Mr. Woody's primary areas of practice are labor and employment law, litigation and appellate litigation practice.
Representative Experience
· Recent cases:
- Harper v. Jackson Hewitt, Inc., 2010 WL 4723380, W. Va., November 23, 2010; Carolina Power & Light Company v. Aspect Software, Inc., 2010 WL 3210970 (E.D.N.C.), Aug. 10, 2010; State ex re. Richmond American Homes of West Virginia, Inc. v. Sanders, 226 W. Va. 103, 697 S.E.2d 139 (2010); West v. West Virginia Department of Transportation, Division of Highways, 224 W. Va. 563, 687 S.E.2d 346 (2009); Cottrell Co. v. Carlton, Inc., 614 S.E.2d 1 (2005) (hired for appeal and successfully had sanctions overturned); Columbia Natural Resources, 120 LA 1599 (July 28, 2005) (successfully defended successor employer's alleged failure to match 401(k)); Holland v. Williams Mountain Coal Co., 256 F.3d 819, 347 U.S. App. D.C., 198, 26 Employee Benefits Cas. 1781 (D.C. Cir., July 31, 2001) (successfully defended successor-in-interest definition under Coal Act; Court did not apply "substantial continuity of operations" test); N.L.R.B. v. Labor Ready, Inc., 253 F.3d 195, 167 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2405, 143 Lab. Cas. P 11,007 (4th Cir., June 01, 2001); Gardner v. E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Co., Inc., 7 Fed. Appx. 241, 2001 WL 378276 (4th Cir. (W. Va.), 25 Employee Benefits Cas. 2696 (4th Cir. (W. Va.), Apr. 16, 2001); Holland v. High Power Energy, 98 F. Supp. 2d 741 (S.D.W. Va. 2000); Holland v. Big River Minerals Corp., 181 F.3d 597 (4th Cir. 1999); Anker Energy Corp. v. Consolidation Coal Co., 177 F.3d 161, 24 Employee Benefits Cas. 1026 (3d Cir. 1999); Carbon Fuel Co. v. USX, 153 F.3d 719 (4th Cir. 1998); Leary v. Bluestone Coal, 141 F.3d 1158 (4th Cir. 1998)
· Lead counsel as plaintiff in Uniform Trade Secrets Act case for misappropriation by employees
· Lead counsel, 15-day trial on successorship issues
· Speaker, 2003 ABA Mid-Year Meeting, San Juan, Puerto Rico
· Speaker, 2002 ABA Annual Meeting, "Hot Topics in Labor Law," sponsored by YLD and Labor and Employment Law Section
· Guest Speaker, University of Virginia Law School, Employment Litigation: Principles and Practice, October 1998
· Chairman, Labor Section of the West Virginia State Bar
· Law Clerk, John A. Field, Jr., Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, 1973 - 1974
Affiliations
· Adjunct Professor of Law, Washington and Lee University Law School, Spring and Fall 2012, Employment Practices
· American Bar Foundation, Fellow
· American Bar Association, Labor and Employment Law Section, Litigation Section
· Fourth Circuit Judicial Conference, Member
Publications
· "How to Handle the Difficult Opposing Counsel," ABA Young Lawyers Subcommittee, Online Products Liability Articles, 2006
· "How to Second Chair a Trial," ABA Young Lawyers Subcommittee, Online Products Liability Articles, January 2007
· "Early Case Assessment," Counsel to Counsel, January 2006
· "NLRB Alters Successor Bar Rule," The West Virginia Lawyer 14 (December 2002)
· "Ten Good Ideas to Avoid Employment Discrimination Suits," 1 The West Virginia Lawyer 16 (1988)
· "Clinchfield Coal Co. v. District 28, United Mine Workers: A New Standard for Judicial Review of Labor Arbitration Awards," 88 W. Va. L. Rev. 613 (1986)
· "Impact of District 29, United Mine Workers v. Royal Coal Co. on the Sale of a Coal Facility," 88 W. Va. L. Rev. 605 (1986)
· "Liability for Employee Benefits Resulting from Cessation of Mining Operations," 7 Eastern Min. L. Inst., Ch. 7 (1986)
Other
· United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia, Member, Local Rules Committee, 2004
· West Virginia Roundtable, Former Member
· Tulane School of Law Multi-State Labor and Employment Law Annual Seminar, Member, Planning Committee, 1992 - 2010
· The Alzheimer's Association of Southern West Virginia, Member, Board of Directors, 1997 - 2000
· Putnam County Bank, Former Member, Board of Directors
· The Best Lawyers in America, Labor and Employment, Employment Law - Management, Litigation - Labor & Employment, and Labor Law - Management
· Band 1, Labor & Employment, Chambers USA
· West Virginia and Corporate Counsel Super Lawyer
· West Virginia Selection Committee for University of Virginia Jefferson Scholarship, Member
· Florida State University Law Review