Benjamin S. Morrell

Ben is an employment litigator with a national practice devoted to resolving high-stakes disputes over non-compete agreements, trade secrets, and breach of fiduciary duty claims. He counsels employers on drafting and enforcing agreements that protect competitive business interests and defends or prosecutes enforcement actions in courts and arbitrations. Ben’s work often involves fast-moving emergency relief proceedings, such as preliminary injunctions and temporary restraining orders, as well as complex damages litigation.

In addition to his unfair competition practice, Ben handles class and collective actions, wage-and-hour disputes, and other complex employment and business litigation. He also maintains a broad appellate practice, having argued in the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals and briefed cases in federal and state appellate courts across the country.

• Attained voluntary dismissal of a lawsuit to enforce a post-employment non-compete agreement after filing an anti-SLAPP motion on behalf of the defendant requesting dismissal and an award of attorney’s fees.
• In a precedent-setting case, successfully challenged a federal agency’s adverse decision on constitutional grounds in the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, attaining vacatur and a new hearing before a different administrative law judge.
• Attained default judgment as a sanction for discovery abuses in a federal lawsuit against the client’s former employee alleging breach of fiduciary duty and RICO violations related to a bid-rigging and contract-steering kickback scheme.
• In a case presenting an issue of first impression, successfully defended on appeal a grant of summary judgment of a Federal Employers’ Liability Act claim, attaining affirmance by the Supreme Court of Iowa.
• Attained summary judgment of all claims in a high-dollar federal employment discrimination and retaliation lawsuit brought under Title VII and the ADA.
• Successfully appealed to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals the denial of a pro bono client’s habeas corpus petition challenging his statutory maximum sentence for a non-violent drug crime, attaining vacatur and remand for an evidentiary hearing.
• Attained dismissal from a putative collective/class action alleging wage-and-hour violations, and compelled individual arbitrations of the lead plaintiffs’ claims.

• Webinar Accompanying Paper Co-Author, “The Transformative Impact of Trump Administration Policies on Labor and Employment Law,” American Bar Association Labor and Employment Law Webinar, Sept. 25, 2025.