About HKM Employment Attorneys LLP · Houston
HKM Employment Attorneys LLP is a national plaintiff-side employment law firm with an office in downtown Houston, Texas. Founded in 2009 by Daniel Kalish, Donald Heyrich, and Patrick McGuigan, the firm represents employees — not employers — in workplace disputes and reports having recovered over $500 million for clients. The Houston office is staffed by attorneys including Alvin Adjei and Taylor Jones, and serves workers across Houston's major industries including energy, aerospace, healthcare, and tech.
HKM Employment Attorneys LLP is one of the largest plaintiff-side employment law firms in the United States, with a Houston office located at 1201 Fannin Street, Suite 202, in the city's central business district. The firm was founded in 2009 in Seattle by Daniel Kalish (a former King County prosecutor and Harvard/Yale Law alum), Donald Heyrich, and Patrick McGuigan — all former colleagues at Perkins Coie. Originally a management-side defense firm serving Qwest Communications, HKM pivoted to representing employees after losing that anchor client, and grew into a national practice with roughly 79 lawyers and 35+ offices listed on its website. The Houston team represents workers at all employment levels across industries, taking on employers ranging from large corporations such as Kaiser Permanente, Northrop Grumman, and Walt Disney Co. to smaller companies and startups. Common case types include discrimination (race, sex, age, disability, religion, pregnancy), sexual and other workplace harassment, retaliation and whistleblower claims, wrongful termination, wage-and-hour/overtime violations, FMLA disputes, disability accommodation failures, and restrictive covenant / non-compete agreements. The firm has been recognized by Super Lawyers, Best Lawyers, Martindale-Hubbell, Lawyer Monthly (Labor & Employment Law Firm of the Year, USA), Global Mobility, and the American Bar Association, and is a member of the National Employment Lawyers Association.
- In business
- Founded 2009 (firm-wide); Houston office active on the firm's website under the practice area since the firm's national expansion. Marketing materials reference results 'since 2003' tied to the founders' earlier plaintiff-side work.
- Owner
- Co-founders: Daniel Kalish (firmwide managing partner), Donald Heyrich, and Patrick McGuigan (all formerly of Perkins Coie). Firm headquartered in Seattle, WA.
- Serves
- Houston, Texas and the greater Houston metropolitan area (including energy, aerospace, healthcare, and tech workers). As part of the HKM national network with 35+ offices, the Houston office also coordinates with the firm's multi-state class action practice (1-800-791-1007) for cases involving Texas employees.
About HKM Employment Attorneys (Houston)
HKM Employment Attorneys LLP is a national plaintiff-side employment law firm whose Houston office is located in Suite 202 at 1201 Fannin Street, in the heart of downtown Houston. The firm represents employees — not companies — and is built around the stated mission of helping 'the little guy' against employers of any size. The Houston team serves workers across Harris County and the surrounding metro, including the energy, aerospace, healthcare, and technology sectors that dominate the local economy.
- Office: 1201 Fannin Street, Suite 202, Houston, TX 77002
- Houston phone: 832-981-1903
- Firm-wide intake: 1-800-791-1007 (24/7)
- Marketing claim: 'over $500 Million for our clients since 2003'
History and Founding of the Firm
HKM was founded in 2009 in Seattle by Daniel Kalish, Donald Heyrich, and Patrick McGuigan — three former colleagues at the law firm Perkins Coie. The firm initially handled management-side employment defense, with Qwest Communications as its anchor client, but transitioned to plaintiff-side work after Qwest took its business elsewhere. According to coverage in Law.com, the founders describe the early years as 'hell — very hard, and very, very, very lean years,' before the firm built its current national plaintiff-side practice. Kalish is a Harvard University and Yale Law School graduate who also served in the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office. The firm has since grown to roughly 79 lawyers across 35+ offices, with the Houston office as one of its major Texas locations.
- Founded 2009 in Seattle, WA
- Co-founders: Daniel Kalish, Donald Heyrich, Patrick McGuigan
- Originally management-side defense; converted to plaintiff-side after losing Qwest as a client
- Headquartered in Seattle with offices in Houston, Atlanta, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Phoenix, St. Louis, and more
- Currently ~79 lawyers and 35+ offices nationally
Houston Attorneys
The Houston office is led by local attorneys who handle discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination, wage, FMLA, disability, and non-compete matters for Texas employees. Two attorneys prominently featured on the Houston pages are Alvin Adjei and Taylor Jones. The office draws on the resources of the wider HKM network — including a litigation coach and shared expertise across offices — so a Houston attorney with a heavy deposition schedule or an obscure legal question can pull in colleagues from other HKM offices.
- Alvin Adjei — Houston attorney
- Taylor Jones — Houston attorney
- Backed by firm-wide network of ~79 attorneys across 35+ offices
- Each HKM office has a managing partner with autonomy over local practice
Houston Practice Areas
HKM's Houston practice covers the full range of employment law claims brought by individual employees and classes of workers. The firm's Houston pages call out discrimination, harassment, hostile work environment, retaliation, wrongful termination, wage-and-hour violations, FMLA issues, disability accommodation failures, and non-compete / restrictive-covenant disputes as core areas. Practice pages explicitly address Texas's at-will employment framework while explaining the federal and state exceptions (Title VII, ADA, ADEA, FMLA, FLSA, etc.) that still protect workers from illegal treatment.
- Discrimination (race, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age 40+, disability, religion, national origin, pregnancy, marital status, veteran/military status)
- Harassment / hostile work environment
- Retaliation and whistleblower claims
- Wrongful termination
- Wage and hour / overtime
- FMLA leave disputes
- Disability accommodations (ADA)
- Non-compete and restrictive covenant agreements
- Severance and employment contract review
Discrimination Claims in Houston
Houston's discrimination practice addresses the protected-characteristic framework under Title VII and Texas law. The firm's Houston discrimination page explains that Texas is at-will, but adverse actions taken because of a protected characteristic — refusal to hire, denial of promotions or raises, harassment, demotion, involuntary transfer, or termination — are still unlawful. The page walks clients through documenting incidents, engaging HR, filing with the EEOC, and meeting the tight statutory deadlines before suit.
- Documents: refusal to hire, denial of promotion/raise, harassment, demotion, transfer, termination
- Filing path: detailed notes → HR consultation → EEOC charge → lawsuit
- Protected characteristics include race, sex, pregnancy, religion, disability, age 40+, veteran status
Religious Discrimination (Including Catholic Employees)
HKM publishes nationwide guidance on workplace religious discrimination that explicitly addresses Catholic workers. The firm's religious-discrimination resources discuss tensions between Catholic and Evangelical Christian coworkers, the obligations of Catholic schools as employers, employer duties to accommodate religious dress, prayer breaks, and holy-day observance under Title VII, and the protection of atheists and agnostics as well. While HKM itself is not a faith-based firm, this body of content means Catholic employees in Houston who face faith-based harassment, accommodation denial, or termination have a documented practice area to turn to.
- Religious discrimination is prohibited at hiring, promotion, firing, and day-to-day employment
- Employers must reasonably accommodate religious practices (schedule, dress, prayer)
- Applies to Catholics, other Christians, Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, atheists, and agnostics
- Catholic-school employment has special rules under the ministerial exception
Class Action and Multi-State Practice
Beyond individual claims, HKM runs a national class action practice — Law.com reported 48 employment lawsuits filed nationwide in a single month, targeting defendants including DoorDash, The Walt Disney Company, and Lowe's. The firm's multi-state class action intake line is 1-800-791-1007, and Texas-based class members can connect through the Houston office. This is a key resource for Houston workers whose claims (typically wage-and-hour or systemic discrimination) affect a larger group.
- Multi-state class action intake: 1-800-791-1007
- Recent defendants named in HKM suits include DoorDash, Disney, Lowe's, Kaiser Permanente, Northrop Grumman
- Houston office coordinates local Texas class members
Awards, Recognition, and Professional Affiliations
HKM and its attorneys have been recognized by every major U.S. legal-rating publication. Best Lawyers has listed the firm since 2013, with rankings in Employment Law – Individuals, Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs, Labor and Employment Law – Employee and Management, Commercial Litigation, and Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law. Super Lawyers, Martindale-Hubbell, Lawyer Monthly, Global Mobility, and the American Bar Association have also honored the firm or its lawyers. HKM is a member of the National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA), the leading organization for plaintiff-side employment lawyers.
- Best Lawyers / Best Law Firms (since 2013)
- Super Lawyers
- Martindale-Hubbell rated
- Overall Employment Law Firm of the Year
- Lawyer Monthly — Labor and Employment Law Firm of the Year, USA
- Global Mobility — Employment Focused Litigator of the Year, USA
- American Bar Association member
- National Employment Lawyers Association member
Reputation and Client Reviews
The firm's Houston reviews page describes a pattern of positive client feedback emphasizing professionalism, knowledge, and commitment to workplace fairness. Clients consistently note that HKM attorneys are responsive, strategic, and results-driven, and that the firm's national resources make it possible to 'level the playing field' against major Houston employers in energy, aerospace, healthcare, and tech.
- Recurring client themes: professionalism, knowledge, communication, results
- Cases cited include wrongful termination, retaliation, race/gender/disability discrimination
- National recognition cited as a confidence factor for clients facing large employers
Firm Philosophy and How to Engage HKM Houston
HKM publicly emphasizes 'honest and dedicated legal representation' and describes its mission as helping employees who have been mistreated by their employers, regardless of industry or company size. The firm encourages prospective clients to 'Tell Us About Your Case' via the website contact form or by calling the Houston line at 832-981-1903. Compensation structures described by the founders include a first-year salary for newer attorneys and an 'eat what you kill' model for tenured attorneys — a structure that reflects the firm's contingency-fee plaintiff model and minimizes billable-hour conflicts for clients.
- Intake form: 'Tell Us About Your Case' on hkm.com/houston
- Houston phone: 832-981-1903
- Firm-wide 24/7 intake: 1-800-791-1007
- Free consultations offered
- Contingency-fee representation in most plaintiff employment matters