Lawyers

David J. Quan brings a broad and deep perspective to his practice as a labor and employment  and civil litigation lawyer.  While most of his work during the past 33 years has focused on representing management in employment law matters, he has increasingly represented select individuals, both in negotiations and litigation.  “I believe that my experience representing employers in employment law disputes makes me a better attorney for my individual clients, and vice versa, as it has allowed me to better see, understand, and anticipate the perspective of the opposing party.”

David has tried cases in federal and state courts, represented his clients in arbitration and before administrative agencies, counseled and advised decision-makers regarding employment practices and situations, drafted, reviewed, and revised employment policies and contracts, and negotiated the terms for the resolution of employment law disputes.  David’s litigation experience is also varied having worked on cases with claims involving a sweep of employment law issues:  discrimination on the bases of race, gender, disability, national origin, and age; sexual harassment; racially hostile work environments; unlawful retaliation; violation of statutory whistleblower protection laws, the Equal Pay Act, Family Medical Leave Act, and Section 1981; unpaid overtime; wrongful termination in violation of public policy; breach of contract; violation of non-compete provisions; theft of trade secrets; and breach of confidentiality and fiduciary duties.

Over the course of his legal career, David has consistently found the practice of labor and employment law to be a fascinating field because he enjoys working with people.  “For most people, the workplace is where we spend the vast majority of our time and the people who we work with make up a substantial part of the people who we interact with socially.  As a result, the issues that arise in employment law reflect what is going on in society generally – and are often at the forefront of those issues.”As his clients have trusted the soundness of David’s counsel and judgment and the strength of his unflinching advocacy, the scope of his practice has expanded to include commercial litigation and other high stakes matters for which clients need someone with his experience, proven ability, and sound understanding of business.  Clients recognize that they can count on David to provide thoughtful business advice and find practical solutions whenever possible. By contrast, adversaries who mistake David’s kind, collaborative demeanor as weakness do so at their peril.

A native Houstonian, David values community service.  From 2006 through 2012, he served as an Associate Municipal Court Judge for the City of Houston, usually having evening dockets after a regular business day in his practice.  He has also served on the Board of Directors for Centros Familiaras de la Comunidad (Community Family Centers) and United Against Human Trafficking (formerly Houston Rescue and Restore), as a member of the Asian American Advisory Committee for Houston Independent School District, and as a small group leader, Sunday School teacher, and Elder at his church.

David is a proud product of the Houston public school system, having graduated from the oldest high school in HISD, Milby Senior High School. He received his law degree from the University of Texas School of Law, where he served as a student legal research and writing instructor.  David also received a Master’s Degree in Public Affairs from the LBJ School of Public Affairs.  After law school, he served as a judicial law clerk to Chief Judge William J. Cornelius at Texas’ Sixth Court of Appeals in Texarkana and the Honorable Ronald S.W. Lew at the United States District Court in Los Angeles.  He is licensed in both Texas and in California (currently Inactive).

David has been recognized as a Texas Super Lawyer in the area of Employment and Labor Law since 2018. He has been Board Certified in Labor and Employment Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization since 2005. David is rated “Excellent” by Avvo and was named as one of Houston’s Top Lawyers by Houstonia Magazine from 2016 through 2018.

David has been married for more than 31 years to his wife, Rachel, who is currently the Vice President of Special Events for the Houston Astros after a distinguished career in large event production including as the Vice President of Operations for the last three NCAA Final Four Tournaments in Houston. Rachel’s community outreach has included helping produce numerous corporate and non-profit conferences, concerts, and experiential events.  Together they are proud parents of their son, Nate, who is currently an Associate in the Commercial Banking Division of J.P. Morgan’s Austin office after receiving a finance degree from the McCombs Business School at the University of Texas in Austin in 2022.

Education

• University of Texas School of Law, Juris Doctor, 1987
  • Legal research and writing instructor for first year law students
  • Vice President of Student Bar Association
• LBJ School of Public Affairs, University of Texas at Austin, M. Pub. Aff, 1988
• College of Liberal Arts, University of Texas at Austin, B.S. History, 1982

Bar and Court Admissions

• Texas, 1988
• California, 1991 (Inactive)
• Southern District of Texas
• Eastern District of Texas
• Central District of California
• Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals
• United States Supreme Court

Representative Examples of David’s Experience

• Obtaining a unanimous jury verdict in state district court on behalf of oncological surgeon in breach of contract case against Houston Methodist Physician Group in Liza Thalheimer, M.D. v. TMH Physician Organization d/b/a Houston Methodist Specialty Physician Group, Case No. 2021-27989, in the 333rd District Court of Harris County, Texas
• Obtaining directed verdict ruling in state district court on behalf of funeral service employer against claim of retaliatory discharge for complaining of sexually hostile work environment in Janice Hall v. Service Corporation International, Case No. 1997-55596, in the 11th District Court of Harris County, Texas
• Obtaining confidential settlement in excess of a half million dollars in pre-suit mediation on behalf of whistleblower who insisted that employer rural hospital authority stop practices that defrauded the federal government
• Co-counseling successful resolution of state district court matter on behalf of lead electrician client by obtaining favorable dissolution of temporary restraining order obtained by former oil field services employer for purported violations of non-compete and non-solicitation obligations in Southern Petroleum Laboratories, Inc. v. Shawn Hill, Case No. 24-00080 in the 343rd District Court, Aransas County, Texas
• Obtaining a confidential pre-suit settlement in excess of a half million dollars on behalf of female executive who was asserting claims of Equal Pay Act violations, gender discrimination, and unlawful retaliation against employer in the chemical industry
• Part of trial team to have successfully obtained jury verdict in state district court in favor of retail bank employer alleged to have wrongfully terminated branch manager because of his race in Gregory Knights v. Bank United of Texas FSB, et al., Civil Action No. H-097-0669 in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division (affirmed on appeal by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, No. 98-20834)
• Part of litigation team to obtain summary judgment in federal district court for warehousing and distribution employer against putative collective action brought by delivery drivers claiming unpaid overtime G. Bruce Glanville, et al. v. Dupar, Inc., Civil Action No. 4:08-cv-2537 in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division
• Successfully negotiating dismissal of injunction order entered in state district court against pharmaceutical salesperson whose former employer accused her of violating her non-compete and non-solicitation obligations in Atherotech, Inc. v. Emily Nguyen-Le, et al., Cause No. 2014-22727 in the 165 District Court for Harris County, Texas
• Successfully obtaining an injunction order on behalf of a product manufacturer against a former sales representative who had removed and was using product manufacturer’s proprietary information and property on behalf of new employer in St. Jude Candle Company, LLP v. Gustavo Blanco, Cause No. 2014-65592 in the 281st District Court of Harris County, Texas (removed to Civil Case N. 4:14-cv-03535 in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas)
• Part of litigation team to obtain summary judgment in federal district court and successfully defend appeal on behalf of manufacturing client alleged to have wrongfully terminated employee because of race discrimination and unlawful retaliation in Clark Malone v. Vincent Metals, 127 F.3d 34 (5th Cir. 1997)
• Obtaining a confidential mid- six-figure settlement on behalf of healthcare industry accountant that alleged that he was wrongfully terminated by local health agency because he had raised concerns about a complex scheme to defraud the federal government in United States ex rel. Kent Vaughn v. Harris County Hospital District d/b/a Harris Health System, et al., Case No. 4:17-cv-02749 in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division
• Obtaining a confidential six-figure settlement prior to trial in federal court on  behalf of two law enforcement officers who alleged claims of wrongful termination and discriminatory treatment because of their race in Cordell Lindsey, Jr. and Rober L. Wilson v. Harris County, Civil Action No. 4:15-CV-630 in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division
• Obtaining order dissolving a preliminary injunction order in state district court that former pastor had had entered against two female congregants that restricted them from speaking about allegations by one of the female congregants that former pastor had sexually assaulted her Cheolgyu Kim v. Sieun Lee and Jiyoon Kim, Cause No. 22-DCV-293883 in the 268th District Court for Fort Bend County, Texas