Erin L. Payne

Erin Payne is an associate in the Litigation Section of Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP and her main area of practice focuses on Labor & Employment Law.

Ms. Payne represents employers in all aspects of employment litigation and counseling including defending claims brought under Title VII, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Age Discrimination and Employment Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, the whistleblower provision of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, and other federal and state employment statutes. Her experience includes representing employers in matters pending before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, state courts, and federal courts.

Ms. Payne also has experience with prosecuting claims for breach of restrictive covenants, breach of fiduciary duties, tortious interference with business relations, and trade secret misappropriation.

Ms. Payne received her B.A. degree in Speech Communication, summa cum laude, from the University of Georgia in 2002. She minored in Political Science. She was a First Honor Graduate and a graduate of the Honors Program. Ms. Payne earned her J.D. degree, with honors, from Emory University School of Law in 2005. She was the Executive Notes and Comments Editor for the Emory Law Journal and she was Order of the Coif.

Ms. Payne is a member of the State Bar of Georgia and is admitted to practice before all of the state courts of Georgia, including the Court of Appeals and the Georgia Supreme Court, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, the United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia, and the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals.