Overview

Kimberly A. Yates is an experienced litigator, counselor, leader and innovator. She represents clients in employment litigation, provides advice and counsel on a variety of employment and human resource matters, and has led innovation platforms that provide these services.

Kim’s practice includes advice and counsel for global clients and various labor and employment litigation, particularly in the areas of:

  • Discrimination and retaliation lawsuits
  • Wage and hour collective and class action matters
  • Trade secrets, restrictive covenant agreements and unfair competition cases
  • Management and employee training

Additionally, Kim provides client counseling concerning risk management and compliance with state and federal employment laws. A frequent speaker and lecturer on labor and employment matters, she also has trained executives and management on:

  • Pandemic/COVID-19 Response
  • Wage and hour compliance
  • Personnel policies and practices
  • Employee discipline and discharge
  • Workplace safety

Kim’s management and strategic leadership experience includes roles at the firm leading two of Littler’s award-winning innovation platforms - Littler CaseSmart®- Charges (LCS) and Littler onDemand (LoD). As Program Director for LCS – Charges, Kim led the team of national LCS Counsel defending agency charges and other pre-litigation matters. Kim also served as Program Director for Littler onDemand during development and launch of the technology-based, advice-and counsel platform. In her Program Director roles, Kim provided clients extensive consulting on program performance and analysis of metrics related to their employment matters and legal services.  

Kim developed and led the firm’s Littler onDemand COVID-19 Task Force process connecting clients with fast and effective subject-matter knowledge during the pandemic. Kim is a current member of Littler’s Women’s Leadership Initiative Steering Committee and a past member of the core team of the firm's Associates Committee and the Talent Advisory Council.

In law school, Kim was lead articles editor for the Journal of Dispute Resolution. Prior to beginning a career in law, she worked for a global distribution company as a national account manager in its health and beauty care division and as a human resources executive. Kim also drafted substantial portions of Missouri's revised Dram Shop law, which was subjected to heavy judicial scrutiny and survived a constitutional challenge.

Recognition

Named, The Best Lawyers in America®

2012-2025

Named, America's Leading Lawyers for Business

Chambers USA

2013-2015

Named, Up and Coming Lawyers

Missouri Lawyers Weekly

2009

Named, Rising Star

Missouri and Kansas

Super Lawyers

2010

News, Analysis & Press

Speaking Engagements

2022 St. Louis Regional Employer Conference

St. Louis, MO

September 22, 2022

The New DOL Wage & Hour Restrictions: Challenges and Opportunities

St. Louis Association of Corporate Counsel, St. Louis, MO

October 1, 2015

Defending the Discriminator – Ethical and Other Issues Associated With Joint Representation

June 2, 2015

LGBT Bias, Prejudice, and Discrimination: Ethical Issues for Lawyers

June 2, 2015

Ethical Issues in Wage and Hour Law

Chicago, IL

June 19, 2014

Ethical Issues in Reductions-in-Force and Releases

Chicago, IL

June 19, 2014

Recent Missouri Supreme Court Case Resurrects Untimely Discrimination Claims Unless Employers Jump Through Procedural Hoops Before A Lawsuit is Filed

October 3, 2013

Love in the Workplace - What's an Employer to Do?

February 14, 2013

The Workplace of the Future: Debunking the Myths Surrounding Flexible Work

June 2, 2011

Is The Ceiling Still Glass?

Women in the Legal Profession Section - Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis

March 25, 2011

Wage and Hour Ethical Issues in Employment Law; Association of Corporate Counsel

February 23, 2011

Ethical Issues In Employment Law

Association of Corporate Counsel

February 23, 2011

Social Media in the Workplace; Special presentation for Federal Clerks and Judiciary

June 18, 2010

Preventing, Preparing for and Responding to Threats and Acts of Violence in the Workplace

February 26, 2010

Reductions-in-Force: The Puzzle, The Process and The Alternatives

May 19, 2009

Education

  • J.D., University of Missouri School of Law, 2000
  • A.B., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1992

Bar Admission

Missouri
Illinois

Courts

  • U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Missouri
  • U.S. District Court, Western District of Missouri
  • U.S. District Court, Southern District of Illinois
  • Circuit Courts of Missouri