Mike is a principal of the firm’s Labor & Employment, Appellate Law, and Litigation & Dispute Resolution practice groups.

He focuses his practice almost exclusively on labor and employment issues and has represented clients large and small, public and private, in state and federal courts in the Mid-Atlantic and beyond. Mike has counseled employers on handling all aspects of employment claims, from internal management, proceedings with state and federal agencies such as the EEOC or DOL, and through litigation, trial and appeal. While litigation is sometimes unavoidable, Mike emphasizes a proactive and preventative approach to employment issues in an effort to minimize the costs and disruptions litigation can impose on a business. Mike is a presenter at Woods Rogers Vandeventer Black’s annual Labor and Employment Seminar series.

Mike holds Martindale-Hubbell’s AV Preeminent rating—the highest possible—in both legal ability and ethical standards. This honor is bestowed from confidential surveys of members of the Bar and Judiciary. He has also been recognized as a Virginia Super Lawyer since 2016 as a Virginia Business magazine “Legal Elite” since 2018.

Mike is an active member of Christ Episcopal Church in Roanoke, Va. Mike has served in various roles with the Virginia Bar Association, including Regional Chair for the Young Lawyers’ Division, and Chair of the Model Judiciary Program where high school students from across Virginia try mock cases before real judges, including Virginia Supreme Court Justices.

In his time at Washington and Lee University School of Law, Mike served as a Lead Articles Editor on the Washington and Lee Law Review, won the John W. Davis Appellate Advocacy Competition and placed fourth in the Nation in the American Bar Association’s Negotiation Competition. After graduating from law school, Mike had the privilege of clerking for the Hon. Jackson L. Kiser in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia.

Thought Leadership

Publications

Cannabis Cans & Can’ts: How Employers Should React to Legal Marijuana in Virginia, VBA Journal, Spring 2022

Can a Business Be Liable to Its Employees for LGBT Discrimination?, Lynchburg Business, February 2018

Attorney Perspectives

Speaking Engagements

  • Medical Advisory Group | Workplace Violence
    February 3, 2023
  • Blue Ridge Human Resources Association | Employment Law Seminar 2022
    March 9, 2022
  • Virginia Bar Association | Marijuana in the Workplace
    November 5, 2021
  • Franklin County HR Association | Marijuana in the Workplace
    October 5, 2021
  • HR Virginia Annual Conference 2021 | Airtight Writing: Protect Your Workplace with Better Job Descriptions
    April 14, 2021
  • United Way Roanoke Valley Smart Beginnings | COVID-19 Legal Update
    March 17, 2021
  • Blue Ridge Human Resources Association | BRHRA Employment Law Seminar
    March 10, 2021
  • Richmond SHRM | Will It Stay or Will It Go? Planning for the New Administration
    March 4, 2021
  • Charlottesville SHRM | 2021 Legal Update
    February 9, 2021
  • Charlottesville SHRM | Airtight Writing: Protect Your Workplace and Your Employees with Better Job Descriptions
    November 10, 2020
  • Virginia Tech Roanoke Center | Airtight Writing: Protect Your Workplace and Your Employees with Better Job Descriptions
    August 12, 2020
  • Virginia Tech Roanoke Center | Emergency Leave and FLSA: Post COVID-19 and Beyond
    July 29, 2020
  • Blue Ridge HR Association | Virginia’s New Workplace Laws
    July 15, 2020
  • Blue Ridge HR Association | Legal Seminar
    March 11, 2020
  • Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police | 2020 New Chiefs/Deputy Chiefs Training School: FLSA, ADA, & FMLA
    March 4, 2020
  • Virginia MGMA | HR-Employee Evaluations, Interview Techniques, Hiring the Right Person
    September 23, 2019
  • SW Virginia SHRM | Negligent Hiring & Negligent Retention
    March 28, 2019
  • Blue Ridge HR Association | Employment Law Seminar
    March 13, 2019
  • Virginia Employment Commission | Wage & Hour, FLSA, and FMLA
    May 15, 2018
  • Va. Association of Chiefs of Police | Employment Law Update
    March 28, 2018

Seminars + Events

  • Stronger Together: WRVB 2022 Labor & Employment Seminars
    October 6 - October 24, 2022
  • 40th Annual Labor & Employment Webinar Series
    October 7 – November 4, 2021
  • HR LifeLine: 2020 Labor & Employment Webinar Series
    Every Thursday in October, 2020
  • Employee Handbooks
    June 13, 2019
  • 2019 Labor and Employment Seminar Series
    October 2 - November 5, 2019
  • 37th Annual Labor & Employment Seminar Series
    September 20 - October 17, 2018
  • Employee Handbook: 2018 Update Seminar
    March 29, 2018

Recognition