Larry J. Rector has focused his more than twenty years of practice in the area of labor and employment law.  In addition to client counseling, Mr. Rector has an active trial and appellate practice.  He is licensed to practice in West Virginia, the District of Columbia, Kansas, Missouri, Pennsylvania, and Texas state courts and numerous federal district and appellate courts including the United States Supreme Court.

AREAS OF CONCENTRATION

Employment Discrimination and Wrongful Discharge
Mr. Rector has defended employment discrimination claims of all colors, shapes and sizes in the state and federal courts in West Virginia as well as administrative claims before the West Virginia Human Rights Commission and the EEOC.  In addition, he has investigated and defended numerous workplace harassment claims as well as claims involving breach of contract, retaliatory discharge, defamation, invasion of privacy, tort of outrage, and the various other employment related torts.                                              

Wage and Hour
Mr. Rector has also represented clients in wage and hour audits and has tried claims to a jury involving employee classification, minimum wage and overtime pay issues.  These cases have included national class actions and collective actions under the FLSA.

Industrial Injuries
Mr. Rector has defended numerous personal injury and wrongful death cases involving workplace accidents, including, among others, the following industries:  underground coal mining, oil and gas production and transmission, forest products, construction, transportation, electrical power generation, retail establishments, mental health providers and petroleum product refineries.                                                                         

Federal Grand Jury, Mine Safety and Health, and West Virginia Office of Miners’ Health, Safety and Training Investigations
Mr. Rector has defended targets of investigations brought by the United States Attorney for presentation to federal grand juries and the Mine Safety and Health Administration’s Special Investigation Unit.  Mr. Rector has also defended corporations and individuals before the West Virginia Office of Miners’ Health Safety and Training.

Appellate Practice
A former federal circuit court law clerk, Mr. Rector has handled numerous appellate matters in the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals, as well as the federal courts of appeal, including an amicus curiae brief in the United States Supreme Court.  He coached the West Virginia University’s National Moot Court Team from 1994 through 2004. 

PROFESSIONAL AND CIVIC ASSOCIATIONS

Within the community, Mr. Rector serves on the Boards of Directors for the Pricketts Fort Memorial Foundation and the Allohak Council for the Boy Scouts of America.  He is also a member of the Harrison County Chamber of Commerce and completed Leadership Harrison in 2002.  Mr. Rector has been the Editor of the monthly West Virginia Employment Law Letter, a national publication, since 1995.  He has regularly addressed professional organizations and clients in the areas of labor and employment law and has been a frequent lecturer at the West Virginia University College of Law.  Mr. Rector is the only West Virginia member of the National Employers Counsel Network, a national group comprised of management-side attorneys.  Mr. Rector is recognized in The Best Lawyers in America in the field of labor and employment law and West Virginia Super Lawyers 2007.  

EDUCATION

Mr. Rector received his legal education at the University of Nebraska, with high distinction, and was inducted into the Order of the Coif.  He was the Executive Editor of the Nebraska Law Review and a member of the National Moot Court Team.  He received his undergraduate education from Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa.

OTHER LEGAL EXPERIENCE

After law school, Mr. Rector completed a judicial clerkship for Judge Floyd R. Gibson of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.  Thereafter, Mr. Rector was associated with a Washington, D.C. law firm where he practiced in the litigation department specializing in federal securities litigation, class actions and derivative actions. 

ARTICLES

January, 2007: “The Sarbanes-Oxley Act:  A Parent Corporation's Duty to Disclose Safety and Environmental Issues Related to Its Subsidiaries, and How the Internal Controls Necessary to Carry Out that Duty May Expose a Parent Corporation to Liability for the Torts of Its Subsidiaries,” The Energy & Mineral Law Foundation.  Mr. Rector also co-authors a point/counterpoint employment law column for The West Virginia Lawyer.

BIGGEST REGRET:  Not attaining the rank of Eagle Scout.