Jim Meath serves as vice chairman of the firm's board of directors. In practice for more than 27 years, Mr. Meath possesses extensive experience representing businesses throughout the U.S. and internationally in all areas of labor and employment law. He has also established himself as a proficient counselor in guiding corporations in complex legal issues such as regulatory inquiries and Sarbanes-Oxley compliance. Mr. Meath's practice includes significant work in alternative dispute resolution. His experience in this area includes the arbitration and mediation of numerous contract and employment disputes for commercial, as well as labor and employment matters. Mr. Meath has served as facilitator and mediator in disputes involving professional corporations. He has also lead multinational teams of attorneys in representing corporations in regulatory and attorney general investigations.

Education
University of Richmond School of Law, J.D. (1979)
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, M.UA. (1974)
Old Dominion University, B.A. (1971)

Professional Affiliations
American Arbitration Association (1985 - Present)
- Commercial Panel Arbitrator
- Employment Panel Arbitrator
- Large Complex Case Panel Arbitrator

American Bar Association
- Developing Labor Law Committee
- Alternate Dispute Committee

District of Columbia Bar
- Labor & Employment Law Section

Virginia Bar Association
- President (2005)
- President-Elect (2004)
- Executive Committee (2000- Present)
- Labor Relations and Employment Section, Chair (1995-1997)

Virginia State Bar

Awards and Honors
Recognized as a leading Labor & Employment attorney in the U.S. by Chambers USA (2003 - present)

Distinguished Alumni Award from College of Arts and Letters, Old Dominion University (2007)

College of Labor and Employment Lawyers, Fellow

Listed in The Best Lawyers in America, (1989 - Present)

Listed in "Legal Elite," Virginia Business magazine

Listed in Virginia Super Lawyers magazine
- Employment Litigation: Defense
- "Top 10 Attorneys in Virginia" (2007)

Virginia Law Foundation, Fellow

Publications
"Hiring and Firing in Virginia," Virginia Employment Law Handbook, 1989.

"The NLRB and Rulemaking: Health Care Unit Determination," Southern Methodist School of Law Continuing Legal Education Manual, 1990.

"Employment Law for the General Practitioner", Virginia State Bar, Continuing Legal Education Series, 1993 (Video).

Co-Editor, Virginia Employment Law Letter, Published by M. Lee Smith Publishing Co., Marshall Tennessee, monthly newsletter (1500+ circulation),  1990-2002.

Co-Author, "Independent Contractors and the Contingent Workforce: Where are we after Dial-A-Mattress and Roadway Package System, Inc.?," Maryland State Bar CLE Handbook, 1999.

Representations
Legal counsel in numerous labor relations matters, e.g., counterorganizing, work stoppages, decertifications, unfair labor practice trials; corporations in the following industry groups:

• Auto
• Broadcasting
• Defense
• Food Service
• Government Contracts
• Health Care
• Insurance
• Litigation
• Mining
• Newspaper
• Paper
• Printing
• Publishing
• Steel
• Transportation
• Travel and Leisure

Project manager for public corporations involved in multistate regulatory and attorney general investigations for Health Care, Insurance and Transporation industries.

Lead counsel for defense of final orders of the National Labor Relations Board against employers heard in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth, Fifth and D.C. Circuits.

Lead counsel for defense of 10(j) injunction requests filed by National Labor Relations Board against employees in the Federal District Courts in the Eastern District of Virginia.

Lead counsel in numerous cases involving State Court injunctions against labor unions, union officials and union members involved in work stoppages.

Lead counsel and chief spokesperson advocating corporate objectives while representing numerous corporations in collective bargaining negotiations including first contract, renewal and concession bargaining.

Lead counsel in the defense of numerous employers charged with violations of state and federal employment statutes (jury trials and bench trials).

Community Involvement
University of Richmond, Board of Associates (1998 - present)

The Valentine Richmond History Center, Board of Trustees (2007 - present)

Virginia Commonwealth University School of Business, Board of Trustees (2007 - present)