Employment Mediation

 
 

balanced employment law experience

Alan mediates all kinds of employment disputes across the Houston area. He has represented employees and employers – and learned from both. Expect an employment mediator who sees what a dispute means to everyone.

Alan cut his teeth representing employees. For six years, Alan loved taking up for the little guy against the company’s weight. It showed Alan where many employers get blindsided.

Alan then switched gears. He opened a law firm on The Woodlands Waterway, representing only Houston employers for ten years. Alan went through Texas A&M’s business school, so he talks management lingo.

Although Alan represented publicly-traded and large cap energy companies, he never stopped practicing law like a plaintiff’s lawyer. One mentor got him hooked on The Art of War. The rest is history. Alan aggressively pursued his defenses as if he had the burden of proof.

Super Lawyers selected Alan for its Rising Stars list in 2012 - 2018 for his work and thought leadership representing employers. In 2019, cancer disrupted Alan’s practice.

Alan has worked both sides of employment disputes. He has worked the typical claims for discrimination, harassment and retaliation.

Overtime disputes piqued Alan’s interest. He helped pursued several overtime collective actions for employees, then led the employers’ defense against several overtime collective actions.

Non-compete and trade secret fights also captured Alan’s attention. These disputes move with the speed and intensity of a legal knife fight. Alan loved working at every turn with his IT forensic experts.

As an employment mediator, Alan uses his insight into both management and employees. He’s been there.

 
 

Thought Leadership

Even before he went mediator, Alan loved sharing his practical experience. He routinely spoke and wrote in Houston and across Texas.

Alan has talked many times — often on overtime pay and trade secrets — for forums like:

  • HR Southwest

  • Gulf Coast Symposium on HR

  • STCL Employment Law Conference

  • Houston Bar Association — ADR Section

  • Aggie Law Review Energy Law Conference

Alan’s work has been published in Texas Lawyer, Corporate Counsel Review, Corporate Counsel Newsletter and Houston Business Journal.

A few of Alan’s talks and articles were:

  • Trade Secret and Overtime Lessons from the Oil Patch

  • Overtime Pay: Sleepless in San Antonio

  • Off-the-Clock Overtime Pay Lawsuits: It Only Takes One (Disgruntled Ex-Employee)

  • Early Christmas for Overtime Plaintiff’s Counsel

  • How to Survive the Overtime Pay Dog Pile

  • When The Other Guy’s Employees Are Yours Too

  • Investigations on the Record (Strictly)

  • Zip It! The Boss’ Words Can Bite You.

  • Forward HR Intel: Get There First

  • 27 Things Plaintiff’s Counsel Is Begging You To Do

  • Gender Wage Gap: All Over the Media – Coming Soon to a Courtroom Near You

  • Escargot and Employee Lawsuits: Best Gulped Down Fast

  • Living With The Complaining Employee

  • Trade Secrets: Security for Soft IP

  • HR Meets CSI: Nothing Up My Sleeve, But Hands Off My Thumb Drive

  • Can You Keep A Secret? Protecting Trade Secrets With TUTSA

  • Tapping A Competitor’s Talent Pool

 

cancer journey

Cancer changed everything. At 38 years old, Alan discovered he had genetic colon cancer. While operating his law firm, he fought round one. Surgery and chemotherapy put Alan on the ropes. A year after Alan got the “all clear,” Alan’s cancer came back for round two.

Fighting the second round, Alan closed his own practice and joined a large firm. He temporarily gave up his love for employment law. Several years later, victory was declared.

Cancer wasn’t done yet – it came back for a dire round three. Today, through an intense surgery and a miracle, the fight was finished.

Although Alan is cancer-free, it’s cost him. The “Mother of All Surgeries,” as the MD Anderson surgeons called it, took four months of recovery until Alan got back in the office. He has a permanent ostomy. And he’s needed a few more procedures to fix issues caused by the surgery. 

That led Alan to finally open Bush Mediation. Today, he mediates like he’d hoped since law school.

Cancer upended Alan’s work. He’s changed jobs twice; he’s changed practice areas twice. Alan understands where a plaintiff is coming from.

 

Alan Bush mediates employment disputes in the Houston area.
He mediates in person in Montgomery County and Harris County.