Michael W. Meredith is an associate in the firm’s Labor, Employment, and Workplace Safety practice. Michael maintains a nationwide litigation and counseling practice representing management-side clients in a broad range of labor and employment matters, including wage and hour class actions, healthcare arbitrations, single-plaintiff employment litigation, and traditional labor matters. He regularly advises employers on compliance with federal and state employment laws, provides strategic counsel during union organizing campaigns, and defends clients against unfair labor practice charges before the National Labor Relations Board.
In addition to his employment practice, Michael continues to counsel clients in commercial disputes and intellectual property matters. He represents some of the country’s most innovative companies in protecting and enforcing their trade secrets, intellectual property, and restrictive covenants in litigation and pre-litigation disputes with their market competitors and former employees.
His experience includes:
- Defending healthcare providers and large employers in wage and hour class actions and arbitrations involving claims of misclassification, off-the-clock work, and meal and rest period violations.
- Representing employers in single-plaintiff discrimination, retaliation, and wrongful termination claims before state and federal courts and in arbitration.
- Advising clients during union organizing efforts, including representation proceedings and campaign strategy, and defending unfair labor practice (ULP) charges before the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).
- Counseling insurance, financial services, and real estate firms in disputes involving the misappropriation of trade secrets and enforcement of non-competition agreements.
- Litigating federal trademark infringement and unfair competition claims on behalf of software, outdoor recreation, and fashion brands.
- Advising technology and identity-access management companies in breach of contract and commercial disputes.
Michael brings a wealth of litigation experience to bear in the service of his clients. He has successfully represented individuals and Fortune 500 companies, achieving favorable resolutions in high-stakes Lanham Act and Federal Defend Trade Secrets Act matters.
He also works closely with clients to evaluate, develop, and manage their intellectual property portfolios prior to litigation. He regularly represents clients before the United States Patent and Trademark Office and Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, and assists with contracts and internal protocols designed to help clients protect their valuable business assets and comply with national and international IP and trade secret laws.
Michael’s work in this area is widely recognized by his peers. He has been consistently named one of Washington’s Rising Stars by Super Lawyers and serves on the Washington State Bar Association’s Amicus Briefing Committee, which advises the Washington State Supreme Court and other governmental bodies on key legal issues. He is also a member of the firm's artificial intelligence (AI) working group and the WSBA Uniform Commercial Code Committee on Article 12, where he monitors developments in generative AI, cryptocurrency, and blockchain technology
Michael is a graduate of the University of Washington School of Law where he graduated with honors and was inducted into the National Order of the Coif and National Order of Barristers.
Prior to joining the firm, Michael served as a federal judicial clerk for the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas, and as a staff attorney at the Washington State Supreme Court.
- Named to the Washington Rising Stars list (2018-2025)
- “Developers Are Testing Defenses In Generative AI Litigation,” Law360, 15 September 2023
- Tuning the Second Amendment, or Constitutional Interpretation with a Hammer: Nietzsche and the Right to Bear Arms, 9 HLRe: Off Rec. 20, 34 (2018).
- Federalism & the Friendly Skies: Can States Regulate the Airline Industry, NWLawyer (Oct. 2016).
- Fracking in the Pacific Northwest, NWLawyer (Jun. 2016).
- Contract Law and the Free Kesha Movement, NWSidebar (Feb. 24, 2016).
- Sorry, Adele – Trump Doesn’t Need Your Permission to Play Your Songs, NWSidebar (Feb. 9, 2016).
- The Costs of Failed Private Regulation; Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems (MERS) as Case Study, Law and Society Conference, Seattle, Washington (2015).
- Rethinking Virtual Currency Regulation in the Bitcoin Age, 90 Wash. L. Rev. 271 (2015).
- Four Legs to Stand on: The Unexplored Potential of Civil War Era “Qui Tam’ Suits to Advance Animal Rights in the Federal Judiciary, 4 Seattle J. Envtl. L. 187 (2014).
- Safaricom and M-Pesa in Kenya: Financial Inclusion and Financial Integrity, 8 Wash. J.L. Tech. & Arts 375 (2013).
- Why Do We Raise Our Right Hands When Testifying Before the Court, NWSidebar (Oct. 21, 2013).
- Malaysia’s World Trade Organization Challenge to the European Union’s Renewable Energy Directive: An Economic Analysis, 21 Pac. Rim L. & Pol’y J. 399 (2012)
