Mr. Kinder's primary areas of practice are labor and employment law with an emphasis on wage and hour, employee benefits, ERISA litigation, and USERRA.

Representative Experience

• Drafting and reviewing a broad cross-section of employment, personnel and pension policies, practices and procedures, including drafting health and welfare/pension benefit plan amendments and resolutions
• Advising clients regarding ERISA compliance and health and welfare/pension plan administration issues
• Lead counsel in defense of employment discrimination complaints before the West Virginia Human Rights Commission, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Ohio State Employment Relations Board
• Lead counsel in representation of employers in actions under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act ("ERISA") in state and federal courts
• Lead counsel on behalf of employers in claims brought under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act ("USERRA")
• Lead counsel in defense of employment discrimination actions before West Virginia, Ohio and federal trial and appellate courts
• Lead counsel in defense of general litigation matters, including matters involving covenants not to compete and other employment and labor issues
• Developed strategies and provided guidance and advice to employers on labor and employment issues
• Frequent lecturer at regional seminars for employers and counsel on the legal and practical aspects of litigation and labor and employment laws, including wage and hour and USERRA

Education

• Cornell University, School of Industrial and Labor Relations, B.S., 1988
• Case Western Reserve School of Law, J.D., summa cum laude, 1994
• University of Virginia Trial Advocacy School, 2004

Admissions

• Supreme Court of Indiana
• Supreme Court of Ohio
• West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals
• United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
• United States District Courts for the Northern and Southern Districts of Ohio
• United States District Courts for the Northern and Southern Districts of West Virginia

Awards & Distinctions

• Ranked in Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business for Labor & Employment
• Recognized by The Best Lawyers in America for Labor & Employment Law and Litigation - Labor & Employment

Affiliations

• American Bar Association
• DRI, Employment Law Committee
• SHRM, West Virginia State Council

Representative Cases

• Hesson v. Morrison-Knudsen Co., Inc., 117 Fed. Appx. 857 (4th Cir. 2004)

Publications

• Co-author, "The Pessimist's Guide to Employment Litigation," For the Defense, August 2012
• Co-author, chapter on West Virginia, Employment At Will: A State-by-State Survey, (ABA Section of Labor and Employment Law, 2011)
• Co-author, Employment Practices Liability Insurance, Employment Termination: Rights and Remedies (BNA 2001 Supp.)
• Employment Law in the Electronic Age (Lorman 2005)
• And We Really Mean It: The Eighth Circuit Puts Teeth Into the Older Workers' Benefit Protection Act (DRI, Fall 2005)
• Working Group Member, The In-House Counsel's Essential Tool Kit, Volume 4, Employment Law (ABA Section of Business Law 2007)