Profile
When I was an in-house lawyer, I experienced many frustrations with outside counsel regarding billing practices, communication and responsiveness, consistency and cost. I left in-house life with the intent to “re-invent” the practice of law and the way that legal services are delivered and priced. I wanted every interaction with a client to be a positive one that showed I (1) understand their business and the impact upon it that the problem at hand caused; (2) I recognize the level of expertise and work required to solve their problems; and (3) that the benefit of solving the problem should have a direct connection to the cost of that resolution. Taylor English is a collection of like-minded lawyers and the firm allows me to be an entrepreneurial business partner with my clients and to customize solutions and pricing to fit each problem.
Steve Whitehead is a former general counsel of a multinational staffing company who left his in-house practice to “re-invent” the experience of clients in interacting with outside counsel and in obtaining solutions to their problems. While in-house, Mr. Whitehead was the head of his company’s franchise and strategic accounts divisions, and this business operations experience enhances the practical, business-oriented legal assistance that he provides to clients.
Mr. Whitehead represents management in disputes involving the employer-employee relationship. He has represented employers in federal and state courts throughout the United States and defends employers on matters ranging from individual and class action discrimination and wage and hour lawsuits to state actions involving non-competes, restrictive covenants, breach of contract, commissions disputes, and other state law claims. Mr. Whitehead also represents employers before state and federal agencies including the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL).
Mr. Whitehead has deep experience in legal issues involving the staffing, contingent labor and employment solutions industry, having represented companies in the industry for more than 25 years. He provides outside general counsel and other services to staffing companies that are located throughout the United States and advises clients on commercial matters, service agreements, insurance, risk management and employment-related issues. Mr. Whitehead often collaborates with the American Staffing Association regarding legal and business issues facing the industry.
Mr. Whitehead also provides outside general counsel services to organizations outside the staffing industry and has an understanding of a wide array of legal issues that allows him to assist his clients in solving their legal problems. He assists clients in managing their legal spend by ensuring that the solution in both expertise and cost meets the problem and its impact on the client’s business.
Mr. Whitehead is married and has two children.
Memberships
State Bar of Georgia
Atlanta Bar Association
American Staffing Association
Community Involvement
Senior Services of North Fulton, Board Member, 2011-2012
CobbWorks, Board Member, 2012-2013
Atlanta Union Mission, provides pro bono legal services.
Practice Highlights
Experience
Prepared and filed a utility patent application for a new fastening technology and a machine and process for implementing the technology in an automobile industry application. The client, a multinational manufacturer of fastener products, developed the technology.
Successfully litigated claims that the IRS imposed unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination against 41 non-profit educational and advocacy groups.
Provide general legal services to several temporary staffing companies and recruitment process outsourcing organizations. Some of these services have included redesigning the client’s contracting process and agreements and assistance in reviewing and negotiating contract terms.
Won summary judgment against the plaintiff’s claim for minimum and overtime wages under the Fair Labor Standards Act based upon the fact that the plaintiff was exempt under the computer professional exemption.
Represented the plaintiff to a satisfactory resolution in companion litigation in Georgia and Colorado to enforce restrictive covenants and obtain protection against the misappropriation of trade secrets.
Hecht v. Laurelbrook Sanitarium and School
Represented the defendant, a Seventh Day Adventist school and sanitarium, against claims brought by the plaintiff under Tennessee’s workers’ compensation statutes. The defendant’s defense was based in part under the United States Constitution and the Tennessee Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
Wrote amicus curiae brief in support of challenge to Minnesota statutes limiting free speech activities near voting areas.
Newsroom
Speaking Engagements
Publications
- Mr. Whitehead is a frequent contributor to Taylor English’s HR Minute and Public Interest Advocacy blogsJune 9, 2015
Headlines
- December 6, 2019
- November 11, 2016
- September 23, 2016
- June 16, 2016
- July 16, 2015
- May 29, 2014
News Releases
Alerts
- December 23, 2021
- January 20, 2021
- September 24, 2019
- By: Steven J. WhiteheadMay 23, 2019
- By: Steven J. WhiteheadMarch 27, 2019
- By: Steven J. WhiteheadMarch 26, 2019
- By: Steven J. WhiteheadMarch 18, 2019
- By: Steven J. WhiteheadMarch 18, 2019
- By: Steven J. WhiteheadAugust 29, 2018
- By: Steven J. Whitehead and Rachael Lee ZichellaAugust 20, 2018
- By: Steven WhiteheadMay 21, 2018
- By: Steven J. WhiteheadApril 5, 2018
- July 15, 2015
- July 6, 2015
- June 2, 2015
Services
- Corporate and Business
- Employment
- Employment Advice and Counsel
- Employment Litigation and Class Actions
- Employment Policy Development and Implementation
- ERISA Litigation
- Internal Investigations
- Non-Traditional Staffing Arrangements
- Restrictive Covenants
- Unions and Traditional Labor
- Whistleblower Litigation
- Worker Classification, Compensation and Litigation
- Government and Internal Investigations
- Insurance
- Intellectual Property
- Leisure and Hospitality
- Litigation and Dispute Resolution
- Manufacturing
- Non-Profit
- Public Interest and Advocacy
- Restaurant, Food and Beverage, and Licensing
- Retail
- Staffing
- Technology
- Youth-Serving Organizations
Education
Georgia State University College of Law, JD, 1988
Outer Barrister’s Guild
Georgia State University, BA, English, 1985
Bar Admissions
Georgia
Courts & Adjudicative Bodies
Supreme Court of Georgia
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia
U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia
U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit
Accolades
Georgia Trend's Legal Elite, Labor / Employment Law, 2019-2020