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Ashley Falls is an employment attorney with Falls Legal in Charleston where she focuses on representing plaintiffs in a wide variety of employment matters, including class and collective action litigation for wage and hour violations under the Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA") and the South Carolina Payment of Wages Act ("SCPWA"). Ashley has served as lead plaintiffs' counsel in many complex class and collective actions, including serving as lead counsel in one of South Carolina's largest restaurant related FLSA tip credit cases that resulted in a cash recovery of $2.7 million dollars for more than 3,500 servers and bartenders across the country. She has also successfully handled FLSA cases before the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals and before arbitral panels.

Ashley began her career working for the federal government for six years where she drafted more than 1,000 appeal level decisions on behalf of federal administrative law judges in Social Security disability hearing cases. She earned both her Bachelor's degree in Political Science and a Master's degree in Public Administration from the College of Charleston and her law degree from the Charleston School of Law where she was the recipient of the CALI Award in Advanced Legal Writing. 

Ashley is an active member of the National Employment Lawyers Association ("NELA"), the nation's largest organization composed of plaintiff side employment lawyers, and serves on both the National Planning Committees for the Wage & Hour division and the Amicus Brief division. She is also a member of the South Carolina Bar Employment and Labor Law Section and the Charleston County Bar Association. Ashley regularly contributes to various online and print legal publications specific to the employment and labor law field and her writings have appeared in Law 360, South Carolina Lawyers Weekly, and the South Carolina Bar Employment Newsletter. She has been named a South Carolina "Rising Star" in employment law from 2016-2021 and her law firm was recently selected to the U.S. News & World Report "Best Law Firms" rankings for Labor & Employment Litigation. 
 

Grainger Pierce is a partner at Van Hoy, Reutlinger, Adams & Pierce in Charlotte, North Carolina.  He earned his undergraduate degree from Duke University, where he studied art history, classics, and psychology. Following his graduation from law school at Chapel Hill, Grainger moved to Charlotte, where he has developed a thriving employment law practice representing employers of all sizes. 

Grainger works with companies on everything from complex litigation to compliance assessment. He has successfully represented clients in all North Carolina state and federal trial courts, as well as before the North Carolina Supreme Court and Court of Appeals. Grainger is a frequent speaker on employment law issues, and has also served as an instructor for the Duke University and University of North Carolina - Charlotte paralegal programs. In 2012, Grainger was recognized by N.C. Lawyers Weekly in its inaugural group of Leaders in the Law, and he has been listed multiple times in both Super Lawyers and Business North Carolina magazine's Legal Elite.  Outside of work, Grainger is an avid cyclist. 

• Employee theft of trade secrets
• Enforcement of restrictive covenants, such as covenants not to compete, non-solicitation agreements, and confidentiality agreements
• Employment discrimination pursuant to Title VII, the ADA, and the ADEA
• Wage claims pursuant to the FLSA and the SC Payment of Wages Act
• ERISA litigation
• Administrative investigations and enforcement pursuant to OSHA and the NLRA
• State unemployment insurance tax appeals
• Development and implementation of employment policies and employee handbooks

Jason Coker is the USDOL Wage and Hour Division's Assistant District Director for the Charleston, SC Area Office. In this role, Jason supervises Wage and Hour Investigators working across the state and works with employers and stakeholders in the regulated community to resolve issues and ensure compliance with the federal labor laws enforced by the Wage and Hour Division.
Jason was previously a Wage and Hour Investigator from 2009 to 2015. Jason earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Auburn University in 2001 and a Juris Doctor degree from Charleston School of Law in 2009.
 

Magistrate Judge Joi Elizabeth Peake is a United States Magistrate Judge in the Middle District of North Carolina. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree and Bachelor of Science degree, magna cum laude, from Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina in 1994. She received her law degree, with Highest Honors, from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1998. After law school, Magistrate Judge Peake served as a law clerk for the Honorable James A. Beaty, Jr., United States District Judge for the Middle District of North Carolina. She then practiced law for several years with Smith Helms Mulliss & Moore/Smith Moore Leatherwood, primarily in the areas of litigation, immigration, environmental law, and regulatory compliance. She subsequently returned to work with Judge Beaty during his tenure as Chief District Judge, with responsibility for both civil and criminal matters. Magistrate Judge Peake assumed her current position with the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina in February 2012, and is in her tenth year as a United States Magistrate Judge. Locally, she recently served as the President of the Federal Bar Association for the Middle District of North Carolina, and currently serves as the Chair of the Local Civil Rules Committee. Nationally, she serves on the Board of Directors of the Federal Magistrate Judge's Association as the Fourth Circuit Director, and she also serves on the Administrative Office of the Courts Risk and Financial Management Advisory Council.  

Karen Spain was born and raised in Charleston, South Carolina. She graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with bachelor’s degrees in Spanish and Psychology. After studying abroad in Spain and Ecuador, she taught Spanish at Bishop England High School for a few years before attending Vanderbilt University Law School, where she was a John W. Wade Law Scholar and a member of the Vanderbilt Law Review and Order of the Coif. After law school, Karen clerked for the Honorable R. Lanier Anderson III on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit and then for the Honorable P. Michael Duffy on the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina. Thereafter, she practiced law at the Charleston office of K&L Gates LLP, where she focused on employment law and litigation. In July 2020, Karen returned to the U.S. District Court as a career law clerk to the Honorable Molly H. Cherry.

Melissa Spence is a partner at Butler Snow, LLP in Charleston, South Carolina, where she is a member of the firm’s labor and employment practice group.  Melissa regularly counsels clients on compliance issues and represents employers before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the South Carolina Human Affairs Commission, and in both state and federal court against lawsuits arising under Title VII, ADA, ADEA, FMLA, and FLSA.

Melissa has been recognized for her exemplary work and commitment to the Charleston community with inclusion in the Charleston Regional Business Journal “Forty under 40” list in 2020. She was also named to Best Lawyers in America’s “Ones to Watch” list for Labor and Employment Law-Management from 2021-2022, a South Carolina Rising Stars honoree from 2016 to 2019, and is a graduate of the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce Leadership Charleston Class of 2019.

Melissa holds a bachelor’s degree with honors from Wofford College and a Juris Doctorate with honors from Charleston School of Law. In her spare time, she serves as general counsel on the Palmetto Society for Human Resource Management board, board member for the Charleston Forum, and is the CLE coordinator for the employment and labor law section for the South Carolina Bar Association. She is also a member of the International Association of Defense Counsel, South Carolina Women Lawyers Association, Young Lawyer Division of South Carolina Bar Association, Charleston County Bar Association and South Carolina Federal Bar Association chapter.

With more than 20 years of experience, trial lawyer Nikole Setzler Mergo represents some of the world’s largest manufacturers, health care providers and financial institutions, as well as locally-owned North and South Carolina businesses, in both jury and non-jury litigation. Nikole regularly conducts investigations into alleged workplace harassment, discrimination and other misconduct claims for employers across the country. Along with her team, she has the ability to provide rapid and thorough investigation support. In addition, a large part of Nikole’s practice is focused on complex, high stakes litigation, including trade secret litigation for employers. She vigorously defends clients through some of

their most tumultuous times.

Nikole also provides daily employment law advice and counseling to a number of corporate clients on issues involving virtually all aspects of employment law. She regularly represents companies before the District Courts of North and South Carolina and in federal courts across the country, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and South Carolina Human Affairs Commission (SHAC), the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) and the Department of Employment and

Workforce (DEW).

Nikole works for clients in both South Carolina and North Carolina, defending them in litigation across the country. Her engagements are varied, but she regularly provides advice and counsel on issues including: 

-          - complex commercial litigation

-         -  employment litigation defense

-          - unfair business practices

-          - healthcare employment law

-          - healthcare reimbursement disputes

-         -  class actions/defense

-         -  pharmaceutical pricing defense

-          - federal contractor compliance

Education:

University of Virginia School of Law, J.D., 1999

University of Virginia, B.A, 1996 in English, with distinction

Nikole is a managing partner in the Columbia office of Nexen Pruet.

Stuart I. Teicher, Esq. is a professional legal educator who focuses on ethics law and writing instruction. A practicing attorney for 30 years, Stuart’s career is now dedicated to helping fellow attorneys survive the practice of law and thrive in the profession. Mr. Teicher teaches seminars, provides in-house training to law firms and legal departments, provides CLE instruction at law firm client events, and also gives keynote speeches at conventions and association meetings.

Stuart helps attorneys get better at what they do (and enjoy the process) through his entertaining and educational CLE “performances”. He speaks, teaches, and writes— Thomson Reuters published his book entitled, Navigating the Legal Ethics of Social Media and Technology.

Thomas M. Colclough currently serves as the District Director of EEOC’s Charlotte District.  Thomas has over 25 years of experience with EEOC investigating charges and complaints of discrimination and leading high-performing teams.  He has served in various leadership positions at EEOC, e.g., Enforcement Supervisor, Local Director, Area Director, Systemic Coordinator, and Deputy District Director.  Only July 21, 2020, Thomas was promoted to the position of District Director.  In this position, he plays a key role in fulfilling the agency’s mission through strategic enforcement management and planning.

A native of North Carolina, Thomas attended Saint Augustine’s College in Raleigh, North Carolina, where he received his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration.  He earned his master’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.  Thomas is also a graduate of the military’s Command and General Staff College and the Office of Personnel Management’s Federal Executive Institute. In 2005, Thomas retired from the North Carolina National Guard after 23 years of service (active, reserve, and guard) at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.