Roberta B. Fields

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(405) 552-2366 | roberta.fields@mcafeetaft.com | Oklahoma City

Paralegal: Erin K. Clogston

Overview
Experience
Honors & Involvement

Bio overview

Roberta Browning Fields is a trial lawyer who regularly represents employers in all areas of employment law, including litigation in state and federal courts, in arbitrations, and before regulatory and administrative agencies such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), Department of Labor (DOL) and Oklahoma Human Rights Commission. She has successfully handled litigation involving claims of wrongful discharge, harassment, employment discrimination (based on race, age and disability) and ERISA violations, as well as disputes involving wage and hour matters, medical leave, confidentiality and non-compete agreements, employee handbook and company policy violations, and breaches of employment agreements.

A portion of Roberta’s trial practice is devoted to public utility law and commercial litigation. She has successfully represented major railway, electric utility and telephone companies in lawsuits involving claims of negligence, environmental damage, asbestos exposure, wrongful death, and property damage.

As part of her employment practice, Roberta trains and counsels employers on a broad range of matters affecting the workplace, including hiring, discipline, terminations, policies and procedures, drug and alcohol testing, anti-discrimination and anti-harassment, employment contracts and confidentiality agreements, workplace safety, and the National Labor Relations Act. For companies who seek to remain non-unionized, she also provides counseling on union avoidance strategies.

In addition to her active practice, Roberta also chairs the firm’s Associate Committee.

Roberta has been a featured speaker on various legal topics and has twice served on the faculty of the University of Oklahoma College of Trial Advocacy.

Roberta’s achievements have earned her inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America (employment law — management; labor and employment litigation) and Oklahoma Super Lawyers, which named her to its list of “Top 25 Women” lawyers in Oklahoma in 2017.

Prior to entering law school, Roberta worked as a correctional officer and as a case worker for the Oklahoma Department of Corrections for five years. In addition to her law degree, she holds a bachelor’s degree in social work and a master’s degree in sociology/corrections.

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Experience, Honors, & Awards

Representative Experience

Obtained summary judgment on behalf of an electric utility in a Fair Labor Standards Act wage and hour lawsuit in which five former area service linemen claimed that the company violated federal law by failing to compensate them for time spent ‘on-call.’
Obtained summary judgment in favor of an information technology staffing company in a lawsuit filed by a former employee alleging disability discrimination based on mental health issues, disparate treatment, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Obtained summary judgment on behalf of a non-profit organization and an individual leader in a wrongful discharge case.
Obtained summary judgment in the Western District of Oklahoma on behalf of a municipality in an environmental case brought under the Clean Water Act.
Obtained defense verdict for a telephone company in a federal court case alleging race discrimination related to a corporate downsizing.
Obtained summary judgment in the Eastern District of Oklahoma on behalf of an electric utility where plaintiffs claimed ERISA violations related to a corporate restructure.
Obtained summary judgment in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, state court on behalf of an electric utility in a wrongful death case.
Obtained summary judgment on behalf of a gas pipeline company in a wrongful discharge drug testing case.
Obtained judgment in a non-jury trial for an electric utility accused of employment discrimination based on race.
Obtained jury verdict for an electric utility in Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma, in a wrongful termination and tortious breach of contract case.
Successfully represented a railroad company as plaintiff in a Garfield County, Oklahoma, property damage jury trial.
Obtained summary judgment for a railway company in an Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, state court action alleging negligence in a crossing accident.
Obtained dismissal in Tulsa County, Oklahoma, state court of a malicious prosecution lawsuit brought by a former employee of a railroad company.
Obtained summary judgment for an electric utility in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, state court in a wrongful death case which involved allegations of asbestos exposure.
Obtained summary judgment for an electric utility in an Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, state court case alleging negligence and claiming personal injury.

Honors and Awards

Named a “Labor & Employment Star – South” by Benchmark Litigation
Selected by peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America (employment law — management; labor and employment litigation)
Listed in Oklahoma Super Lawyers
Named to Oklahoma Super Lawyers’ list of “Top 25 Women Lawyers”
Rated AV Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Ratings

Professional Organizations and Memberships

Oklahoma County Bar Association
Oklahoma Bar Association
Oklahoma Bar Foundation (Fellow)
American Bar Association

Civic Involvement and Leadership

Library Endowment Trust (Trustee)
United Way of Central Oklahoma (Board Member)
Development Associates International (Board Member)

ATPs display in this column

At The Podium

Navigating the Challenges of Intersecting Employee Leave Laws

EmployerLINC22

Tulsa, OK | March 23, 2022

Navigating the Challenges of Intersecting Employee Leave Laws

EmployerLINC22

Oklahoma City, OK | March 22, 2022

What to Expect from the Biden Administration

EmployerLINC21

Online | March 10, 2021

The Discovery Process: Recipes for Success Panel

OBA 2019 Labor & Employment Law Update CLE

Oklahoma City, OK | October 4, 2019

Some Like It Hot: Ice cold answers for your burning questions

EmployerLINC19

Oklahoma City, OK | April 3, 2019

Attorney Articles

Articles

Young woman being harassed by a coworker

Taxation: The Tax Benefit Rule and Its Application to Corporate Liquidations

Oklahoma Law Review Vol. 37, No. 3 | 1984

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Practice Areas

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Industry Groups

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Admissions

Oklahoma, 1984
U.S. District Courts for the Western, Northern and Eastern Districts of Oklahoma
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
U.S. Supreme Court
U.S. Tax Court

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Education

J.D., with distinction, University of Oklahoma, 1984
- Editor, Oklahoma Law Review
M.S. (Sociology/Corrections), Oklahoma State University, 1981
B.A. (Social Work), Oral Roberts University, 1977

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