Mr. Gilbert.  Mr. Gilbert obtained his law school degrees from Southern Methodist University (J.D.) and the University of Edinburgh, Scotland (LL.M).  Fifteen years ago, Mr. Gilbert represented a deaf child whose school system had denied him a sign language interpreter.  With that success, Mr. Gilbert began a career of handling discrimination cases, many involving medical needs of individuals.

Some of Mr. Gilbert’s recent published or reported cases include: Maldanado v. PIctsweet Co, -- F.Supp.2d -- , 2009 WL 4023135 (W.D. Tenn. November 2009)(employer liable for denying FMLA leave to mother of rape victim); Baker v. Windsor Republic Doors, -- F. Supp.2d --, 2009 WL 2064584 (W.D. Tenn. July 2009)(upholding ADA jury verdict including compensatory damages under Section 1981a(a)(2)); Rowell v. Madison County, Tenn., 2009 WL 1918078 (W.D. Tenn. 2009)(recognizing, inter alia, First Amendment retaliation claims arising from complaints to public officials); Gordon v. W.E. Stephens, 2008 WL 4254584 (Tenn. Ct. App. September 16, 2008)(adopting new definition of “tangible job action” in Tennessee sexual harassment law); Little v. Eastgate Liquor of Jackson, 2007 WL 1202431 (W.D. TN April 24, 2007)(creating new exception to the at-will rule of employment in Tennessee where employer fires an employee for saving another from death or serious bodily injury); Stevens v. Advance Stores Co., Inc., 2007 WL 1170734 (April 17, 2007 M.D.Tenn)(FMLA notice may be given through conduct and medical conditions, not just words); Craig v. Porter Cable Delta, 2006 WL 1006857 (W.D.Tenn. April 17, 2006)(use of FMLA qualifying absences to terminate employee constitutes direct evidence of FMLA violation); Wilkerson v. Autozone, Inc., 152 Fed.Appx. 444 (6th Cir. 2005)(affirming FMLA verdict finding employee proved both equitable estoppel and met the “employee prejudice test” under the FMLA); Moorer v. Baptist Memorial Heath Care System, 398 F.3d 469 (6th Cir. 2005)($1,000,000 plaintiff’s verdict affirmed, establishing elements of ADA “regarded as” claim involving alcoholism and remanding for further damages under FMLA); Cloar v. Kohler Co., 2005 WL 2396643 (W.D. Tenn 2005)(employee may sue for retaliation based on good faith belief of FMLA leave entitlement), Brown v. CBK, 2005 WL 3263873 (W.D.Tenn. 2005)(recognizing individual liability exists under FMLA for supervisors, not just corporate officers); Hodge v. Henry County Med. Ctr, 341 F.Supp2d 968 (W.D. Tenn. 2003)(recognizing eating and digestion as “major life activities” under ADA).

Honors/Memberships:  In 2007-2009, Mr. Gilbert was recognized as a “Mid-South Super Lawyer” for Tennessee, Arkansas, and Mississippi. Mr. Gilbert is a board member of the Star Center in Jackson, Tennessee, an association to help disabled individuals in the workforce. Statewide, Mr. Gilbert is an executive Board Member of the Tennessee Bar Association’s Labor & Employment Section. He is also a charter member of the Tennessee Employment Lawyer’s Association (TENNELA). Nationally, he is a member of the National Employment Lawyers Association’s (NELA’s) Disability Rights Legal Committee. He is also a member of the Legal Advocacy Subcommittee for the American Diabetes Association in Washington, D.C., an organization dedicated to ending employment and school discrimination against persons with diabetes.

Speaking and Publishing: Mr. Gilbert speaks in Tennessee and also nationally concerning employment law. In the fall of 2009, he chaired the employment portion of a national seminar about this ADA-AA.  Prior to that, he addressed a NELA Convention in Chicago concerning proving retaliation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and emerging FMLA and ADA trends in Seattle.  He authored “Prior History, Present Discrimination, and the ADA’s Record Of Disability,” Univ. Memphis Law Rev, Spring 2001.  Mr. Gilbert is next scheduled to speak in the spring of 2010 concerning women’s pay and benefits rights post-Ledbetter v. Goodyear.

Other: Mr. Gilbert consults and assists area churches, universities, and two local non-profit disability organizations. He was recognized as the pro bono award for West Tennessee in 2002.  Most important of all, he is married to his wife, Lynda, also an attorney, and they have twin boys and two daughters. They live in Jackson