Kevin A. Nelson

Biography

Kevin has broad litigation experience, having conducted bench and jury trials in state and federal court in the areas of discrimination, wrongful discharge, professional liability, product liability, workers’ compensation discrimination, the West Virginia Wage Payment and Collection Act, trade secrets, covenants not to compete, insurance, insurance coverage, mineral rights, and negligence in his more than 35 years of practice. He has also tried cases before administrative bodies including the West Virginia Human Rights Commission and MSHA, and has represented clients in proceedings before the West Virginia Office of Disciplinary Counsel and Boards of Medicine and Dentistry, the West Virginia Insurance Commission, and the Charleston Human Rights Commission. Additionally, he has argued a number of cases before the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia and the United States Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.

His experience in litigation also provides Kevin with the platform to provide advice to his clients with regard to how to avoid circumstances that may lead to it. He works extensively with his clients on risk management issues including hiring, discipline, discrimination, discharge, promotion and demotion, reductions in force, benefits, and employee handbooks in the employment arena and claims and claims reporting, emergency response, and pre-suit negotiations in the areas of professional liability and insurance.

A particular area of emphasis in the insurance area has been in professional liability, where Kevin has represented insurance agents and brokers, engineers, attorneys, financial advisers and brokers, real estate agents, accountants, and medical care providers facing claims under their errors and omissions insurance policies. He has also provided counsel with regard to and litigated cases involving bad faith and personal injuries including deliberate intent (Mandolidis) claims and in product liability claims representing manufacturers of products ranging from wire ropes to large pieces of mining equipment.

Kevin has litigated cases involving and provides counsel regarding First Amendment and related issues. As well, he has spoken often on Social Media issues as they relate to employers, insurance agents and media companies.

His clients include attorneys, engineering companies, accounting firms, insurance agencies and brokers, financial brokers, major suppliers to the coal industry, financial institutions, insurers, manufacturers, retailers, wholesalers, media companies, and the service industry. He has also served as a mediator or arbitrator in a variety of cases.

Examples of matters Kevin has recently handled to trial include: representing an international brokerage company at trial in two cases alleging breach of professional duties and failure to provide notice of the right to purchase “tail coverage;” defending a multi-national publication company against retaliatory discharge and wage payment and collection act claims; representing a Forbes 200 Global Company in a case involving claims of trade secrets, breach of restrictive covenant and constructive discharge; and litigating multiple discrimination complaints filed with the West Virginia Human Rights Commission against a coal industry supplier.

In addition to his legal work, Kevin was a girls’ soccer coach at Charleston Catholic High School for 10 years. During his seven seasons as head coach he was named the 2008 Mideast Sectional Coach of the Year for girls’ soccer by the NFHS Coaches Association, was the West Virginia girls’ Class AA-A Region III coach of the year in 2006 and 2009, and was Kanawha Valley Girls’ Coach of the Year in 2008. His teams won three consecutive state championships from 2008-2010, including the 2010 team that was nationally ranked, finishing 24th in the Nation in the NSCAA poll and 40th in the ESPN RISE poll. Kevin also played soccer and was a member of a West Virginia team that participated in the Veterans’ Cup, a national tournament for players over 40. He is also past vice-president of the Kanawha-Charleston Soccer Foundation, an organization dedicated to building soccer fields for recreational use in the Kanawha Valley, and served on the State Secondary Schools’ Activities Commission’s Soccer Committee.

Kevin was editor of his high school newspaper and, while at Wake Forest, was sports editor of the school newspaper The Old Gold and Black. He also worked part-time as a sportswriter for The Winston-Salem Journal while an undergraduate.

Education

  • Washington and Lee University School of Law  (J.D., 1983)
    • Washington and Lee Law Review
  • Wake Forest University  (cum laude, 1980)
    • With honors in History
    • Omicron Delta Kappa, Mortar Board

Bar Admissions

  • West Virginia

Court Admissions

  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
  • U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia
  • U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia

Affiliations/Memberships

  • Defense Research Institute
  • WV State Bar
  • WV Bar Association
  • Kanawha/Charleston Soccer Foundation, past vice president
  • Kanawha County Bar Association, Executive Committee

Distinctions

  • Chambers USA®: America's Leading Lawyers for Business, Labor & Employment
  • West Virginia Super Lawyers®
    • Professional Liability: Defense (2021)
  • Peer Review Rated AV Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell
  • Best Lawyers®
    • Employment Law - Management, Insurance Law, Litigation - Insurance, Litigation - Labor and Employment, Privacy and Data Security Law, Technology Law (2021-2024)