Education

• The College of William & Mary, B.A., 1991
• Wake Forest University School of Law, J.D., 1994

Distinctions

• Fellow, The College of Labor and Employment Lawyers
• Fellow, American Bar Foundation
• AV® Preeminent™ Peer-Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell
• Named the 2023 Best Lawyers "Lawyer of the Year" for Labor Law - Management in Charleston, West Virginia
• Nominated by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America for Employment Law - Management, Labor Law - Management and Litigation - Labor & Employment
• Recognized by Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business in Labor & Employment Law - Band 1
• Listed in West Virginia Super Lawyers and Corporate Counsel Super Lawyers
• Selected as 1 of 12 "Young Gun" executives in West Virginia by West Virginia Executive magazine

Memberships

• American Bar Association, Labor & Employment Section: Council Member (Section governance) (2016 – present), Management Chair, Employment Rights & Responsibilities Committee, (2014 - 2016); Co-Chair, 6^th Annual Labor & Employment Conference (2012); Past Chair, YLD Labor & Employment Committee; Member, Commission on Mental & Physical Disability Law (2001 – 2005)
• National CLE Conference, Labor & Employment Section, Program Co-Chair, 2013 – present
• American Employment Law Council
• World Services Group

Experience

• Serving as lead trial counsel on multi-party federal and state claims of race, sex, religion, age and disability discrimination, class actions, breach of contract, wrongful termination, retaliation, defamation, unlawful harassment, whistleblower, state and federal wage claims, FMLA claims, USERRA claims, duty of loyalty and non-compete claims
• Serving as lead counsel in employment and wage and hour class/collective actions
• Serving as lead trial counsel on high-stakes litigation matters, including employee benefits, product liability, managed care liability, and commercial litigation matters
• Extensive experience in federal and state appellate matters
• Providing strategic advice and counseling to companies dealing with the full array of employment and labor issues
• Performing equal employment opportunity audits and due diligence investigations for multi-national corporations
• Developing strategies and providing guidance and advice to employers on labor issues, campaigns and collective bargaining agreements

Reported Cases

• Skelley v. FedEx Corporate Services, Inc. et. al., 2019 WL 1937570 (Harless retaliation claim does not apply to non-employers)
• Flatt v. Lowe’s Home Centers, LLC, 2019 WL 1748524 (S.D. W.V. 2019) (summary judgement on FMLA, gender and age claim)
• Gates v. Morris, 2018 WL 1582470 (S.D.W.Va. Mar. 29, 2018)
• Salem International University, LLC v. Bates, 793 S.E.2d 879, 238 W.Va. 229, 2016 (upheld class action waiver provision in arbitration agreement)
• Caudill v. CCBCC, Inc., 386 Fed. Appx. 415 (4th Cir. 2010)
• Kuthy v. Mansheim, Slip Copy, 2004 124 Fed. Appx. 756 (4th Cir. (W.Va.)), 34 Employee Benefits Cas. 1074 (4th Cir. (W. Va.), Dec. 3, 2004)
• Gardner v. E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Co., Inc., Slip Copy, 7 Fed. Appx. 241, 2001 WL 378276 (4th Cir. (W. Va.)), 25 Employee Benefits Cas. 2696 (4th Cir. (W. Va.), Apr. 16, 2001) (No. 00-1834)
• Marks v. West Virginia Dept. of Health & Human Resources, 181 F. Supp. 2d 639, 27 Employee Benefits Cas. 1593 (S.D. W. Va., Jan. 25, 2002)
• McCutcheon v. Valley Rich Dairy, 81 F. Supp. 2d 657 (S.D. W. Va., Jan. 21, 2000) (No. Civ. A. 2:99-0926)
• Gardner v. E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Co., Inc., 978 F. Supp. 667 (S.D. W. Va., Sept. 23, 1997) (No. Civ. A. 2:960423)

Admissions

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

Publications & Presentations

• Co-Editor-in-Chief, Trial Techniques for the Labor and Employment Law Practitioner, Bloomberg/BNA, 2019
• Co-Editor-in-Chief, Age Discrimination in Employment Law, Bloomberg/BNA, Second Edition (ABA Section of Labor and Employment Law, 2015)
• Contributing Author, The Family and Medical Leave Act, Bloomberg/BNA, 2015 Cumulative Supplement
• Editorial Advisory Board, Mental & Physical Disability Law Reporter, 2001-2005
• Co-author, Employment Law, West Virginia Continuing Legal Publication, 1998
• Speaking at national and international programs such as the American Bar Association Annual Meeting, the National CLE Conference, Southern Methodist University School of Law's National Employment and Labor Law Conference, Tulane University School of Law's National Employment and Labor Law Conference, the State Society of Human Resources Conference, and the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce Human Resources Conference

Community Involvement

• Wake Forest University School of Law Board of Visitors
• Clay Center for the Arts & Sciences Board of Trustees
• Former Board President, Hospice Care, Inc.