Abbey Kinson Brown

Her employment-related litigation practice has been wide-ranging, including but not limited to actions involving:

• Bringing and defending claims related to non-competition, non-solicitation and non-disclosure agreements
• Misappropriation of trade secret information
• Alleged overtime and wage and hour violations, including misclassification and time clock issues
• Investigation and recovery of stolen digital information
• The WARN Act

Abbey also regularly represents employers before the EEOC and state agencies charged with the enforcement of civil rights laws. She has experience defending against class actions and collective actions and is also regularly involved in general litigation.

She also counsels employers on compliance issues related to laws such as the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, Equal Employment Opportunity laws, federal wage and hour laws, and other federal and state laws affecting employment. Abbey advises clients regarding employment policies, workplace misconduct, and employee discipline and discharge, and conducts on-site workplace harassment training.

Abbey drafts and reviews employment-related contracts and documents, including employment agreements, post-employment restrictive covenant agreements, confidentiality agreements, settlement and release agreements, and policy materials in employee handbooks for clients.

Abbey began serving on Calfee's Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee in 2023, and she was elected Partner in 2024. Before joining Calfee in 2014, she served as a judicial intern for Judge Sarah Evans Barker, United States District Court, Southern District of Indiana in the fall of 2013. She has also worked as a legal intern for the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights.

Before attending law school, Abbey was Dean of Academics and a math teacher at Columbus Collegiate Academy, an Ohio Charter School serving inner-city, low-income students. She also taught in Washington, D.C., as a member of Teach for America.

Honors & Recognitions

• Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch, Labor and Employment Law - Management (2023-2025) and Litigation - Labor and Employment (2021-2025)
• Benchmark Litigation's “40 & Under List" – Midwest and Ohio: Dispute Resolution (2025)
• Ohio Super Lawyers, Ohio Rising Stars, Employment Litigation: Defense (2022-2024)
• CALI awards in Criminal Law, Legal Professions, Law & Poverty and Transaction Drafting, Indiana University Maurer School of Law

Education

J.D., magna cum laude, Indiana University Maurer School of Law, Order of the Coif, Articles Editor for the Indiana Law Journal, 2014

M.A. in Teaching, American University, 2008

B.A., summa cum laude, Philosophy and German, The Ohio State University, 2006

Experience

• Served as counsel for a privately held, Midwestern company in a cease-and-desist matter involving a former multi-state Regional Manager. While employed by Calfee’s client company, the former employee solicited approximately 20 employees over a period of months, prior to his resignation. When he resigned, he took with him to a competitor nearly all the employees from multiple store locations within his region. The former Regional Manager did not have a non-compete agreement, but Calfee sent cease-and-desist letters to our client’s former employee and his new employer and had a series of telephone calls with the new employer’s counsel, threatening to bring claims related to breach of fiduciary duties and conspiracy with his new employer, if there was any further solicitation of Calfee’s client’s employees. Calfee achieved the result the Company wanted without needing to file suit.
• Served as counsel for a European, publicly traded, multinational company in a matter involving the United Steel Workers Union and its Local members, which filed a grievance against Calfee’s client company relating to the discharge of a bargaining unit member. The Union contended that this member, who worked at one of the client’s U.S. plants, was unjustly discharged for an alleged violation of the client’s safety/work procedures. Calfee represented the company at a formal arbitration hearing conducted before a Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) arbitrator. Calfee presented the Company’s defense to the Union’s claims of unfair/inconsistent treatment of a long-service employee by thoroughly recreating the incident before the arbitrator and explaining in detail the consequences of not only the grievant’s conduct but the possible catastrophic results that could occur if the grievant’s disregard of safety protocols was condoned by the arbitrator. After comprehensive post-hearing briefs were submitted by both parties, the arbitrator issued his decision denying the Union’s grievance and stating that the member was terminated for “just cause” consistent with the terms and provisions of the Union contract. Calfee has represented the client at various worksites across the country litigating disputes before impartial arbitrators based upon grievances filed by Unions. We have succeeded in every case to date based upon the company’s appropriate, lawful personnel actions and careful documentation allowing Calfee to explain convincingly to various arbitrators that the Company at all times has respected the collective bargaining agreements at issue.
• Served as legal counsel for its client, a European, publicly traded, multinational company in a matter in which an outside operator working for Calfee’s client company's U.S. location filed a grievance on behalf of all outside operators, alleging that management was performing bargaining unit work in violation of the collective bargaining agreement. The Arbitrator subsequently denied the grievance in full.
• Served as counsel for the Respondent, a global manufacturing solutions company, in an EEOC charge against the client. The Charging Party employee's complaints articulated in a resignation email did not include allegations of racial or national origin discrimination, but their subsequent charge before the EEOC focused on discrimination allegations. Based upon the comprehensive position statement and supporting materials submitted by Calfee in response to the Charging Party’s allegations, the EEOC issued a “Determination of Charge” indicating that it would “not proceed further with this investigation,” essentially concluding that it found no basis to believe that the Charging Party was a victim of discrimination. The Commission elected to not further pursue this matter and did not initiate a lawsuit against Calfee’s client based upon the allegations.
• Serving as counsel for Respondent/Defendant in an EEOC Charge in which the Charging Party filed a charge of disability alleging that Calfee's client company, a global manufacturing company, discriminated based on disability when he did not receive an offer of employment. Based upon the comprehensive position statement and supporting materials submitted by Calfee in defense of the allegations of discriminatory non-hire, the EEOC issued a “Determination of Charge” indicating that it would “not proceed further with this investigation,” essentially concluding that it found no basis to believe that the plaintiff was a victim of disability discrimination. The Commission elected to not further pursue this matter and did not initiate a lawsuit against Calfee’s client. Subsequently, the Charging Party initiated a lawsuit alleging disability discrimination under state law, but the Defendant later voluntarily dismissed the case without prejudice.
• Serving as counsel for the Defendants in a recent matter involving a former employer who brought claims against the client company for Intentional/Negligent Misrepresentation, Breach of Contract, Promissory Estoppel, Breach of the Implied Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing, Unjust Enrichment, Violation of state Wage Law for failure to pay wages and PTO on the date of his alleged termination, and COBRA Notice Violation. Following a meeting with company management in which the employee was not granted a salary increase they were seeking, the employee departed the company premises for the day, not indicating that they were resigning or would be unavailable for any length of time. After several workdays passed without the Company hearing from Plaintiff despite the Company's attempts to contact the employee, including requesting local law enforcement to perform a wellness check (which proved the employee to be alive and well), it was clear to the Company that Plaintiff had abandoned their job. In the lawsuit, among other damages, the Plaintiff claims they were owed a higher salary than the one indicated in their job offer letter, for the time worked at the Company, that they are owed reimbursement for expenses and various other damages. Calfee aggressively represented the Defendants through initial written discovery, demonstrating to Plaintiff and his counsel that their allegations were untruthful and that they had no legal basis to pursue them. On behalf of our clients, we negotiated a settlement for less than one month of salary to Plaintiff, significantly less than a nuisance value.
• Served as counsel for Defendants, a multi-billion-dollar, international construction company in a matter in which the Plaintiff company brought several claims, including breach of duty of loyalty, breach of contract, conspiracy, misappropriation of trade secrets, and interference with prospective business relationships, against (1) two members of a group of its former employees who quit and joined its competitor, Calfee’s client, (2) Calfee’s client company, and (3) a member of the client company’s management team. Upon being served with the Complaint, Calfee mobilized its client’s response to preserve electronic data, seizing all relevant company-issued electronic devices in the possession of Plaintiff’s former employee. Calfee’s clients moved to dismiss the Amended Complaint and the court dismissed five of Plaintiff’s Claims against the client company and dismissed the client management team member from the lawsuit entirely. With just the destruction of evidence and misappropriation of trade secrets claims still pending, the parties engaged in discovery and began taking depositions. Subsequently, the parties signed a settlement agreement in which Calfee’s client paid nothing, there was no confidentiality provision (meaning Calfee’s client was free to discuss the case with its customers), and the lawsuit was dismissed.
• Represented Plaintiff (two related companies) in the filing of a Complaint and Application for Injunctive Relief against a former employee who separated from their organizations two months previously to join Calfee’s client company. Plaintiff alleged that the former employee/Defendant violated covenants not to solicit customers and not to disclose or use confidential information and misappropriation of trade secrets. Following expedited discovery and conferences with the Court preparatory to a preliminary injunction hearing, the parties agreed to submit the case to mediation before a U.S. Magistrate Judge. At the mediation conference, the parties reached a favorable settlement of Plaintiff’s claims against Defendant, terms of which included a modest cash payment to the Plaintiffs and a brief extension of an Agreed Temporary Restraining Order, which restricted Defendant from calling on certain enumerated clients.
• Serving as counsel for the Defendant in a matter involving a former employee of Calfee's client, a packaging company, producer, and supplier with operations in the U.S. and Canada. The former employer filed a petition against the client company alleging workers' compensation retaliation. Calfee vigorously defended against these baseless claims and was able to negotiate the case to a favorable resolution at a nuisance value.
• Served as counsel for the Respondent, a global manufacturing company, in an NLRB Charge filed by a union on behalf of an employee who served as the local union president. The employee filed an Unfair Labor Practice Charge (ULP) against Calfee’s client, alleging that the Company violated Section 8(a)(3) of the National Labor Relations Act when it issued a disciplinary write-up allegedly because of the employee's Union support and/or activities. The Company denied these allegations. It has had a long-standing rule against having food and open drink containers, including open soda cans, on the shop floor. These are safety rules designed to keep its work area clean and its employees safe. The Company had announced at Company-wide meetings that it would begin enforcing the rule with renewed vigor since oral warnings had proven ineffective in curbing the problematic behavior to date. The employee received the write-up because they were observed violating the rule. The Company filed its position statement in response to the charge. Following a favorable settlement between the Company and the Union, the Union withdrew the Charge, and the matter was closed.
• Obtained summary judgment for an employer on all claims brought by a former employee, including race and sex discrimination and retaliation under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Equal Pay Act, and Ohio’s Whistleblower statute.
• In a defamation/intentional infliction of emotional distress case where Plaintiff originally sought $270,000 in damages, obtained Plaintiff’s dismissal of the action with prejudice and a full, general release of any and all other claims against the client, in exchange for a payment of zero dollars and an offer not to seek sanctions, costs, and attorney fees against the Plaintiff.
• Obtained summary judgment for municipal utility in $188 million class action regarding alleged customer overcharges. The Court held for the municipal utility on all claims, and completely rejected the theory proposed by the municipal utilities’ former director.
• Obtained summary judgment in a breach of contract matter involving former employee’s failure to repay tuition and training costs when he quit shortly after completing training.
• Successfully represented a national client by commencing litigation against a former employee seeking to enforce the terms of a non-competition and non-solicitation agreement.
• Obtained an emergency TRO in a case involving breaches of a distributorship agreement, and then successfully defeated a motion to dismiss and to change venue, which lead to opponent’s immediate acceptance of the client’s open demand, settling the case on terms extremely favorable to the client.

Professional & Community

• Federal Bar Association, FBA Trial Academy CLE Planning Committee, Member
• Ladder Down Cleveland, Executive Committee, Member