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.