Overview
Alicia H. Koepke is a Shareholder of the firm. She serves as leader of the Employment Law Practice Group and previously served as co-leader of the Litigation and Dispute Resolution Practice Group. Alicia focuses her practice on employment and business law and related litigation. She regularly advises companies of all sizes on business and employment issues, including protecting trade secret and other confidential information; preparing and enforcing restrictive covenants, including non-compete and non-solicitation agreements; preparing and implementing employment forms, policies, handbooks, and agreements; obtaining background checks and drug testing; complying with wage-and-hour obligations; making religious, disability, pregnancy, childbirth and other accommodations; avoiding and responding to complaints of unlawful conduct, such as discrimination, harassment and retaliation; implementing terminations and layoffs; and assessing other rights and responsibilities of companies, officers, directors, supervisors, employees and applicants. In addition to advising and conducting training for her clients, Alicia conducts workplace investigations and represents clients in business and employment disputes before government agencies, in arbitration and mediation and in state and federal courts.
Representative Matters
- Prevailed at jury trial and obtained final judgment (affirmed on appeal) in favor of investor clients on claims of breach of fiduciary duty, fraud and violation of franchise and securities statutes.
- Prevailed at arbitration on disability discrimination and Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) claims.
- Secured summary final judgments in favor of clients on discrimination, harassment and retaliation claims.
- Obtained injunctive relief enforcing client’s non-competition, non-solicitation, and other restrictive covenants.
- Prevailed at non-jury trials and obtained judgments in favor of clients on breach of contract and other business litigation claims.
- Prevailed on summary judgment in favor of client on misappropriation of trade secrets and related claims.
- Secured summary final judgments in favor of clients on breach of contract and related claims.
- Obtained dismissal of misappropriation of trade secrets, conspiracy and tortious interference claims against client.
- Secured dismissal of discrimination, failure-to-accommodate disability and Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) claims against client.
- Obtained dismissal (affirmed on appeal) of shareholder derivative claims against clients.
Honors and Distinctions
- Volunteer of the Year Award, Florida Bar Labor and Employment Section, 2024
- AV Preeminent Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell
- The Best Lawyers in America
- Litigation – Labor and Employment, 2021-2025
- Commercial Litigation, 2023-2025
- Employment Law – Management, 2023-2025
- Appellate Practice, 2024-2025
- Florida Trend’s Legal Elite, 2020-2022
- Up & Comer, 2016-2019
- Florida Super Lawyers, 2023-2024
- Rising Star, 2009-2010, 2013-2020
- Tampa Magazine’s Top Lawyers List, 2018 – 2024
- Business Leader, Tampa Top 50 Entrepreneurs Award, 2012
- Tampa Bay Business Journal, Up & Comer, 2008
Professional Involvement
- American Bar Association
- Section of Labor and Employment Law
- Employment Rights and Responsibilities Committee
- Section of Labor and Employment Law
- The Florida Bar
- Labor and Employment Law Section
- Executive Council
- The Florida Bar Journal Section Articles Editor
- Co-Chair of Local/Voluntary Bar Committee and Communications Committee
- Business Law Section
- Labor and Employment Law Section
- Hillsborough County Bar Association
Community Involvement
- The University of Tampa
- Board of Fellows, 2015-2023
- Co-Chair of Membership & Engagement Committee, 2019-2022
- Steering Committee, 2019-2023
- The Tampa Connection
- Board of Directors, 2021-2024
- Alumni Committee, 2012-2018, 2022-2024
- Executive Board of Alumni Committee, 2013-2014
- Class of 2012
- A Brighter Community, Inc.
- Advisory Board, 2014-2019
- Board of Directors, 2007-2014
- Executive Committee, 2010-2012
- Leadership Tampa Bay
- Class of 2010
News
- Sixty-Four Attorneys from Trenam Law Listed in The Best Lawyers in America© 2025
- Forty-Five Attorneys Recognized in Florida Super Lawyers and Rising Stars 2024
- DOL Announces Final Rule on Employee or Independent Contractor Classification under the FLSA
- Forty-Eight Attorneys Recognized in Tampa Magazine’s Top Lawyers for 2024 – Two Attorneys Listed in Top Categories
- Broward County and Miami Beach Expand Anti-Discrimination Protections to Hair Texture and Style
- NLRB Issues Final Rule Lowering Standard for Determining Joint Employer Status
- Fifty-One Attorneys from Trenam Law Listed in The Best Lawyers in America® 2024
- Forty-Five Attorneys Recognized in Florida Super Lawyers 2023
- Amy L. Drushal and C. Graham Carothers Appointed Practice Group Leaders
- Forty-One Attorneys Listed in Tampa Magazine’s Top Lawyers for 2023
- Fifty-two Attorneys from Trenam Law Listed in The Best Lawyers in America© 2023 Four Attorneys Named “Lawyer of the Year”
- Nineteen Trenam Law Attorneys Recognized in Florida Trend Magazine’s “Legal Elite” 2022
- Twenty-Four Attorneys Listed in Tampa Magazine’s Top Lawyers for 2022
- Fifty-Four Attorneys from Trenam Law Listed in The Best Lawyers in America© 2022
- Trenam Law Attorneys Recognized in Florida Trend Magazine’s “Legal Elite” 2021
- Twenty-Five Attorneys Listed as Top Lawyers 2021 by Tampa Magazine
- Twenty-Five Attorneys Listed as Top Lawyers 2021 by Tampa Magazine
- Fifty-Four Attorneys from Trenam Law Listed in The Best Lawyers in America© 2021
- Trenam Law Attorneys Recognized in Florida Trend Magazine’s “Legal Elite” 2020
- Forty-Seven Attorneys Recognized in Florida Super Lawyers 2020
- Trenam Law Attorneys Recognized as Top Lawyers 2020 by Tampa Magazine
- Twenty-One Attorneys Named to Florida Trend Magazine’s “Legal Elite” 2019
- Forty-Nine Attorneys Recognized in Florida Super Lawyers 2019
- Trenam Law Attorneys Recognized As Top Lawyers 2019 By Tampa Magazine
- Shareholder Alicia H. Koepke Appointed Co-Practice Group Leader of Trenam’s Commercial Litigation Group
- Twenty Attorneys Named to Florida Trend Magazine’s “Legal Elite” 2018
- Forty-Seven Trenam Attorneys Recognized in Florida Super Lawyers 2018
- Trenam Law Attorneys Recognized As Top Lawyers 2018 by Tampa Magazine
- Twenty-One Attorneys Named to Florida Trend Magazine’s “Legal Elite” 2017 and Top 5 Law Firm With the Most Honorees
- Forty-Five Trenam Attorneys Recognized in Florida Super Lawyers 2017
- Attorneys Alicia H. Koepke and Kelly J. Ruoff Receive AV Preeminent Rating by Martindale-Hubbell
- Forty-Two Trenam Lawyers Named to the 2016 Florida Super Lawyers and 2016 Florida Rising Stars Lists
- Nineteen Trenam Law Attorneys Named to Florida Trend’s Legal Elite: Firm is Ranked #1 With Most Women Named to Legal Elite
- Forty-Five Trenam Lawyers Named Florida Super Lawyers and Florida Rising Stars
- Alicia Koepke Featured in November 2014 Issue of University Of Central Florida Publication “COSNEWS”
- Fifty Trenam Kemker Lawyers Named Florida Super Lawyers and Florida Rising Stars
- Trenam Kemker Attorney Alicia Koepke Receives Honor
Thought Leadership
- “Court Strikes Down DOL Rule Raising Minimum Salary Required for Exemptions from Overtime Pay,” Employment Law Update, November 2024
- “Federal Court Blocks FTC Non-Compete Rule From Taking Effect,” Employment Law Update, August 2024
- “DOL Final Rule Increasing the Minimum Salary Required for Exemptions from Overtime Pay Requirement,” Employment Law Update, June 2024
- “FTC Adopts Final Rule Banning Most Non-Competes,” Employment Law Update, April 2024
- Co-Chair, The Florida Bar Labor and Employment Law Section’s Advanced Labor Topics CLE Seminar, Asheville, NC, April 2024
- “DOL Announces Final Rule on Employee or Independent Contractor Classification under the FLSA,” Employment Law Update, January 2024
- “DHS Introduces New Alternative Procedures for Remote Examination of Work Authorization Documents,” Employment Law Update, September 2023
- “NLRB Marks Return to Stricter Standard for Evaluating Workplace Policies,” Employment Law Update, September 2023
- “DOL Announces Proposed Rule to Increase the Minimum Salary Required for Exemptions from Overtime Pay Requirement,” Trenam Legal Update, September 2023
- “NLRB Curbs Employers’ Ability To Enforce Non-Compete And Confidentiality Agreements,” HR.com, August 2023
- “NLRB Decision Marks Return to Stricter Independent Contractor Test,” Employment Law Update, June 2023
- “Employers Face Increased Risks Associated with Entering Into Non-Competes and Other Restrictive Covenants with Employees,” Employment Law Update, June 2023
- “New Florida Law Further Restricts Employer COVID-19 Measures,” Employment Law Update, June 2023
- “Gov. DeSantis Signs Immigration Bill Imposing E-Verify and Other Requirements for Many Employers,” Employment Law Update, May 2023
- “Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Issues Updated Summary of Rights Form,” Employment Law Update, May 2023
- “New Protections for Pregnant and Nursing Employees,” Employment Law Update, May 2023
- “NLRB Issues Decision Limiting Employers’ Ability to Include Confidentiality and Non-Disparagement Provisions in Separation Agreements,” Employment Law Update, May 2023
- “NLRB Issues Decision That May Restrict Workplace Civility Policies,” Employment Law Update, May 2023
- “DHS Ends Policy Allowing Flexibility for Employers to Verify Form I-9 Documents,” Employment Law Update, May 2023
- “What’s the Latest on Remote Workers?,” Speaker, The Florida Bar Labor and Employment Law Section’s Advanced Labor Topics CLE Seminar, Amelia Island, FL, May 2023
- “What Employers Need To Know About A Recent Ruling Challenging Separation Agreements,” Author, Tampa Bay Business & Wealth, April 2023
- “New FLSA Regulatory Scheme and Case Law Update for Tipped Employees,” The Florida Bar Labor and Employment Law Section’s Advanced Labor Topics CLE Seminar, May 2021
- “Accommodating Mental Disabilities During and After the Pandemic,” The Florida Bar Journal, Vol. 95, No. 3, May/June 2021
- “Remember Tampa Bay’s fancy holiday office parties? This year, not so much.“, Interview, Tampa Bay Times, December 2020
- “Legalities on Diversity, Inclusion, and Discrimination in the ASC,” Speaker, The Florida Society of Ambulatory Surgical Centers, November 2020
- “Three things your company should do in response to landmark Supreme Court ruling on LGBTQ employees’ rights” Interview, Tampa Bay Business & Wealth, June 2020
- “Loss in the Time of Coronavirus: Evaluating WARN Obligations During a Pandemic,” The Florida Bar Journal, Vol. 94, No. 4, July/August 2020
- “Alicia Koepke Discusses FFCRA Impact on Employers in Business Observer,” Interview, Business Observer, April 2020
- “DOL Issues First Guidance on the Families First Coronavirus Response Act,” Employment Law Update, March 2020
- “Fair Credit Reporting Act Obligations for Businesses Using Background Checks for Employment Purposes,” The Florida Bar Journal, Vol. 94, No. 2, March/April 2020
- “Employers Face Time Crunch As New OT Rule Looms,” Interview, Law360, September 2019
- “The DOL Has a New Overtime Rule (Again),” September 2019
- “Best Practices for Progressive Discipline and Employment Law,” Speaker, FSASC Annual Conference, Orlando, FL, July 2019
- “Recent and Anticipated Changes to Wage-and-Hour Laws,” Author, Daily Business Review, February 28, 2019
- “Adverse Employment Actions Based on Associational Disability Discrimination,” The Florida Bar Journal, September/October 2018
- “Where’s the Witness? Preserving Witness Testimony Through Trial,” Speaker, The Florida Bar Labor and Employment Law Section CLE, Palm Beach, FL, September 2018
- “Combating Harassment and Bullying in the Workplace,” Author, Modern Restaurant Management, August 2018
- “Where Tip-Pooling Stands Now, and How it Affects Your Restaurant,” Author, Full Service Restaurant (FSR), April 2018
- “DOL’s New PAID Program Offers Employers Incentives, But May Not Outweigh the Risks,” Author, Daily Business Review, March 2018
- “Protecting Your Organization During The #MeToo Movement,” Chief Executive, March 2018
- “Protecting the Secrecy of Trade Secrets,” Author, Manufacturing Today, February 2018
- “Hot Topics in Employment Law,” Vistage Tampa Bay, Tampa, FL, October 2017
- “Lay Witness Depositions,” Speaker, The Florida Bar Business Law Section CLE Deposition Boot Camp: Basics to Advanced, Orlando, FL, May 2017
- “When is it OK for Employers to Deduct from Employee Pay?,” Author, Full Service Restaurant (FSR), December 2016
- “Preparing for the DOL’s OT Exemption Changes,”, Author, Today’s Restaurant News – Florida Edition, pg. 7, October 2016
- “Wage and Hour Update: Preparing for the DOL Rule Changes,” Vistage Tampa Bay, Tampa, FL, October 2016
- “Employment Issues Arising During & After Hurricanes,” Speaker, Duke Energy South Coastal Storm Forum, Clearwater, FL, June 2016
- “Employment Law Update,” Co-Presenter, Matthews Benefit Group 16th Annual Tax & Business Update, St. Petersburg, FL, June 2016
- “How Employment Law Changes Will Affect Your Business,” Author, Tampa Bay Business Journal, pg. 13, March 11, 2016
- “Prep Now for Overtime Pay Rule Changes,” Interview, HealthLeaders Media, November 23, 2015
- “Labor & Employment Digest: April 2015”, Author, Inside Counsel, April 2015
- “Employees May Be Entitled to Use Company Email for Statutorily Protected, Non-Business Reasons on Nonworking Time,” Trenam Legal Update, March 2015
- “Trends in Employment Law,” Co-Presenter, Vistage Tampa Bay, Tampa, FL, December 2014
- “Wage and Hour Time Bomb: How to Avoid the Explosion,” Co-Presenter, Work Net Pinellas, Clearwater, FL, October 2007
