Mr. Holmes has a national practice, focusing on class and collective action cases. For more than 30 years, he has successfully served as lead counsel for both plaintiffs and defendants in numerous large, multimillion-dollar class and collective action matters, primarily in the areas of employment, antitrust, consumer, and contract law.
Over the course of nearly 40 years in practice, Mr. Holmes has also served as lead counsel in hundreds of other employment, wrongful death, product liability, contract, and tort actions at both the state and federal levels, and has tried more than 100 cases.
Education & Credentials
Education
Vanderbilt University Law School
J.D., 1986- Member, Jessup International Moot Court Team, 1984-1985
- Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law, Associate Editor, 1985 -1986
University of Alabama
B.A., 1983- cum laude
- Member, University of Alabama Debate Team – Freshman National Semi-Finalist
Bar Admission
Representative Clients
- P.A.M. Transport, Inc.
- Teksid Aluminum Foundry, Inc.
- The Scooter Store
- Zurich North America
Prominent Assignments
- Successfully defended a major trucking company in a “bet the company” multimillion-dollar wage and hour claim involving over 15,000 over-the-road truck drivers.
- Successfully defended several restaurant companies for alleged tip credit violations and improper tip deductions.
- Successfully represented thousands of current and former vacation ownership (timeshare) sales representatives, resulting in three separate multimillion-dollar settlements.
- Successfully represented thousands of current and former restaurant managers in numerous cases involving improper salary deductions, each resulting in multimillion-dollar settlements.
- Successfully represented hundreds of current and former insurance agents who were misclassified as exempt from overtime, resulting in a multimillion-dollar settlement.
- Successfully represented thousands of consumers for violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, resulting in a multimillion-dollar settlement.
- Along with other counsel across the country, successfully represented hundreds of thousands of consumers in an indirect purchaser antitrust action against manufacturers of polyurethane foam, resulting in one of the largest antitrust recoveries on behalf of consumers in history.
- Successfully defended a large state district court in a suit by the ACLU and a large national firm over bail practices, resulting in a framework and settlement that saved the court millions of dollars in attorney fees.
Professional Involvement
- American Bar Association, Class Actions and Derivative Suits Committee; Section of Litigation
- Federal Bar Association
- Nashville Chapter President (2012-2016)
- Tennessee Bar Association
- Nashville Bar Association
Community Involvement
- Youth Incorporated, Board Member
- Tennessee Christian Medical Center Foundation, Board Member
Publications/Presentations
- Author, “The DOL to Bring Back the 80/20 Rule for Tipped Employees with an Additional 30-Minute Rule,” Dickinson Wright All Things HR Blog, July 2021