Meredith Whigham Caiafa

Meredith is a partner in Taft’s Employment and Labor Relations practice. She collaborates closely with corporate clients throughout the U.S. with respect to employment, executive compensation, and restrictive covenants matters. She helps her clients achieve their business goals through practical, business-focused advice and legal representation  on all facets of employment and human resources issues, including hiring and onboarding, employee classification/wage and hour matters, performance management, internal investigations, employee leave issues, disability accommodations, restrictive covenants/trade secrets enforcement and defense, terminations, and reductions in force. She also serves as labor & employment counsel in buy- and sell-side transactions in multiple industries, providing comprehensive assistance on all employment-related deal points and post-closing employee matters.

Meredith also represents senior executives as they transition roles, providing executive compensation and employment law guidance with respect to executive employment arrangements, change-in-control agreements, retention and bonus programs, and separation and severance agreements.

In addition, Meredith represents corporate clients in litigation and administrative matters regarding restrictive covenants, trade secrets, breach of contract, wage and hour, whistleblower, and employment discrimination. Meredith has extensive experience in all aspects of complex litigation, including arbitration, mediation, appellate, and trial work in state and federal courts, and frequently appears before state and federal administrative agencies such as the Department of Labor, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and National Labor Relations Board.

• Won $10 million judgment in favor of clients on all claims following two-week bench trial in federal court, including breach of executive employment contracts, breach of earn-out provisions of acquisition agreements, and enforceability of restrictive covenants.
• Won dismissal of employee’s Title VII and Section 1983 claims against hospital client.
• Won dismissal of bad faith and breach of contract claims against insurance company based on firearms exclusion in commercial general liability policy, on an issue of first impression in Georgia.
• Won summary judgment for insurance company on coverage claim under directors and officers liability policy based on late notice, including upholding summary judgment on appeal to the Second Circuit.
• Won dismissal of New York plaintiff’s lawsuit against insurer client under Georgia’s forum non conveniens statute, including upholding dismissal on appeal to the Georgia Court of Appeals.
• Won dismissal for surplus lines insurer of $15 million claim for violation of Florida consumer protection statutes through lender-placed insurance policies, including upholding dismissal on appeal to the Eleventh Circuit.