Leslie Goff Sanders

Leslie Goff Sanders is the Managing Partner of Barton’s Nashville office. She assists employers in all areas of labor and employment law, with a particular focus on day-to-day counseling, litigation, trade secrets and non-competition, and executive compensation.

Leslie's philosophy is to be a business partner with her clients. By understanding the nature of her client’s business and their goals, she can better advise them on how to successfully navigate employee relations issues and create a productive workforce. When litigation is unavoidable, she has extensive experience and a successful track record of defending companies.

As their strategic adviser, clients also turn to Leslie for assistance with their employment practices and policies, providing training for clients’ employees, both management and non-management. She has owned several small businesses and understands first-hand the importance of positive employee relations. She draws on her experience as a business owner, the experiences of her clients and the lessons learned from litigation to help clients develop outstanding employees and to effectively handle problems when they arise. Her goal with each client is to help them succeed in their various markets and she knows a good workforce is key to that success.

Leslie’s executive compensation practice includes representing both companies and executives in negotiating employment agreements and severance packages. Her experience includes both public and private companies. She has advised clients with respect to compliance with Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code, severance packages in connection with reductions in force, change in control provisions, non-competition covenants and equity agreements.

Leslie started her career and became an of counsel at Bass Berry & Sims and was most recently a principal at AmLaw 100 ranked Jackson Lewis.

Practices:

• Litigation
• Labor, Employment and Executive Compensation
• Labor and Employment Disputes

Industry Experience:

Honors:

• Acritas Stars, "Independently Rated Lawyer" – 2017
• Best Lawyers in America, "Employment Law - Management" – 2015 to present
• Human Resource Executive, Lawdragon, "200 Most Powerful Employment Attorneys in the Nation" – 2012

Education:

• University of Kentucky College of Law, J.D.
• Georgetown College, B.A., magna cum laude

Admissions:

• State of Georgia
• State of Kentucky
• State of Tennessee
• State of Wisconsin
• U.S. District Court, District of Colorado
• U.S. District Court, Eastern and Western Districts of Kentucky
• U.S. District Court, Eastern, Middle, and Western Districts of Tennessee
• U.S. Court of Appeals Sixth Circuit