Julie Burke is widely regarded as one of Georgia’s most accomplished employment law attorneys. Over the past 15 years, she has litigated more than 150 employment cases, mediated over 100 matters, and secured successful verdicts in several high-profile trials.
Julie’s practice spans the full range of employment law, and she routinely handles cases involving discrimination, sexual harassment, wrongful termination, wage disputes, whistleblower and retaliation, and cases involving employment contracts such as severance agreements, restrictive covenants, and trade secret disputes. She has developed particular expertise in the area of pregnancy discrimination, having represented more than 40 plaintiffs in cases involving the issues such as pregnancy and post-delivery reasonable accommodations, family and medical leave, and other matters covered by important legislation such as the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, Family and Medical Leave Act, and Americans with Disability Act.
Julie attributes her track record of success to focusing almost exclusively on employment-related matters and maintaining a limited caseload — a strategic choice that ensures each client’s case gets the attention and resources necessary to produce a positive outcome. She has recently litigated against major U.S. and international corporations across a wide range of industries, including Sam’s Club (Walmart Inc.), Lockheed Martin, Amazon.com Services LLC, and Ryder System, Inc. Julie has also effectively represented clients against state and local government entities, including the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice and the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office (GA).
Julie’s work on behalf of employment clients has produced notable published decisions and opinions from appellate and district courts including the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit and federal district courts in Georgia, Washington, Texas, and Arizona. (See Published Opinions below) Her cases have also been covered by leading legal publications including Law360, the Daily Report, Automotive News, and Reckon. (See Media Coverage below)
Julie’s courtroom skill and ability to thrive under pressure were first honed while competing on the national collegiate debate circuit. She and her teammate won the prestigious National Debate Tournament in 2007, becoming the first all-women team to do so. During her debate competition years, Julie earned several top awards including Top Speaker Runner-Up in the 2008 NDT and the Copeland Award Runner-Up.
Julie’s results inside and outside of the courtroom, as well as her commitment to excellence in the practice of law, have earned her some of the profession’s highest honors. She has been named to the list of Georgia Super Lawyers for five consecutive years, including selected to both the Top 100 List and the Top 50 Women List in the most recent edition. She holds a perfect 10.0 rating from Avvo, and Georgia Trend Magazine has regularly named her to its Legal Elite list for Labor and Employment Law — an honor reserved for fewer than 20 employment attorneys statewide and determined solely by the votes of fellow Georgia lawyers.
Julie earned her Juris Doctor summa cum laude from the University of Georgia School of Law where she served on the Law Review staff, was a member of the Order of the Coif, and interned for the Honorable Steve C. Jones in the Western Judicial Superior Court. She completed her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science summa cum laude from Emory University where she was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Alben W. Barkley Merit Scholar.
Julie is an active member of the State Bar of Georgia and serves on the Board of the Glenn Pelham Foundation for Debate Education, a non-profit dedicated to inspiring and engaging elementary and secondary school students and educators to foster constructive dialogue, conflict resolution, critical thinking, literacy, and communication skills.
Practice Areas
Employment Law
Discrimination – Age, Gender, Sexual Orientation, Disability, Race
Sexual Harassment
Wage Litigation – Overtime, Misclassification
Employment Contract Disputes – Severance Agreements, Restrictive Covenants
Admissions
Georgia
Georgia Supreme Court
Court of Appeals of Georgia
U.S. District Court, Northern, Middle, and Southern Districts of Georgia
U.S. Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit
Awards
Georgia Super Lawyers Honoree, 2023-2027
- Top 100 List
- Top 50 Women List
Rated 10.0/10, Avvo
Legal Elite for Labor and Employment Law, Georgia Trend
Education
University of Georgia School of Law, Juris Doctor, summa cum laude
- Law Review Notes Editor
- Order of the Coif
Emory University, Bachelor of Arts: Political Science, magna cum laude
- Champion, National Debate Tournament, 2007
- Phi Beta Kappa
Representative Matters
Ismael v. Roundtree — landmark Eleventh Circuit decision (42 U.S.C. § 1981 retaliation) U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, No. 25-10604 (Dec. 5, 2025); on appeal from S.D. Ga. As part of the team representing the plaintiff-appellant, secured reversal of summary judgment in a published decision that reshaped how courts apply the McDonnell Douglas framework at summary judgment — holding that the district court improperly conflated the McDonnell Douglas pretext analysis with the “convincing mosaic” standard, and reaffirming that circumstantial evidence viewed as a whole can defeat summary judgment even where a plaintiff cannot establish pretext. The decision has been the subject of extensive analysis by employment-defense firms nationwide, including Seyfarth Shaw, Constangy, Greenberg Traurig, Akerman, and Venable.
Martinez v. Lockheed Martin Corp. — FLSA firefighter overtime (collective action) No. 1:22-cv-01342 (N.D. Ga.) Represented 40+ private firefighters at Lockheed Martin’s Marietta, Georgia facility who alleged the company failed to pay proper overtime under the FLSA, defeating reliance on the § 7(k) public-agency exemption. The court granted conditional collective certification in November 2022; the case resolved by settlement providing back wages and damages in 2023.
Confidential settlement — $750,000 Industry confidential.
Jacobs v. Ryder Truck Rental, Inc. — disability discrimination (ADA) No. 1:22-cv-02871 (N.D. Ga.) Represented a former employee who was legally blind in one eye with limited vision in the other, alleging the company revoked his driving privileges, denied his requested accommodations, and terminated him after he filed an EEOC charge. The case settled in 2023.
Hammond v. Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice — wrongful termination No. 1:21-cv-00210-TWT (N.D. Ga.) Represented a newly hired HR technician who alleged she was terminated for declining to return to work before her doctor-ordered COVID-19 quarantine ended, in violation of the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act and the FLSA.
Dealership parts-and-service manager — age discrimination (ADEA) Automotive/retail · covered by Automotive News, Jan. 2023 (case caption not publicly available) Represented an Atlanta-area dealership’s former parts and service manager alleging age discrimination in his termination.
McAlister v. E.J. Brooks Co. d/b/a TydenBrooks Security Products — pregnancy / attendance policy N.D. Ga. (filed Nov. 2020; resolved 2026) Represented a former factory lead operator who alleged she was terminated under her employer’s “no-fault” attendance policy following a pregnancy-related medical emergency, in violation of the FMLA. The case drew attention to the intersection of points-based attendance policies and pregnancy-related leave.
Williams v. Amazon.com Services, LLC — ADA (employment) N.D. Ga. Represented an employee in an ADA employment matter (2024).
Willis v. Helms & Greene — law-firm partnership compensation trial No. 2012CV220798 (Fulton Cnty. Super. Ct.) Following a breach-of-contract dispute over unpaid bonuses owed to a departing law firm partner, a jury awarded the plaintiff $551,183 on his claims, while awarding the firm $105,750 on its counterclaims.
Media Coverage
Ismael v. Roundtree, subject of client alerts and analysis by numerous top law firms, including Seyfarth Shaw, Constangy, Greenberg Traurig, Akerman, and Venable (Dec. 2025–2026)
“Sam’s Club Reaches Deal With Ex-Worker In Miscarriage Suit,” Law360 (July 9, 2026)
“Former parts and service manager alleges age discrimination,” Automotive News (Jan. 11, 2023)
“Lockheed and Firefighters Get Conditional Cert. in OT Suit,” Law360 (Nov. 9, 2022)
“Fired Ryder Worker Sues Over Disability Bias,” Law360 (July 21, 2022)
“Lawsuit Claims State Juvenile Justice Agency Illegally Fired Woman Under COVID-19 Quarantine,” Daily Report (Jan. 14, 2021)
“Georgia Factory Worker, Fired After Miscarriage Scare, Sues Ex-Employer Over Attendance Policy,” Reckon (Jan. 19, 2021)
“Jury Gives $550K to Ex-Partner, Returns $105K to Law Firm,” Daily Report (Nov. 2014)
Reported Opinions
Ismael v. Roundtree, 161 F.4th 752 (11th Cir. 2025) — The Eleventh Circuit reversed summary judgment for a county sheriff’s office, holding that a discrimination or retaliation claim can survive summary judgment based on the weight of circumstantial evidence even without a standalone showing of pretext.
Gresham v. Father & Son Plumbing LLC, No. 3:25-cv-63 (M.D. Ga. 2026) — The court granted summary judgment on liability under the Fair Labor Standards Act, finding the defendants were the plaintiff’s employers and had failed to pay him required overtime premiums.
Williams v. Recovery Innovations, Inc., No. 3:24-cv-05496 (W.D. Wash.) — A multi-year employment dispute against a behavioral health services provider, spanning summary judgment, post-judgment motions, and a request for interlocutory appeal.
Kadribasic v. Wal-Mart, Inc., No. 21-14177 (11th Cir. 2023) — The Eleventh Circuit considered whether an employee who did not follow her employer’s third-party leave-notice procedure could still claim protection under the FMLA.
Andrews v. Koch Foods of Pine Mountain Valley, LLC, No. 4:18-cv-16 (M.D. Ga. 2019) — A pregnancy discrimination case alleging a poultry processor forced an employee to resign and denied her paid leave after failing to accommodate her pregnancy-related medical restrictions.
Bearden v. E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, 945 F.3d 1333 (11th Cir. 2019) — The Eleventh Circuit affirmed summary judgment for the employer, holding that a former employee’s departure did not qualify as a “retirement” that would have preserved his stock options under the company’s incentive plan.
Conversant Intellectual Property Management, Inc. v. Xilinx, Inc., Nos. 6:12-cv-847, 6:12-cv-848 (E.D. Tex. 2015) — A claim-construction order interpreting disputed terms across five patents in a semiconductor patent infringement dispute.
Pipeline Technologies, Inc. v. Telog Instruments, Inc., No. CV-13-02104 (D. Ariz. 2014) — A patent case addressing a challenge to the validity of a patent claim as indefinite under 35 U.S.C. § 112(b).
Professional Memberships & Affiliations
State Bar of Georgia, Member
Glenn Pelham Foundation, Board Member
Prior Positions
Honorable Steve C. Jones, Western Judicial Circuit Superior Court, Intern
