J Walker Coleman IV

Practice Areas

Walker Coleman heads the firm's Charleston office and serves on the firm's Advisory Council. He is an experienced litigator who primarily litigates complex employment, labor, restrictive covenant, and trade secret misappropriation disputes. He has significant class and collective action experience, and he also litigates business disputes, defends medical device product defect lawsuits, and represents companies in government investigations.

Walker has successfully handled cases for numerous local, national, and international companies in industries including: athletic equipment, automotive, aerospace, beverage, broadcast media, chemical, computer software, construction, defense, energy, entertainment, environmental, financial services, government contracts, health care, health care diagnostics, intellectual property, manufacturing, maritime, medical laboratory testing, medical device, paper and packaging, plumbing fixtures, pharmaceutical, retail, resort and hospitality, restaurant, shipping, snack food, steel, telecommunications, textiles, and trucking.

Walker's labor and employment practice primarily consists of defending companies in litigation relating to employment discrimination, all forms of harassment, wage and hour, wrongful termination, trade secret misappropriation, restrictive covenant enforcement, and unfair labor practices. He also represents companies when the government comes knocking at their door. He also routinely counsels employers on leave issues, positive and legally viable employment practices, reductions in force and plant closings, the sale and acquisition of domestic and foreign businesses, executive terminations and severance packages, and union avoidance. Walker has successfully represented numerous employers before the EEOC, the U.S. Department of Labor, the National Labor Relations Board, and the S.C. Department of Labor, Licenses and Regulation.

In the product defect area, Walker has defended numerous domestic and international medical device manufacturers and pharmaceutical companies in defective product and bad drug cases.

In the business disputes area, Walker routinely litigates claims of, among others, breach of contract, unfair trade practices, fraud, civil conspiracy, defamation, and breach of fiduciary duties.

Highly regarded in his field, Walker has been recognized by his peers and corporate counsel as a leader in the labor and employment practice area through his inclusion in Chambers USA, Best Lawyers in America, and the South Carolina Super Lawyers list for almost fifteen years.

Professional Memberships

Charleston Regional Development Alliance, Board of Directors, 2012-present

Charleston Regional Development Alliance, Executive Committee, 2016-2018

Porter-Gaud School, Board of Trustees, 2011-2019; Chairman 2019-2022

Chairman, Clemson University, Accounting, Finance, and Legal Studies Board of Directors, 2010-2016

Clemson University Senior Advisory Board of Directors, 2012-2019

Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce, Board of Directors, 2007-2015

Defense Research Institute, Panel Counsel Committee Chair and South Carolina Liaison, Employment Law Committee, 2005-2011

National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Board of Directors, Mid-Atlantic Chapter, 2003-2008

Leadership Charleston, Class of 1996

Defense Trial Lawyers Association, Member

Publications

Association of Corporate Counsel South Carolina: Playing it Safe: Corporate Counsel’s Role in Reopening Businesses During the COVID-19 Pandemic, March 2021

Defense Research Institute: Employment Litigation Handbook: Post-Trial Motions, 2011

Charleston Regional Business Journal: Charleston Lifestyle Lures Young Lawyers from Big Cities, 2007

Charleston Regional Business Journal: Image-Based Discrimination, 2005

Charleston Regional Business Journal: Protect Your Assets: Craft a Non-Compete That Won’t Let You Down, 2005

For the Defense (Defense Research Institute): Evidence of Employment Discrimination: The Impact of Desert Palace, 2004

John M. Olin Institute for Employment Practice & Policy, George Mason Univ.: Government Protection of Employees Involved in Mergers & Acquisitions, 1998

How to Get Ready for the Tsunami of New Overtime Claims, with Henry W. Frampton, IV, published in South Carolina Corporate Counsel Newsletter and as K&L Gates Client Alert, August 2012

Post-Trial Motions in Employment Litigation, in DRI Employment Law Trial Tactics, with Henry W. Frampton, IV, 2010

Co-author, Evidence of Employment Discrimination: The Impact of Desert Palace, published in DRI’s For the Defense.2004

Co-author, Protect Your Assets: Craft a Non-Compete That Won’t Let You Down, published in Charleston Regional Business Journal, 2005

Education