An experienced, AOC-certified mediator, Steve applies the wealth of litigation experience he’s acquired over the course of his legal career to help settle disputes in Lexington and statewide. He mediates in numerous areas of the law, including but not limited to employment, business, personal injury, and domestic relations.

Steve has been defending public and private employers, higher education institutions, and K-12 school districts and school boards for over four decades. Steve’s practiced counsel has been instrumental in helping employers, universities, colleges and schools navigate numerous high-profile legal challenges. He has served as a special investigator of employee misconduct when circumstances required the investigation be handled by an outside party.

His successes in these areas of the law have not gone unnoticed—he is a four-time Best Lawyers in America® Lexington Employment “Lawyer of the Year,” and the 2023 Lexington Mediation “Lawyer of the Year.” Steve attended Advanced Attorney-Mediator Training through the Association of Attorney Mediators multiple times, and has been inducted into the National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals.

Steve has been an active and influential member of the Kentucky legal community throughout his career. He has served as President of the Fayette County Bar Association, in the Kentucky Bar Assocation House of Delegates, and as Director for Fayette County Legal Aid for 25 years. In 2011, Steve was presented with the Henry T. Duncan Award, the highest honor bestowed by the Fayette County Bar Association, for his outstanding contribution to the community. The award is presented to an attorney whose integrity, leadership, and professional conduct serves to exemplify the high ethical and professional standards that benefit the community.

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Areas of Practice

Professional Affiliations

National Association of College and University Attorneys: Litigation and Alternative Dispute Resolution Section

Employment Law Alliance: Kentucky Representative

Higher Education Council of the Employment Law Alliance

Fayette County Bar Association: President (2003-2004)

Kentucky Bar Association: Inquiry Commission (2005-2011); House of Delegates (1986-1992)

American Bar Association: Employment Law and Alternative Dispute Resolution Sections

Defense Research Institute

Fayette County Legal Aid: Director (1984-2009)

Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government Ethics Commission (1999-2003)

National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals

Association of Attorney-Mediators

Education

University of Tennessee, B.S. (1972)

University of Kentucky, J.D. (1975)

• Order of the Coif

• Kentucky Law Journal

Paralegal Support