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Biography

Chris Slaughter is the CEO of Steptoe & Johnson. He was elected to the position in 2020, the culmination of a career with the firm spanning more than twenty years. His legal practice is focused on counseling and litigation. He advises clients on labor negotiations, contract administration, and structural changes that impact employment. He represents employers when they are faced with litigation before the National Labor Relations Board, arbitrators, state and federal courts, and agencies. His clients range from Fortune 500 companies to mid-sized businesses in the construction, energy, health care, hospitality, and manufacturing industries.   

Throughout his career, Chris has honed his proactive, consensus-based leadership style while holding a number of leadership positions. He is a past managing member of the firm’s Huntington, West Virginia office and was elected to multiple terms on the firm’s executive committee. He serves his community through leadership positions in his church and with organizations dedicated to the arts and economic development.   

Chris is named among The Best Lawyers in America® and Chambers USA America’s Leading Lawyers for Business. He is also a fellow of both the West Virginia Bar Foundation and the American College of Labor and Employment Lawyers.   

Memberships & Awards

Professional
Fellow, American College of Labor and Employment Lawyers, 2020
Fellow, West Virginia Bar Foundation, 2019
Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business – Labor & Employment (2006 – Present)
Best Lawyers® 2021 Charleston, WV, Labor Law – Management, Lawyer of the Year
Best Lawyers® 2019 Charleston, WV, Employment Law – Management, Lawyer of the Year
The Best Lawyers in America®, Employment Law - Management (2011-Present), Labor Law - Management (2011-Present), Litigation - Labor & Employment (2011-Present)
Recognized in Law & Politics Magazine's Virginia/West Virginia Super Lawyers®
Kentucky and West Virginia Bar Associations
Past President, Tri-State Society for Human Resource Management

Key Experience

Successfully prosecuted civil fraud action against former corporate officer, obtaining a judgment and an award of attorneys’ fees and costs on behalf of a corporate client
Negotiated labor agreements with a number of different unions
Helped employers control strike-related mass picketing, violence, and property damage through agency and court litigation

Work Experience

2000 Labor Counsel, Law Department, Columbia Gas Transmission Corp. (Temporary Assignment)
1999 Steptoe & Johnson PLLC
1995-1999 Smith, Heenan & Althen

Speaking Engagements

June 2018: “Supreme Court Decision Hands Defeat to Public Sector Unions”

May 2018: “Update on Labor Law Under the Trump Administration,” West Virginia Health Care Association Annual Meeting, Charleston, West Virginia

March 2018: “NLRB Vacates Hy-Brand Decision”