Mark D. Temple

Partner

Houston
T +1.713.646.1324
F +1.713.751.1717
Chicago
T +1.312.416.8765
F +1.312.416.6201

“He gives very practical advice and understands how businesses really run. He guides us in a way that helps achieve the business’s goals while avoiding risks. Mark is responsive, strategic and willing to be a true partner in developing strategy. He thinks outside the box.”

— Chambers USA 2022

Overview

As one of the few employment lawyers voted by his peers to be one of the “Top 100” lawyers in Texas and one of the “Top 100” lawyers in Houston, companies of all sizes call upon Mark Temple to handle their most important matters. Mark is a trial lawyer with more than 25 years of employment law experience. Whether it is an unfair competition concern, an alleged class-wide wage-hour violation or a high-profile discrimination allegation, he gets effective results while providing tremendous value. As a result of his practical and straightforward problem-solving approach, Mark also advises boards and the executive suite on their most sensitive matters.

Mark focuses on high-stakes business disputes and complex employment litigation. He has tried high-profile cases involving business executives and in-house counsel in the areas of discrimination, harassment, retaliation and wrongful termination. Mark has been described by Chambers USA as having a wealth of experience handling wage and hour class and collective actions. Clients told Chambers that Mark is "thorough and always well prepared with a full grasp of the facts. He uses his vast experience to plan a strategic course that places the client and their interests in a position of strength", “calm and even keeled,” “a skillful negotiator,” and “an excellent trial attorney.”

Mark is the Houston Labor and Employment Leader.

Select Experience

Wage and Hour Experience
  • Represented global oilfield services company in many proposed national wage-hour class actions.
Trade Secret and Noncompete Litigation
  • Represented Callaway Golf Company and former Callaway chief club designer in lawsuit filed by Adams Golf alleging unfair competition and theft of trade secrets.
Other Litigation
  • Obtained Rule 12(b)(6) dismissal for senior executive of North American energy infrastructure company on former employee’s claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress
Advice and Counsel on Corporate Transactions
  • Provided employment law advice to Atlas Pipeline Partners, L.P. on its acquisition of 100 percent of the equity interests of TEAK Midstream, LLC, a privately owned midstream operator, for $1 billion in cash, and, as part of the acquisition's financing, on the issuance of $400 million of Series D convertible preferred securities.
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Experience

Wage and Hour Experience
  • Represented global oilfield services company in many proposed national wage-hour class actions.
  • Represented managed care companies in proposed wage-hour class actions.
  • Represented CITGO Petroleum in proposed wage-hour class action attacking exempt classification of console supervisor position in refinery environment. Case dismissed on summary judgment shortly before trial and upheld by Fifth Circuit.
  • Represented oilfield service company in proposed national wage-hour class action alleging improper job classification.
  • Represented a national home builder in a putative class action by assistant construction managers alleging unpaid overtime, waiting time penalties, and unfair competition under a misclassification theory.
  • Conducted national audit of 35+ job classifications to ensure compliance with Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
  • Defended demolition company in FLSA putative collective action in which current and former employees alleged claims related to off-the-clock work and failure to include commissions in the regular rate of pay.
Trade Secret and Noncompete Litigation
  • Represented Callaway Golf Company and former Callaway chief club designer in lawsuit filed by Adams Golf alleging unfair competition and theft of trade secrets.
  • Represented global oil and gas trading company defending allegations of trade secret theft.
  • Represented oilfield services company in employee raiding case.
  • Represented international company in lawsuit filed by competitor alleging theft of trade secrets.
  • Represented large equipment manufacturer against competitor claiming unfair competition globally and theft of trade secrets.
  • Represented industrial equipment supplier against former employee and subsequent employer alleging unfair competition and conversion of company property.
  • Represented major oil and gas company in obtaining a temporary restraining order against another entity preventing disclosure of trade secrets relating to a proprietary software program for interactive modeling, inversion, and interpretation of responses from various logging tools in different oil and gas formation environments.
Other Litigation
  • Obtained Rule 12(b)(6) dismissal for senior executive of North American energy infrastructure company on former employee’s claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress.
  • Tried a sexual harassment and retaliation case against an oil and gas company in April 2019 in a Texas state court. The trial spanned a two-week period, with the jury returning a unanimous defense verdict.
  • Tried age and gender discrimination case filed by former vice president against international fund advisor company attacking decisions of C-suite executives.
Advice and Counsel on Corporate Transactions
  • Provided employment law advice to Atlas Pipeline Partners, L.P. on its acquisition of 100 percent of the equity interests of TEAK Midstream, LLC, a privately owned midstream operator, for $1 billion in cash, and, as part of the acquisition's financing, on the issuance of $400 million of Series D convertible preferred securities.
  • Provided employment law advice Marathon Petroleum Corporation (MCP) on its purchase of BP’s Texas City refinery, three intrastate natural gas liquids pipelines originating at the refinery, an allocation of BP’s Colonial Pipeline Company shipper history, four terminals, retail marketing contract assignments for approximately 1,200 branded sites, and a 1,040 MW cogeneration facility for a base purchase price of $598 million, plus inventories estimated as $1.2 billion and an earnout provision under which MPC could pay up to an additional $700 million over six years, subject to certain conditions.
  • Provided employment law advice to Atlas Pipeline Partners, L.P. on its acquisition of 100 percent of the equity interests in three wholly-owned subsidiaries of Cardinal Midstream, LLC for $603.4 million.

Recognitions and Memberships

Recognitions

  • The Best Lawyers in America® (2020 to Present)
    • Texas: Employment Law - Management
    • Texas: Litigation - Labor and Employment
  • Chambers USA: Labor and Employment in Texas (2015 to 2022)
    • Band 2 (2022), Band 3 (2015 to 2021) 
  • The Legal 500 United States 
    • Recommended in Trade Secrets (litigation and non-contentious matters) (2021 to 2022)
    • Recommended in Workplace and Employment Counseling (2016 to 2018)
    • Recommended in Labor: Management Relations (2016 to 2018)
    • Recommended in Labor and Employment Disputes (including Collective Actions: Defense) (2016 to 2018, 2021)
  • Texas "Super Lawyer" (2013 to 2022)
    • Texas Super Lawyers "Rising Star" (2004 to 2006, 2008 to 2009)
  • Texas Super Lawyers “Top 100 Lawyers in Texas" (2016 to 2019)
  • Texas Super Lawyers “Top 100 Lawyers in Houston" (2016 to 2021)
  • Houstonia, Houston Top Lawyer: Labor and Employment (2017)
  • Lawdragon, 500 Leading U.S. Corporate Employment Lawyers (2020 to 2023)

Memberships

  • Texas Bar Foundation
    • Fellow
    • Nominating Committee

Community

  • Texas Prison System: Faith-Based Program, Teacher
  • JP/HRO (Haiti relief – in country): Volunteer
  • Houston Food Bank: Group Coordinator

Admissions

  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
  • U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Texas
  • U.S. District Court, Northern District of Texas
  • U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas
  • U.S. District Court, Western District of Texas
  • U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan
  • U.S. District Court, Western District of Michigan
  • U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois
  • U.S. District Court, District of Colorado
  • U.S. District Court, Northern District of Oklahoma
  • U.S. District Court, District of New Mexico
  • U.S. District Court, Western District of Pennsylvania
  • [Not admitted in Illinois]
  • Texas

Education

  • J.D., South Texas College of Law, 1995; Order of the Lytae; Corporate Counsel Review, Articles Editor
  • B.B.A., Texas A&M University, 1992, magna cum laude