aircraft manufacturing company in numerous cases where the company won motions to dismiss and for summary judgment on a wide assortment of whistleblower and discrimination claims
• For a leading defense contractor, tried multiple arbitrations and obtained full defense judgments on discrimination and fraud claims
• For a leading management consulting firm, led briefing and successfully argued a federal court appeal resulting in the complete dismissal of age discrimination claims
• For a large energy utility, retained for oral argument in a federal court appeal resulting in the complete dismissal of race discrimination and hostile work environment claims

Class and Collective Actions

• For a national retailer, defeated conditional certification for approximately 10,000 putative class members in a nationwide FLSA collective action involving time-shaving and off-the-clock claims with potential damages of approximately $1 billion under the plaintiff’s theory
• For a national staffing company, defeated class certification in an action claiming that recruiters were misclassified as overtime exempt and that trainees were not compensated for off-the-clock work
• For a leading healthcare company, defeated class and collective action certification in an action claiming that employees were improperly paid after their regularly scheduled payday
• For a major telecommunications and media company, defeated class certification in multiple class actions claiming that call center employees were not compensated for off-the-clock work
• For a leading healthcare company, obtained a precedential Tenth Circuit decision holding that a class of homecare companion employees were properly classified as exempt under Colorado law, an issue of first impression
• For a national staffing company, won summary judgment on a claim that a recruiter was misclassified as overtime exempt, thereby mooting class action claims
• For a leading healthcare company, won summary judgment on the named plaintiff’s FLSA claim in a collective action alleging failure to timely pay wages
• For a national quick-service restaurant company, obtained complete dismissal of a class action alleging failure to provide meal and rest breaks under state law
• For a leading healthcare company, won motion to dismiss nationwide class claims covering tens of thousands of employees based on extraterritoriality and Dormant Commerce Clause arguments
• For a nationwide retailer, obtained complete dismissal of a class action claiming that commissioned employees were denied overtime and other premium pay under state law
• For a leading healthcare company, won motion to dismiss a nationwide collective action alleging failure to pay overtime to home health aides based on a novel argument concerning the FLSA’s statute of limitations
• In a USERRA class action for a major airline, won summary judgment on named plaintiffs’ pension, profit-sharing, vacation accrual, and discrimination claims, thereby mooting class claims valued by plaintiffs as more than $300 million
• For a leading defense contractor, persuaded plaintiff to dismiss a nationwide FCRA class action at the pleading phase 

Trade Secret & Noncompete Matters

• For a large government contractor, first-chaired a contentious preliminary injunction hearing, won a preliminary injunction, and negotiated a permanent injunction in a trade secret theft case involving competing proposals for a $1.5 billion government contract
• For a national transportation company, obtained a permanent injunction in a noncompete action where a high-level executive joined a competitor and created potential damages of close to $100 million
• Successfully prosecuted a trade secret theft matter involving a C-suite executive who misappropriated thousands of confidential files following his separation of employment
• For a major defense contractor, won dismissal of tortious interference claims arising out of a noncompete dispute and had the dismissal upheld by the DC Circuit on an issue of first impression under District of Columbia law
• For a national retailer, successfully negotiated the hiring of a senior executive whose prior employer threatened to bring a non-compete action blocking the hire
• For a technology startup, assisted with the hiring of multiple high-level sales employees subject to non-compete agreements