Employment Mediation
balanced employment law experience
Alan mediates all kinds of employment disputes across the Houston area. He has represented employees and employers – and learned from both. From Alan, expect an employment mediator who sees what a dispute means to everyone.
As a young lawyer, Alan cut his teeth on employee-side work. He spent six years doing it. Alan loved taking up for the little guy against the company’s weight. It showed Alan where many employers get blindsided.
Alan then switched gears. He opened his own shop on The Woodlands Waterway, representing only Houston employers for ten years. Alan went through Texas A&M’s business school, so he talks management lingo. He may have had more impact for people as management’s Jiminy Crickett, than representing employees.
But Alan never stopped practicing law like a plaintiff’s lawyer. One mentor got him hooked on The Art of War. The rest is history. Even as a management-side employment lawyer, Alan aggressively pursued his defenses as if he had the burden of proof.
Alan has worked both sides of employment disputes. He has worked claims for discrimination, harassment, retaliation, overtime pay, non-compete enforcement and trade secrets. He helped pursued several overtime collective actions for employees and led employers’ defense against several overtime collective actions.
As an employment mediator, Alan uses his insight into both management and employees. He’s been there.
cancer journey
Cancer changed everything. At 39 years old, Alan discovered he had genetic colon cancer. While operating his law firm, he fought round one. Surgery and chemotherapy put Alan on the ropes. A year after Alan got the “all clear,” Alan’s cancer came back for round two.
Fighting round two, Alan closed his own practice and joined a large firm. He temporarily gave up his love for employment law. Several years later, victory was declared.
Cancer wasn’t done yet – it came back for a dire round three. Today, through an intense surgery and a miracle, the fight was finished.
Although Alan is cancer-free, it’s cost him. The “Mother of All Surgeries,” as the MD Anderson surgeons called it, took four months of recovery until Alan got back in the office. He has a permanent ostomy. And he’s needed a few more procedures to fix issues caused by the surgery.
That led Alan to finally open Bush Mediation. Today, he mediates like he’d hoped since law school.
Cancer upended Alan’s work. He’s changed jobs twice; he’s changed practice areas twice. Alan understands where a plaintiff is coming from.
Thought Leadership
Even before he went mediator, Alan always loved sharing his practical experience. He routinely spoke and wrote in Houston and across Texas.
Alan has talked multiple times for the STCL Employment Law Conference, the Aggie Law Review Energy Law Conference, HR Southwest and the Gulf Coast Symposium on HR.
Alan’s work has been published in Texas Lawyer, Corporate Counsel Review, Corporate Counsel Newsletter and Houston Business Journal.
A few of Alan’s talks and articles were:
Trade Secret and Overtime Lessons from the Oil Patch
Overtime Pay: Sleepless in San Antonio
Off-the-Clock Overtime Pay Lawsuits: It Only Takes One (Disgruntled Ex-Employee)
Early Christmas for Overtime Plaintiff’s Counsel
How to Survive the Overtime Pay Dog Pile
When The Other Guy’s Employees Are Yours Too
Investigations on the Record (Strictly)
Zip It! The Boss’ Words Can Bite You.
Forward HR Intel: Get There First
27 Things Plaintiff’s Counsel Is Begging You To Do
Gender Wage Gap: All Over the Media – Coming Soon to a Courtroom Near You
Escargot and Employee Lawsuits: Best Gulped Down Fast
Living With The Complaining Employee
Trade Secrets: Security for Soft IP
HR Meets CSI: Nothing Up My Sleeve, But Hands Off My Thumb Drive
Can You Keep A Secret? Protecting Trade Secrets With TUTSA
Tapping A Competitor’s Talent Pool
Alan Bush mediates employment disputes in the Houston area. He mediates in person in Montgomery County and Harris County.