Leah Stiegler is a member of the firm’s Labor and Employment and Litigation practice groups. Leah’s employment practice focuses on helping employers comply with various employment laws, defending related employment actions with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and in state or federal court, conducting workplace and board training, guiding employers through workplace investigations, and working with employers regarding collective bargaining and grievances/arbitrations.
A Virginia native, Leah began her career at Woods Rogers as a summer associate in 2014 and joined the firm after completing a judicial clerkship with the Honorable Lawrence R. Leonard, U.S. Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of Virginia, where she gained extensive experience in handling pretrial motions, discovery disputes, and settlement conferences.
Leah earned her law degree from the University of Richmond School of Law, where she graduated cum laude and was a member of the Order of the Coif. She also served on the executive board of the University of Richmond Law Review. While in law school, Leah interned with the Honorable Kevin R. Huennekens, U.S. Bankruptcy Court.
Leah earned the Pro Bono Certification Award for completing over 120 hours of pro bono service and public interest work for her time working with the Legal Aid Justice Center in Richmond, Va., the law school’s Immigration Clinic, and the Charlottesville Public Defender’s Office. Leah graduated summa cum laude from Virginia Tech, where she earned two degrees: A B.S. in Environmental Policy and Planning, and a B.A. in Spanish.
Leah believes strongly in the values of youth athletics and is the head coach of The Bosses, a youth basketball team for girls in the City of Roanoke. Leah is a board member for Virginia Amateur Sports, Inc., a non-profit organization that promotes physical fitness and healthy lifestyles and runs the Virginia Commonwealth Games—the largest multi-sport festival held in Virginia each year. Leah also serves as an Athletic Director on the Greater Southwest Athletic Association Board of Directors.
Affiliations
Virginia Bar Association
Federal Bar Association
Virginia Amateur Sports
Thought Leadership
Published Articles
Speak the Unspoken: Fighting Your Implicit Bias and Channeling Understanding, Opening Statement, Fall 2019
Subconscious Thoughts and Their Impact on the Workplace, Lynchburg Business, November/December 2018
Ready, Set, Go!–Employment Handbooks, Lynchburg Magazine, February 2017
Avoiding The Catch-22: Reforming the Renewable Fuel Standard to Protect Freshwater Resources and Promote Energy Independence, 48 University of Richmond Law Review 1063, 2014
Featured Posts
Overtime Rule Changes in Effect: FLSA #9 | September 24, 2019
Employee Volunteer Programs: FLSA #8 | August 29, 2019
Factoring Monthly, Quarterly, and Annual Bonuses into the Regular Rate: FLSA #7 | July 31, 2019
Blended Rate of Pay: FLSA #6 | June 28, 2019
Virginia Employers Now Required to Provide Employee Records (Including wage rates!) | June 20, 2019
DOL Guidelines for Unpaid Internships (FLSA #5) | May 30, 2019
FLSA #4: Automatic Meal Break Deductions | April 24, 2019
Breaking News: DOL Proposes Exempt Salary Threshold of $35,000/yr | March 8, 2019
FLSA #2: Who Gets Paid on a Snow Day? | February 19, 2019
FLSA: What’s a Few Minutes Here and There? | January 15, 2019
Speaking Engagements
VA Society for Healthcare Human Resources Administration | VaSHHRA Regional Event: HR Legal Update | October 9, 2019
IPMA-HR Virginia Chapter Regional Workshop | Strengthening Your Supervisory Skills in Employment Law | October 16, 2019
VASHRRA | Roanoke/Southwest Regional Event | October 18, 2019
Richmond SHRM | HR on Mock Trial: Romance Gone Wrong (Allegedly) | September 19, 2019
Council of Independent Colleges in Virginia | Hot Button Legal Issues in HR | May 22, 2019
Association of Government Accountants | Federal Employment Laws Every Leader Should Know | April 25, 2019
Lynchburg Regional Alliance Business Summit | Employment Law Updates | April 30, 2019
International Public Management Association for HR – Virginia Chapter | Hot Topics in Your Employee Handbook | March 12, 2019
International Public Management Association for HR – Virginia Chapter | Discrimination & Harassment in the #MeToo Era | March 12, 2019
Virginia Society of CPAs – Roanoke Chapter | Federal Laws Every Leader Should Know | January 24, 2019
Virginia Women's Conference | Valuing Diversity and Recognizing Implicit Bias | November 17, 2018
Virginia Employment Commission | FMLA, ADA, Workers’ Compensation in the Workplace | October 30, 2018
Virginia Society for Healthcare Human Resources Administration | Legal Updates in the Health Care Industry | October 26, 2018
Virginia Society of CPAs | Harassment and Diversity | October 18, 2018
Virginia Employment Commission | FLSA Issues and Social Media in the Workplace | September 27, 2018
Richmond SHRM | HR on (Mock) Trial: Racial Discrimination | September 20, 2018
Lynchburg SHRM | Internal Workplace Investigations | September 13, 2018
Virginia Employment Commission | Recent Developments in Employment Law | August 23, 2018
Virginia Employment Commission | Employee Handbooks and Social Media in the Workplace | August 23, 2018
Virginia Legal Aid Society Pro Bono Conference | Diversity in the Law | April 20, 2018
Lynchburg Bar Association | Diversity and Implicit Bias in the Law | April 20, 2018
Local Government Attorneys of Virginia | All Aboard the Employment Train: Bringing People on Board — An Overview of the Hiring Process, I-9 Compliance, and Other Immigration Issues of Relevance to Local Governments | April 19, 2018
VT Roanoke Higher Education Center | Workplace Violence | March 3, 2018
SEMINARS + EVENTS
37th Annual Labor & Employment Seminar Series | September 20, 2018
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