Gregory Lewis is an associate in the firm's Austin office and is licensed to practice law in both Texas and California. Gregory is a member of the firm's Commercial Disputes practice group. His experience includes labor and employment litigation, intellectual property litigation, general commercial litigation, and appellate litigation. Gregory’s practice also involves advising companies and foreign nationals on complex, corporate-based immigration matters, particularly with respect to responding to decisions made by government agencies on immigration petitions and applications. In doing so, Gregory has drafted responses to requests for evidence from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service both on various types of petitions—including but not limited to L-1, H-1B, O-1, and EB-1 petitions—and on applications to register permanent residence; responses to PERM Audit Notifications from the U.S. Department of Labor; motions to reopen and reconsider stemming from decisions made on immigration petitions and applications; and appeals before BALCA and the Administrative Appeals Office. His practice also includes advising clients on workplace practices as well as employment compliance issues arising in mergers and acquisitions. Gregory has written frequently on developments in labor and employment law; and issues associated with human trafficking, forced labor, and child labor in companies' global supply chains.
Gregory also maintains an active pro bono practice, primarily focused on representing clients in asylum and anti-human trafficking matters. Gregory’s experience representing clients in such cases has spanned all stages of litigation, ranging from immigration proceedings to federal court civil litigation to appellate advocacy before the Ninth Circuit.
Gregory was a summer associate in the firm's Los Angeles office in 2017, and he worked in that office following his graduation from law school until he transferred to the firm’s Austin office in 2021.
During law school at the Pepperdine Caruso School of Law, Gregory served as a judicial extern both at the California Court of Appeals for the Honorable Tricia A. Bigelow, Presiding Justice of the Second District Court of Appeal, Division Eight and in the Court of Appeal/Constitutional Court of Uganda for the Honourable Justice Geoffrey Kiryabwire. Gregory was selected to participate in the SEC Honors Program, where he worked for the Securities & Exchange Commission in Washington, D.C. as an extern in the Adjudication Division of the Office of General Counsel.
Teaching is an important aspect of Gregory’s legal career. He routinely serves as an Adjunct Professor with Pepperdine’s Caruso School of Law’s Master of Legal Studies program, in which he teaches Legal Research and Writing for Non-Lawyers. While in law school, he worked for two years in Pepperdine's Academic Success Program as a teaching fellow for first-year law students.
Global justice has long been a passion of Gregory’s. As a law student, he actively participated in Pepperdine's Sudreau Global Justice Program. Through this program, he traveled twice to Uganda to help the Ugandan judiciary implement structural reforms to the nation's legal system. He assisted the judiciary with launching plea bargaining systems in prisons throughout the country, training legal stakeholders in anti-human trafficking procedures, and developing the nation's appellate mediation program. He also served in Pepperdine's inaugural Disaster Relief Clinic, helping victims of Hurricane Harvey and the Thomas Fire submit their applications for disaster relief assistance to FEMA.
- Moot Court—National Moot Court Competition: Region 15 Champion, Best Brief (2017); Armand Arabian Advocacy Tournament: Quarterfinalist (2017); Semifinalist (2016)
- CALI Excellence for the Future Award in Torts and Constitutional Law
- The Pepperdine Award
- Faculty Scholars Award
- Adjunct Professor, Pepperdine Caruso School of Law (Master of Legal Studies program), Legal Research and Writing for Non-Lawyers
- State Bar of Texas, Immigration and Nationality Law Section and Litigation Section
- Association of Corporate Counsel, Southern California Chapter: Panelist, The California Privacy Rights Act of 2020 (CPRA): Key Impact Areas (2021)
- Speaker, Association of Corporate Counsel, Southern California Chapter, Staying Out of Court: Contract Clauses to Help Avoid (or Win) Lawsuits (January 2020)
Gregory and his wife, who is also an attorney, remain involved with Pepperdine’s Sudreau Global Justice Program’s partnership with the Ugandan judiciary. They also actively participate in their church and serve with various ministries and volunteer organizations. Gregory enjoys staying physically active, and he especially loves competing in slow-pitch softball, Ultimate Frisbee, and basketball. He also enjoys wildlife photography, baking desserts, and drumming.
- “An Investment Worth Making: How Structural Changes to the EB-5 Program Can Ensure Real Estate Developers Build a Good Foundation for Their Capital Projects,” Real Estate Finance Journal, Winter 2022
- “Harmonize Your Trade Secret Protection to Protect Your Assets,” ACC Docket, December 2017
