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Stephen C. Mitchell

Regional Managing Partner


Columbia

t:803.255.0000

f:803.255.0202

Email

Service Focus

  • Counseling and Advice
  • Employment Discrimination and Harassment
  • International Employment
  • Labor Relations
  • Litigation and Trials

Industry Focus

  • Manufacturing
  • Retail
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Overview
Recent Experience
Insights
Credentials
Recognitions
Affiliations

Overview

Stephen Mitchell is managing partner of the firm's Columbia office and the co-chair of the Manufacturing Industry Group. Named the 2022 “Lawyer of the Year” in South Carolina for Employment Law – Management (Best Lawyers in America), his practice emphasizes traditional labor law and employment litigation.

For over 25 years Steve has primarily represented employers in the traditional labor law arena. His practice includes advising clients on collective bargaining, avoiding and responding to unfair labor practices, acquisition of unionized facilities, union organizing efforts, corporate campaigns, labor arbitrations, and work stoppages. Steve has represented employers throughout the United States. Steve’s client base is diversified and includes private equity, banks, multinational manufacturing companies with large distribution facilities and healthcare.

Steve started his career as a prosecutor, gaining valuable trial experience. He has handled administrative charges and lawsuits in state and federal courts involving wrongful discharge, Title VII, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), employment testing, as well as other types of employment-based claims, including non-compete matters. Steve has also assisted employers in handling class action litigation.

Steve is certified by the South Carolina Supreme Court as a Specialist in Employment and Labor Law. Furthermore, he has been appointed co-chair of the Committee on Development of the Law Under the NLRA, one of the oldest and largest committees in the ABA’s Labor and Employment Law Section. As co-chair, he works with fellow committee members to inform the membership of developing case law under the National Labor Relations Act and seek the orderly and equitable development of those laws. In this role, he also oversees the publication of The Developing Labor Law: The Board, the Courts, and the National Labor Relations Act, a comprehensive treatise for labor law practitioners.

He is “AV” Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell. Consistently recognized for his work, Steve has been listed in Chambers USA, America's Leading Business Lawyers since 2007, included in South Carolina Super Lawyers since 2009, and recognized in The Best Lawyers in America since 2010. Steve was also named to Columbia Business Monthly's Legal Elite of the Midlands in 2015. 

Steve is also a member the John Belton O’Neall Inn of Court.

Recent Experience

Experience

  • Led labor and employment diligence reviews for several private equity firms.
  • Lead negotiator in a first collective bargaining agreement for a large healthcare organization in the Northeast U.S.
  • Handled litigation for leading manufacturer in case alleging reverse discrimination.
  • Won NLRB order that overturned an administrative law judge’s finding and dismissed employee’s complaint alleging that a multinational manufacturer unlawful discharged her for engaging in union-related activities.
  • Handled complex bargaining, COVID-19 and supply chain issues to help a major manufacturing company close a large facility in the Southeast U.S.
  • Assisting multinational manufacturer with labor and employment matters surrounding automation.

Insights

  • Event

    08/16/23

    Are You Ready for a Union Organizing Drive at Your Workplace?

    Alex G. Desrosiers, Stephen C. Mitchell

    Read more 

  • News

    06/06/23

    Fisher Phillips Once Again Recognized as a Top Labor and Employment Law Firm by Chambers USA

    Edwin G. Foulke Jr., Andrew J. Sommer, Travis Vance, Kristin R.B. White, Danielle Hultenius Moore, Jocelyn Campanaro, Micah Dawson, Todd A. Fredrickson, Angelica M. Ochoa, Steven M. Bernstein, Suzanne K. Bogdan, Charles S. Caulkins, Christine E. Howard, Jeffrey E. Mandel, Cathy M. Stutin, Shanon R. Stevenson, Laurel K. Cornell, Raymond C. Haley III, Emily N. Litzinger, Todd B. Logsdon, Craig P. Siegenthaler, Megan Reese U'Sellis, Michelle I. Anderson, Edward F. Harold, Timothy H. Scott, David W. Erb, Daniel E. Farrington, Joseph W. Ambash, William E. Altman, Susan Hartmus Hiser, Gregory V. Murray, Steven R. Cupp, Gregory D. Ballew, J. Randall Coffey, James R. Holland II, Brian J. Finucane, David B. Dornak, Scott M. Mahoney, Mark J. Ricciardi, Kathleen McLeod Caminiti, Rosemary S. Gousman, Michael R. Marra, Mason G. Alexander, Richard A. Millisor, Clarence M. Belnavis, Todd A. Lyon, Nan Sato, Christopher P. Stief, William D. Wright, Michael D. Carrouth, C. F. W. Manning II, Stephen C. Mitchell, J. Hagood Tighe, David S. Jones, Jeff Weintraub, Arthur V. Lambert, Stephen J. Roppolo, Teresa Valderrama, Theresa M. Connolly, Davis C. Bae, Ralph Hua, Radhika Mehta, Suzanne Kelly Michael, Barbara Jean D’Aquila

    Read more 

  • Podcasts

    02/20/23

    Manufacturing Success, Episode #3, Part 2: Resurrecting Dead Doctrines and More - The 2023 NLRB Edition

    Michael D. Carrouth, Stephen C. Mitchell

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  • Podcasts

    02/08/23

    Manufacturing Success, Episode #3, Part 1: Resurrecting Dead Doctrines and More - The 2023 NLRB Edition

    Michael D. Carrouth, Stephen C. Mitchell

    Read more 

  • Insights

    10/31/22

    FP’s Workplace Law Forecast 2023

    Davis C. Bae, Phillip C. Bauknight, Cheryl L. Behymer, Steven M. Bernstein, Sheldon J. Blumling, Risa B. Boerner, Suzanne K. Bogdan, Kathleen McLeod Caminiti, Laurel K. Cornell, Myra K. Creighton, Jennifer B. Carroll, Michael P. Elkon, David W. Erb, Ilanit Fischler, Jason A. Geller, Rosemary S. Gousman, Susan M. Guerette, Usama Kahf, David R. Kresser, Emily N. Litzinger, Todd B. Logsdon, Todd A. Lyon, Jennifer Mendez, Richard R. Meneghello, Richard A. Millisor, Stephen C. Mitchell, Joshua D. Nadreau, Raymond W. Perez, Cheryl Pinarchick, John M. Polson, Todd B. Scherwin, Evan Shenkman, Adam F. Sloustcher, Kristin L. Smith, Shanon R. Stevenson, J. Hagood Tighe, A. Kevin Troutman, Travis Vance, Sheila M. Willis, Megan C. Winter, Colette F. Wolf, Robert Yonowitz

    Read more 

  • News

    10/03/22

    Fisher Phillips Recognized by Benchmark Litigation 2023

    Barbara Jean D’Aquila, Joseph W. Ambash, Steven M. Bernstein, Todd A. Fredrickson, Lonnie D. Giamela, Rosemary S. Gousman, Susan Hartmus Hiser, Karl R. Lindegren, Kathleen McLeod Caminiti, Stephen C. Mitchell, Sarah Moffett, Kristen J. Nesbit, Regina A. Petty, Timothy H. Scott, Christopher P. Stief, James Sullivan, J. Hagood Tighe, Teresa Valderrama

    Read more 

  • News

    08/24/22

    Stephen Mitchell Appointed Co-Chair of ABA Labor and Employment Law Committee

    Stephen C. Mitchell

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  • News

    06/01/22

    Fisher Phillips Recognized Again as a Top Labor and Employment Law Firm by Chambers USA

    Kristin R.B. White, Danielle Hultenius Moore, Jocelyn Campanaro, Micah Dawson, Todd A. Fredrickson, Angelica M. Ochoa, Steven M. Bernstein, Suzanne K. Bogdan, Charles S. Caulkins, Christine E. Howard, Jeffrey E. Mandel, Cathy M. Stutin, Shanon R. Stevenson, Laurel K. Cornell, Raymond C. Haley III, Todd B. Logsdon, Craig P. Siegenthaler, Megan Reese U'Sellis, Michelle I. Anderson, Edward F. Harold, Keith M. Pyburn Jr., Timothy H. Scott, David W. Erb, Daniel E. Farrington, Joseph W. Ambash, William E. Altman, Susan Hartmus Hiser, Gregory V. Murray, Steven R. Cupp, J. Randall Coffey, Brian J. Finucane, David B. Dornak, Scott M. Mahoney, Mark J. Ricciardi, Rosemary S. Gousman, Michael R. Marra, Mason G. Alexander, Richard A. Millisor, Clarence M. Belnavis, Nan Sato, Christopher P. Stief, William D. Wright, Michael D. Carrouth, C. F. W. Manning II, Stephen C. Mitchell, J. Hagood Tighe, David S. Jones, Jeff Weintraub, Arthur V. Lambert, Stephen J. Roppolo, Teresa Valderrama, Theresa M. Connolly, Davis C. Bae, Ralph Hua, Radhika Mehta, Suzanne Kelly Michael

    Read more 

  • Insights

    02/15/22

    FP Forecast: February 2022 Edition

    Cheryl L. Behymer, Kathleen McLeod Caminiti, David R. Kresser, Stephen C. Mitchell, Raymond W. Perez, J. Hagood Tighe, Sheila M. Willis

    Read more 

  • News

    08/19/21

    Fisher Phillips Attorneys Receive Top Honors in Best Lawyers in America©

    Susan Hartmus Hiser, Christine E. Howard, James J. McDonald Jr., Stephen C. Mitchell, James C. Polkinghorn, Christopher P. Stief

    Read more 

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Credentials

Education

  • J.D., 1991, University of South Carolina School of Law
  • B.A., 1987, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Bar Admissions

  • South Carolina

Court Admissions

  • Supreme Court of the United States
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
  • U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
  • U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina

Recognitions

  • Benchmark Litigation 2023 – Labor & Employment Star
  • Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America (2011 – 2024)
  • Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America, South Carolina Lawyer of the Year - Employment Law - Management (2022)
  • Chambers USA, Labor & Employment (2007 – 2023)
  • Named to Columbia Business Monthly's Legal Elite of the Midlands in 2015
  • South Carolina Super Lawyers since 2009
  • "AV" Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell

Affiliations

Professional Activities

  • Employment Program Chair of the ABA Committee on Development of the Law Under the National Labor  Relations Act, 2022
  • Contributing and Chapter Editor, "The Developing Labor Law, 5th ed. and Supplements"
  • Chapter Author, ABA/BNA Treatise “Employment At Will: A State by State Survey," 2012
  • Member of the IADC (International Association of Defense Counsel)
  • Member, John Belton O’Neall Inn of Court
  • Past member, Board of Directors, South Carolina Chamber of Commerce
  • Past member, Executive Committee for the South Carolina Defense Trial Attorneys

Community Activities

  • Fellow, The Riley Institute – South Carolina Diversity Leaders Initiative, Class of 2017
  • Board for the Cooperative Ministry (Past Chair and serve on Executive Committee)

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