Biography

Ariel Perez is an associate in Jackson Walker’s Houston office, where she focuses her practice on labor and employment law. She advises and represents employers across a wide range of industries, including energy, oil and gas, manufacturing, construction, retail, hospitality, staffing, securities, and healthcare, from startups to Fortune 500 companies. Ariel takes a business-minded approach, tailoring her counsel to each client’s specific operational needs and risk profile. Ariel’s practice centers on counseling employers through complex workforce decisions and disputes. She regularly advises clients on non-compete agreements and restrictive covenant disputes, breach of contract claims in the employment context, reductions in force (RIF), internal and workplace investigations, and day-to-day employment advice and counsel.

She also assists employers with wage and hour compliance, employment-related due diligence in corporate transactions, and workplace training. In her litigation practice, Ariel defends employers in federal and state courts, arbitrations, and administrative proceedings before the EEOC, DOL, and TWC. She handles claims involving discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination, and wage and hour violations under Title VII, the ADA, FMLA, FLSA, and state employment laws. Ariel also has experience in traditional labor matters. Throughout her career, Ariel has helped employers navigate evolving workplace challenges, from pandemic-related compliance to shifting regulatory requirements. She takes a proactive approach, conducting internal investigations and negotiating pre-suit resolutions to help clients avoid unnecessary litigation.

Ariel is a 2023 and 2024 Academy Fellow of the National Employment Law Council and a contributing author to the Annual Report on EEOC Developments. She previously interned for the Honorable Sara L. Darrow of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois and served as an associate at a global law firm before joining Jackson Walker. Ariel’s prior work as a victim advocate informs her thoughtful approach to sensitive workplace investigations and personnel matters.

Additional Languages

Arabic, Spanish

Education

B.A., University of Iowa

• University Honors
• Alpha Kappa Delta
• Order of Omega

Arabic Language Institute in Fez, Fez, Morocco

J.D., University of Iowa College of Law

• Law Legal Opportunity Fellow
• Administrative Editor, Journal of Gender, Race & Justice
• Advocate, Brief Writer, Appellate Advocacy
• Student Attorney, Citizen Lawyer Pro Bono Project
• Secretary, Hispanic/Latino Law Student Association
• Student Attorney, Iowa Coalition Against Domestic Violence

Bar Admissions

Texas

Illinois