Episode 361. Rebecca Weis, Senior Counsel – Brand Protection at Texas Roadhouse
***At the time of our MoxieTalk, Rebecca held the role of Member, Stites & Harbison, PLLC.***
Her professional & legal accomplishments are vast, BUT that is only part of her origin story. Rebecca was diagnosed, JUST WEEKS before her daughter’s 1st birthday, with a sporadic blood cancer called Blastic Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cell Neoplasm, better known as (BPDCN)-an acute form of Leukemia. This disease is SO RARE & SO AGGRESSIVE; there is NO standard recommended course of treatment. RARER STILL is that the OVERWHELMING majority of BPDCN patients are older men! WHO KNEW? Understandably devastated by this prognosis, but true to form, Rebecca refused to yield, & she found hope in a brand new targeted therapy through an FDA-APPROVED clinical trial. Thus, after 4 rounds of a clinical trial drug, Rebecca received an allogeneic bone marrow transplant-the ONLY potential cure for BPDCN, & due to the selfless donation of a stranger, she is still alive today to tell her story!
Now that is just “1/2”-if you will-of Rebecca’s backstory. She was the 2014-2015 President of YPAL, 2013 40 under 40 recipients, a Board Of Governors with the Speed Art Museum, and 2005-2006 University of Kentucky Student Body President. OH, SHE GRADUATED MAGNA CUM LAUDE IN 2006 with a B.S. in Communications. Rebecca is also a seasoned litigator/counselor on complex employment law issues & business disputes. She has a multi-state practice where she partners with various clients & industries to defend against claims challenging their personnel & business decisions. She regularly supports management-side clients against charges & lawsuits alleging discrimination, harassment, & retaliation. She also defends claims involving independent contractors misclassifying workers comp., retaliation, whistleblower retaliation, disability accommodation, family & medical leave, & individual & collective wage/hour issues. She also has substantial experience drafting & enforcing employment agreements & restrictive covenants, including non-compete, non-solicitation, & confidentiality provisions. She regularly acts as “in-house” employment counsel for cos. that elect to outsource their work. She also provides day-to-day, proactive, & common-sense counseling to employers on every aspect of the employer-employee relationship. In conjunction with counseling, Rebecca is a frequent speaker & author on trending employment law issues. She conducts targeted client training for employees, human resources professionals, & company managers. Rebecca & her husband, John, have 1 lovely daughter named Caroline & reside in the Louisville area.