Julie Laemmle Watts is a member of the Firm's Litigation & Dispute Resolution, Labor & Employment and Intellectual Property Protection & Litigation Service Teams. She concentrates her practice in the areas of commercial disputes, trademark and copyright transactions and litigation work, healthcare litigation and employment matters.

Professional Experience

Associate, Quintairos, Prieto, Wood & Boyer, P.A. (2014 - 2017); Long term healthcare defense; premises, product & professional liability defense

Education

J.D., Indiana University Maurer School of Law

• Indiana Journal of Law and Social Equality, Senior Managing Editor
• Sherman Minton Court
• CALI award for excellence in transaction drafting, 2014

B.A., Saint Mary's College magna cum laude, (Mass Communication, minors in business administration and public relations)

• Excellence in Communication Award, 2011

Distinctions

• Recognized by Best Lawyers® as “Ones to Watch" in Commercial Litigation and Intellectual Property Law, 2021-2025
• Recognized by her peers as a Kentucky Super Lawyers® Rising Star, 2021-2025

Professional Activities

• Kentucky Bar Association
• Louisville Bar Association

• Represents individuals and corporations in evaluating potential trade and service marks, prosecuting state and federal applications for trade and service marks and enforcing trademark rights against others
• Represents individuals and corporations in Trademark Trial and Appeal Board proceedings, including Oppositions and Cancellations
• Obtained summary judgment for county board of education in case involving disability discrimination, gender discrimination, retaliation and other employment-related violations
• Obtained partial dismissal in False Claims Act matter, successfully dismissing certain client defendants based on the corporate conspiracy doctrine
• Obtained summary judgment for brake manufacturer in product liability action
• Obtained summary judgment for correctional facility nurse in Eighth Amendment denial of medical treatment claim brought by inmate

News

Blog Posts

Quoted in "Starting a business? These Louisville lawyers, founder offer IP advice," Louisville Business First (November 2021)

Blog post, EEOC Questions and Answers for Reopening Employers (May 2020)

Blog Post, Flexibility for Unemployment Insurance Benefits Amid COVID-19 Outbreak (March 2020)

Blog post, Changes to OSHA Electronic Submission Requirement Take Effect February 25 (February 2019)

Blog post, Stay Cool: Preventing Heat Illness in the Workplace (August 2018)

Blog post, Recent Case Highlights the High Price of Trade Secret Misappropriation (August 2018)

Blog post, PYRAT Rum and PIRATE PISS Beer Not Confusable, According to TTAB (June 2018

Blog post, Can Your Employees Bring Firearms to Work? (March 2018)

Blog post, Where Wage Disparity Exists, Court Holds that Employers have Heavy Burden to Prove the Reason for Disparity (February 2018)

Blog post, New EEO-1 Form on Hold Indefinitely (September 2017)

Note, California's Conversion: A Ban on Minor Conversion Therapy and the Effect on Other States, 2 Ind. J.L. & Soc. Equality (2013)

Book Note, Barbara Martin: Children at Play: Learning Gender in the Early Years, 42 J. of Youth & Adol. 305 (2012)

• "AI in Federal Litigation and the Challenges of NPE Patent Litigation," Wyatt's In-House Counsel Litigation Seminar (November 2023)
• "Protecting Your Company's Intellectual Property," KBA Issues for Corporate House Counsel Seminar (April 2022)
• "Your Company's Been Sued, Now What? Best Practices for Managing Effective Litigation Strategies with Outside Counsel," Wyatt's In-House Counsel Litigation Seminar (November 2021)
• "Protecting Your Competitive Edge: Tips and Tools for Successfully Guarding Your Company’s Intellectual Property," co-presenter with Michelle Browning Coughlin, Wyatt, Tarrant and Combs In-House Counsel Litigation Seminar (November 2018)

• Summit Academy Board of Trustees, Member
• Nativity Academy Associate Board, Member
• Fund for the Arts NeXt Ambassador Program, 2017-2018
• Community Catholic Center Mentoring Program, 2016-2018
• Indiana University Maurer School of Law Young Alumni Steering Committee, Member
• Junior League of Louisville, Member
• Saint Mary’s College Belles of the Last Decade, Member, 2012-2018; Co-Chair, 2016-2018
• Leadership Louisville's Alice Houston Women's Leadership Program, Class of 2023