Steven D. "Steve" Brown
Recognized since 2011
Richmond, Virginia
Employment Law - Management
Labor Law - Management
Litigation - Labor and Employment
Steven D. Brown is a Partner at IslerDare PC. Prior to joining the Firm and opening the Richmond office in June 2015, Steve was a partner with LeClair Ryan and Williams Mullen. Steve is the current Chair of the Virginia Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Law Section.
Steve understands the business operations of the private and public employers he represents and he provides creative strategies to manage labor, employment and business issues. He has over thirty years of experience in defending employers in a variety of industries in cases under various federal and state labor and employment laws before administrative agencies, state and federal courts, and before arbitration panels all over the United States. His practice includes defending employers in single plaintiff, multi-plaintiff, collective actions, and class actions. With cases either decided favorably at the summary judgment stage before trial or obtaining a favorable verdict after a jury or bench trial, Steve is an experienced and effective trial lawyer. He has also successfully argued appeals before the Second, Fourth, and Eleventh Circuit Courts of Appeals as well as before the Connecticut Supreme Court and the Supreme Court of Virginia. He also provides daily legal and strategic advice related to all labor and employment issues, including, but not limited to, hiring, employment agreements, wage and hour, progressive discipline, performance evaluations, investigations, leave issues under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, FMLA and ADA, workplace safety issues, termination of employment, discrimination, harassment, retaliation, trade secrets, non-competition, non-solicitation, and confidentiality covenants, severance and release agreements, employment and business related tort claims, workplace violence issues, labor and employment law audits, and labor and employment due diligence. Steve has written numerous articles and lectured on a local, regional and national level on a variety of labor and employment law subjects. Steve is also an Adjunct Professor at the University of Richmond and the Chancellor for the Virginia Conference of the United Methodist Church.
In the community, Steve provides mentoring to the James Madison University football program by working with players that are preparing for life after college football within the applicable NCAA guidelines. He is the Chair of the Virginia Bar Association’s Labor & Employment Law Section. He is a member of the Dean’s Ambassadors Circle for the School of Professional and Continuing Studies at the University of Richmond.
- Direct Phone Number: 804-489-5500
- Phone Number: 804-489-5500
- Lawyer Page: https://www.islerdare.com/steven-d-brown
- 1111 East Main Street
Suite 1605
Richmond, VA 23219
- Brooklyn Law School, JD, graduated 1990
- James Madison University, BS, graduated 1984
- Connecticut, 1990
- Florida, 1994
- Virginia, 1998
- North Carolina, 2018
- Virginia Bar Association - Chair, Labor and Employment Section
- Florida Bar Association - Labor and Employment Section
- North Carolina Bar Association - Labor and Employment Section
- American Bar Association - Labor and Employment Section
- National Institute for Trial Advocacy - Member, Labor and Employment Section
- University of Richmond - Adjunct Professor of Employment Law & Policy, Leadership, Ethics and the Law, and Legal Issues in HRM
- U.S. Supreme Court
- U.S. Court of Appeals — 2nd Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals — 4th Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals — 11th Circuit
- U.S. District Court — District of Connecticut
- U.S. District Court — Northern District of Florida
- U.S. District Court — Middle District of Florida
- U.S. District Court- Southern District of Florida
- U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Virginia
- U.S. District Court — Western District of Virginia
- U.S. District Court — Eastern District of North Carolina
- U.S. District Court — Western District of North Carolina
10 The Best Lawyers in America® awards
2 Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America awards
- Employment Law - Management, Richmond (2025)
- Litigation - Labor and Employment, Richmond (2025)
- Labor Law - Management, Richmond (2024)
- Labor Law - Management, Richmond (2022)
- Employment Law - Management, Richmond (2021)
- Employment Law - Management
- Labor Law - Management
- Litigation - Labor and Employment
- America’s Leading Lawyers For Business- Honored as a leading employment defense counsel in Chambers USA (2022)
- AV® rated by Martindale Hubbell
- Listed in Virginia Business magazine’s “Legal Elite” in the field of Labor/Employment
- Listed in Virginia Super Lawyers – Employment and Labor Law
- Listed in Virginia Super Lawyers as one of the top 25 lawyers in Richmond, Virginia
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