Julie Laemmle Watts

Partner

How do you achieve success for clients?
I achieve success for clients by listening to their question or concern, determining the necessary scope of work, and working efficiently to answer the question or resolve the situation.

Practices and Industries

Intellectual Property Protection & Litigation Litigation & Dispute Resolution Labor & Employment

Julie Laemmle Watts is a member of the Firm’s Litigation & Dispute Resolution, Labor & Employment and Intellectual Property Protection & Litigation Service Teams. She concentrates her practice in the areas of commercial disputes, trademark and copyright transactions and litigation work, healthcare litigation and employment matters.

REPRESENTATIVE MATTERS

Represents individuals and corporations in evaluating potential trade and service marks, prosecuting state and federal applications for trade and service marks and enforcing trademark rights against others
Represents individuals and corporations in Trademark Trial and Appeal Board proceedings, including Oppositions and Cancellations
Obtained summary judgment for county board of education in case involving disability discrimination, gender discrimination, retaliation and other employment-related violations
Obtained partial dismissal in False Claims Act matter, successfully dismissing certain client defendants based on the corporate conspiracy doctrine
Obtained summary judgment for brake manufacturer in product liability action
Obtained summary judgment for correctional facility nurse in Eighth Amendment denial of medical treatment claim brought by inmate

EDUCATION

J.D., Indiana University Maurer School of Law

Indiana Journal of Law and Social Equality, Senior Managing Editor
Sherman Minton Court
CALI award for excellence in transaction drafting, 2014

B.A., Saint Mary’s College magna cum laude, (Mass Communication, minors in business administration and public relations)

Excellence in Communication Award, 2011

ADMISSIONS

Kentucky
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky
United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky
United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana

HONORS

Recognized by Best Lawyers® as “Ones to Watch” in Commercial Litigation and Intellectual Property Law, 2021-2025
Recognized by her peers as a Kentucky Super Lawyers® Rising Star, 2021-2024

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Associate, Quintairos, Prieto, Wood & Boyer, P.A. (2014 – 2017); Long term healthcare defense; premises, product & professional liability defense

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES AND MEMBERSHIPS

Kentucky Bar Association
Louisville Bar Association

CIVIC INVOLVEMENT

Leadership Louisville’s Alice Houston Women’s Leadership Program, Class of 2023
Nativity Academy Associate Board, Member
Fund for the Arts NeXt Ambassador Program, 2017-2018
Community Catholic Center Mentoring Program, 2016-2018
Indiana University Maurer School of Law Young Alumni Steering Committee, Member
Junior League of Louisville, Member
Saint Mary’s College Belles of the Last Decade, Member, 2012-2018; Co-Chair, 2016-2018

PUBLICATIONS

Quoted in “Starting a business? These Louisville lawyers, founder offer IP advice,” Louisville Business First (November 2021)
Blog post, EEOC Questions and Answers for Reopening Employers (May 2020)
Blog Post, Flexibility for Unemployment Insurance Benefits Amid COVID-19 Outbreak (March 2020)
Blog post, Changes to OSHA Electronic Submission Requirement Take Effect February 25 (February 2019)
Blog post, Stay Cool: Preventing Heat Illness in the Workplace (August 2018)
Blog post, Recent Case Highlights the High Price of Trade Secret Misappropriation (August 2018)
Blog post, PYRAT Rum and PIRATE PISS Beer Not Confusable, According to TTAB (June 2018
Blog post, Can Your Employees Bring Firearms to Work? (March 2018)
Blog post, Where Wage Disparity Exists, Court Holds that Employers have Heavy Burden to Prove the Reason for Disparity (February 2018)
Blog post, New EEO-1 Form on Hold Indefinitely (September 2017)
Note, California’s Conversion: A Ban on Minor Conversion Therapy and the Effect on Other States, 2 Ind. J.L. & Soc. Equality (2013)
Book Note, Barbara Martin: Children at Play: Learning Gender in the Early Years, 42 J. of Youth & Adol. 305 (2012)

PRESENTATIONS

“AI in Federal Litigation and the Challenges of NPE Patent Litigation,” Wyatt’s In-House Counsel Litigation Seminar (November 2023)
“Protecting Your Company’s Intellectual Property,” KBA Issues for Corporate House Counsel Seminar (April 2022)
“Your Company’s Been Sued, Now What? Best Practices for Managing Effective Litigation Strategies with Outside Counsel,” Wyatt’s In-House Counsel Litigation Seminar (November 2021)
“Protecting Your Competitive Edge: Tips and Tools for Successfully Guarding Your Company’s Intellectual Property,” co-presenter with Michelle Browning Coughlin, Wyatt, Tarrant and Combs In-House Counsel Litigation Seminar (November 2018)