Ross • Scalise Employment Lawyers

Focus and practice areas

Employment law drives the caseload at Ross Scalise Employment Lawyers, an Austin firm that represents employees in workplace disputes across Texas. Daniel B. Ross started the firm in 1998. The core work covers discrimination, retaliation, wrongful termination, and sexual harassment. It also reaches overtime and wage claims along with whistleblower and qui tam matters.

The firm works on the employee's side of these disputes. A worker facing a pay problem, a firing, or a harassment complaint can see where the firm fits. The core work runs under both Texas and federal law. In my opinion, that dual grounding matters, because many Texas workplace claims live in the overlap between state and federal statutes.

What the employee-side docket covers

Each category on the firm's list maps to a distinct kind of case. A discrimination claim tests whether a job decision turned on a protected trait such as race, sex, age, or disability. A retaliation claim looks at what happened after an employee reported a problem or filed a complaint. Wrongful termination cases examine the stated reason behind a firing.

Wage and overtime claims work on different ground. They turn on hours worked and how a job is classified, so time sheets and pay records often decide them. A wage case can cover unpaid overtime, misclassification, or off-the-clock work. Whistleblower and qui tam cases involve an employee who reports fraud or illegal conduct, sometimes on behalf of the government. The firm handles each of these under the relevant statute.

Several of these claims begin outside a courtroom. A discrimination or retaliation charge under Title VII usually starts at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which reviews it before a lawsuit can proceed. That step runs on a deadline, so timing shapes an employee's options. Wage claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act follow their own schedule.

Contracts, exits, and other civil work

The firm's work reaches past the courtroom into contract review. It reviews and negotiates severance packages, which means reading the release language a departing employee is asked to sign and weighing what it gives up. Severance review often comes with a short window, so an employee weighing an offer benefits from a prompt read. It also handles non-compete agreements and executive compensation, both of which shape what a worker can do after leaving a job. Executive compensation review can involve bonus terms, equity, and the conditions for a payout.

Two more areas sit alongside the employment core. The firm takes on insurance bad faith claims, which arise when an insurer mishandles or denies a valid claim. It handles business disputes as well, and it assists entrepreneurs who are setting up a business. Its civil work and its employment work draw on the same base of Texas workers and business owners. As a reviewer, I note that this civil work keeps the firm useful to clients whose problems reach past the workplace.

Who handles the work

The team page names seven people with set titles. Daniel B. Ross, who founded the firm, now holds the role of Partner Emeritus. Charles Scalise is a Senior Partner whose title points to overtime and wage cases. Margo Pillischer is the Managing Partner, and Brett Beeler is a Partner. Both are listed as employment attorneys.

Nathan E. Inurria and Brandie A. Moser fill out the attorney roster as associates on the employment side. Lacie Rizzo works as a law clerk. Behind the attorneys, the firm lists paralegals, an intake team, and finance and marketing staff. As a reviewer, I read that structure as a firm that keeps legal work and client intake in separate hands, which can speed a first call.

The titles carry information on their own. Charles Scalise's role ties him to overtime and wage work. Margo Pillischer's title as Managing Partner points to oversight of the employment side. The associate and law clerk titles show which people handle case support and research.

The founder's background

Daniel Ross came to law after running a business of his own, and he practiced as a defense attorney early in his legal career. He later built a firm that represents employees. That path gives him experience on both sides of a workplace dispute, which can inform how a case is framed.

His memberships and service appear on the firm's site. He is a Fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation. He belongs to the Million Dollar Advocates Forum and the American Board of Trial Advocates. He has also served on the Dean's Advisory Committee for the University of Texas School of Social Work. These are professional memberships, and the firm lists them plainly.

Reach across Texas

The firm grew from a one-room office in Austin in 1998, and its main office remains in Austin. It keeps additional offices in Houston, Dallas, and Fort Worth, where in-person meetings are by appointment only. Its clients have come from Austin, Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, Corpus Christi, and the surrounding areas.

Employment disputes often hinge on quick action and clear records, and a presence in four Texas cities puts the firm within reach of workers in several metro areas. The firm also offers services in Spanish. That option is stated plainly on its site.