JD, with honors, The University of Oklahoma College of Law, 1991
BS, with honors, Accounting, Oklahoma State University, 1988

Carter was a published author and a member of the Oklahoma Law Review while in law school. He was admitted to practice law in Texas in 1991.

• Texas State Bar

Wage and Hour Litigation

Representing employers in wage and hour disputes under the Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA") for improper payment or classification of workers, including collective actions.  Carter has tried and won multiple wage and hour cases, in jury trials and in arbitration--one of the few lawyers who has done so.  Other examples include:

• Oil and gas companies in claims that workers were misclassified or independent contractors
• Successfully defended a leading North American energy producer in an eight-year battle against a 1,006  plaintiff FLSA "donning and doffing" case. Plaintiffs made allegations of a right to compensation for donnning and doffing their standard PPE, and for attending pre and post-shift safety meetings. This case won the 2020 Houston Corporate Counsel Business Litigation of the Year Award.
• Offshore construction firm in collective actions for failure to pay overtime to workers under the FLSA
• Oilfield services firms in FLSA collective actions in which the plaintiffs claimed that they were forced to work off the clock.
• Commodities testing firm in an FLSA case in which the plaintiffs claimed their expense reimbursements should have been included in their overtime rate.
• International construction firm in a case filed by the Department of Labor alleging that the employer improperly claimed the Motor Carrier Act exemption under the FLSA
• Public restaurant company in a claim for failure to maintain a proper tip pool under the FLSA
• Companies sued in California under the California wage and hour laws
• Insurance company sued for improperly classifying workers as independent contractors instead of employees

Employee / Executive / Partnership Contract Litigation

Representing companies and individuals in disputes over contracts and compensation issues; claims include claims for breach of employment contracts, partnership agreements, stock purchase agreements, asset purchase agreements and stock option valuations. Recent case experience includes:

• Public energy company in a dispute over a bonus allegedly owed under an executive employment agreement
• Energy hedge funds in disputes with traders over bonuses allegedly owed to the trader
• Communications firm in a dispute over a change of control bonus allegedly owed to an employee
• Individuals who claimed that the buyer of their company had failed to properly calculate their earn-out payments
• General partner in litigation with a limited partner over the terms of the partnership agreement

Trade Secrets / Non-compete Agreements / Non-solicitation Agreements:

Representing clients in disputes over the protection of trade secrets, and the enforcement of non-compete and non-solicitation agreements. Recent experience includes:

• Oil and gas company in obtaining an injunction against an executive who left to form a competing company
• Technology firm in obtaining an injunction after its COO went to work for a competitor
• Industrial cleaning firm who sued to prevent its COO from becoming the CEO of a major competitor
• Heavy equipment distributor in obtaining an injunction after a group of employees started a competing firm
• Engineering and construction firm in obtaining an injunction against its former COO who was planning to work for a competitor
• Financial services firm after key sales employees joined a competitor and attempted to take key clients to the new firm
• Chemical manufacturer in obtaining an injunction when a competitor failed to honor its obligations under a contract

General Employment Law Matters

Handling a wide variety of employment law matters; matters include retaliation and discrimination claims under state and federal law and all types of employment policies and procedures. Recent experience includes:

• Advising and defending clients from whistle blower claims under Section 806 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002; these matters often entail advising a company's board of directors with respect to employee investigations and appropriate actions following employee investigations; this includes internal investigations conducted in conjunction with governmental investigations and federal subpoenas
• Representing companies in multi-plaintiff discrimination cases
• Preparing employment agreements, confidentiality agreements, non-compete agreements and non-solicitation agreements for public and private companies and individuals

• Top 100, The Nation's Most Powerful Employment Attorneys, Human Resource Executive and Lawdragon, 2018 - 2019
• Chambers USA, Texas: Labor and Employment, Chambers and Partners, 2005 - 2023
• Lawdragon 500 Leading Corporate Employment Lawyers, Lawdragon, 2024
• Acritas Stars, Acritas, 2018 - 2021
• The Best Lawyers in America, Best Lawyers, 2005 - 2021
• Best Lawyers - Commercial Litigation, Best Lawyers, 2022 - 2024
• Best Lawyers - Employment Law - Management, Best Lawyers, 2022 - 2024
• Best Lawyers - Labor Law - Management Best Lawyers, 2022 - 2024
• Best Lawyers - Litigation - Labor and Employment, Best Lawyers, 2022 - 2024
• Legal 500 USA, recommended lawyer, Dispute resolution - Product liability, mass tort and class action: toxic tort - defense, The Legal 500, 2018
• Texas Top Rated Lawyer, LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell, 2012 - 2015
• Texas Super Lawyers, Employment litigation: defense, Thomson Reuters, 2006 - 2020, 2022
• Texas Super Lawyers, Top 100 Lawyers in Houston, Thomson Reuters, 2014 - 2015, 2017 - 2018
• Labor & Employment Star - Texas, Labor and Employment, Benchmark Litigation, Euromoney PLC, 2018 - 2021
• Texas Rising Star, Thomson Reuters, 2005 - 2006

• Co-presenter, "Class Actions: Implications of Recent Supreme Court Decisions," Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P. Web Seminar, June 30, 2011
• Co-presenter, "Employment Practices and Defenses in Employee Claims: What Does the Future Hold?" Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P. Web Seminar, June 29, 2011
• Co-presenter, "Warning! Automatic Lunch Deductions Top the Menu for Plaintiffs' Lawyers," Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P. Web Seminar, March 23, 2010
• Co-presenter, "Labor and Employment Law Update -  State of the Employment at Will Doctrine in Texas," Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P. Breakfast Briefing, Houston, Texas,  February 24, 2010
• Moderator, "Recent Developments in Attorney-Client Privilege - Hot Issues in Attorney-Client Privilege: Investigations & International Issues," Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P. Breakfast Briefing, Houston, Texas, October 7, 2008
• Co-presenter, "Labor and Employment Law Update - Recent Developments in FLSA Litigation and Section 409A Final Regs and What They Mean," Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P. Breakfast Briefing, Houston, Texas, June 17, 2008

• Houston Bar Association President (2014-2015)
  • Board of Directors (2007 - 2015)
• State Bar of Texas Director (2015)
• American Bar Association
• Houston Management Lawyers Forum, President (1998 - 1999)
• The Children's Fund, Inc. (venture-capital charity for children's causes), member (2000 - 2005)
• Christ the King Presbyterian Church, Elder