Bell Nunnally attorney Katie Beaird has been elevated to partner, effective January 1. Beaird, who joined the firm in 2017, was previously a senior associate.
“Katie is a core member of our labor and employment and litigation practices and has become essential counsel for her clients, advising on intricate and mission-critical workplace issues and skillfully representing an array of employers before regulatory bodies and in the courtroom,” said Christopher Trowbridge, Bell Nunnally managing partner. “We congratulate her on this next step in her career and look forward to her continued contributions to our clients’ success.”
Beaird assists employers in all aspects of labor and employment and related workplace litigation – including state and federal agency investigations and inquiries, workplace policies and handbooks and employee agreements. She works with business and human resources managers and in-house legal departments to ensure compliance with all applicable laws. Beaird also counsels both employers and employees with respect to employment agreements and contracts, such as executive compensation, severance, noncompete and non-solicitation. She has experience representing employers in governmental investigations and audits, defending against claims of discrimination, harassment and retaliation before the Texas Workforce Commission, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and in both state and federal courts. As part of her role assisting clients with workplace compliance, Beaird reviews and updates workplace trainings and often presents legal updates to management and human resource professionals.
In addition to authoring numerous firm-issued client alerts, Beaird has contributed thought-leadership articles to outlets including Chambers and Partners and Texas Lawyer. She has also presented on labor and employment issues to organizations including the Dallas Bar Association and the Texas Association of Defense Counsel. Among Beaird’s accolades are: The Best Lawyers in America’s “Ones to Watch” list (2022-2023), Super Lawyers “Texas Rising Star (2021-2022) and “Associate of the Inn” for the Patrick E. Higginbotham Inn of Court. Outside the office, Beaird gives back to the community as a member of the board of directors for Dallas-based social services organization Family Gateway. She is a graduate of Baylor Law School (J.D., magna cum laude, 2014) and Texas A&M University (B.A., summa cum laude, 2011).