Profile

Kristi Walters regularly advises and represents clients in employment counseling and litigation.

In addition, Ms. Walters serves as the Firm’s Chief Talent Officer and works closely with the Board of Directors, Department Chairs and Practice Group Leaders to focus on the development and growth of attorneys at all levels. In this role, she designs and integrates programs that have an impact on all aspects of attorney professional development and diversity, including entry-level and lateral recruiting, mentoring, training, leadership advancement and career planning.

Experience Highlights

• EEOC proceedings and litigation under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act
• Sexual harassment
• Issues arising under the North Carolina Wage and Hour Act, the federal Fair Labor Standards Act and the Family and Medical Leave Act
• Implementation of reductions in force
• Wrongful discharge, retaliation, breach of contract, infliction of emotional distress and other claims arising out of the employment relationship
• Covenants not to compete, confidentiality agreements and protection of trade secrets and other proprietary information
• Supervisor and management training
• Specific personnel actions such as hiring, evaluations, discipline and terminations
• Preparation and revision of employee handbooks and employment policies
• Drafting and review of employment agreements, restrictive covenants and confidentiality agreements
• Matters related to legal issues faced by colleges and universities, including faculty tenure issues, review of faculty and student handbooks and Department of Education proceedings under Title VI and Title IX

News

• Parker Poe Names New Chief Talent Officer
  February 24, 2011
• Two from Parker Poe Honored with Women in Business Award
  August 6, 2009
• Kristi Walters Honored with Women in Business Achievement Award
  July 17, 2009
• Citizen Lawyer Kristi Walters
  The North Carolina Bar Association
  June 26, 2009
• Kristi Walters Named Woman Extraordinaire
  January 8, 2009
• Parker Poe Attorney Kristi Walters Receives Outstanding Recent Graduate Award
  November 1, 2008
• How To: Promote Diversity in the Workplace
  Charlotte Business Journal
  July 25, 2008
• Parker Poe Director of Professional Development and Diversity Named to 40 Under 40
  June 25, 2008
• Walters Named to Professional Development Consortium
  July 5, 2006
• Law Firms to Push Focus on Retention
  Charlotte Business Journal
  June 23, 2006
• South Carolina Enacts "At-Will"/Handbook Statute 2. Changes to FLSA Overtime Regulations
  EmployNews
  May 18, 2004

Memberships

• Professional Development Consortium
  Member, 2006-present
• Mecklenburg County Bar
  Special Committee on Diversity, 2006-present; Strategic Planning Committee, 2008-present; Professionalism, Lawyer Life and Culture Committee, 2007-present
• Mecklenburg County Bar Legal Diversity Clerkship Program
  Co-Chairperson, 2008-present
• North Carolina Bar Association
  Citizen Lawyer Committee, 2009-present
• National Association of College and University Attorneys
  Membership Committee, 2004-present
• Charlotte Housing Authority Scholarship Fund
  Advisory Board, 2002-present
• Community School of the Arts
  Board of Directors, 2007-present
• Arts & Science Council
  Cultural Leadership Training (CLT) Program Participant, 2007
• University of North Carolina School of Law Alumni Board
  Student Services Committee