Victor Cardwell is Co-Chair of Woods Rogers’ Labor and Employment Law Section. He is also Chairman of the Woods Rogers Board of Directors. He practices labor and employment law throughout the U.S., focusing on diversity, the Fair Labor Standards Act, and labor/management relations—including union-organizing campaigns and union-avoidance techniques—and workplace violence.

Victor has significant experience before state and federal courts and administrative agencies, including the National Labor Relations Board. He offers counsel to executive and human resources managers on a wide range of employer concerns—from harassment, sexual orientation/transgender, retaliation, and discrimination, to workforce reductions, handbooks and agreements, unfair competition, wage/hour compliance, health and disability, discipline/discharge, and employee leave.

Victor is President of the Virginia Bar Association and serves on the Virginia State Bar’s Board of Governors for its Diversity Conference. He was named to the Roanoke Law Foundation Fellows Program in 2018.

Virginia Lawyers Weekly has recognized Victor as a “Leaders in the Law.” He is regularly listed in industry rankings including Virginia Super Lawyers and Best Lawyers in America for Employment Law – Management and Labor Law – Management, including being named Roanoke Lawyer of the Year. He is recognized by Martindale-Hubbell in Litigation and Labor and Employment and by Chambers USA as a leading attorney in the Labor and Employment practice. In 2019, Victor received the Martin Luther King “Drum Major for Justice” award issued by the local Roanoke chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

Prior to joining Woods Rogers in 1991, Victor served as Deputy Associate Chief Counsel with the U. S. Department of Labor Benefits Review Board. He has served as a member of the House of Delegates of the American Bar Association, representing Virginia, and was appointed to the Human Rights Council of the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Victor lends legal counsel to many Roanoke-area nonprofit organizations including the Bradley Free Clinic, Center in the Square, Grandin Theatre Foundation, Mill Mountain Zoo, United Way of the Roanoke Valley, Science Museum of Western Virginia, and Human Rights Council of the Commonwealth of Virginia. He serves on the board of directors for the Virginia Foundation of Independent Colleges. In September 2020, Victor was appointed to serve on the board of the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority. In the past, he has served on the boards of the Science Museum of Western Virginia and the Virginia High School League Foundation. He has also been an active volunteer with Cosmopolitan International.

Thought Leadership

Publications

An Employment Law Guide: Employee Rights and Employer Responsibilities in Virginia (2021), Co-author

Employment Law in Virginia (2020), Co-author

Attorney Perspectives

Speaking Engagements

  • Virginia Bar Association Annual Conference on Labor & Employment | Early Bird Ethics
    September 8, 2022
  • Virginia Bar Association 132nd Annual Meeting | Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Revisited – What the Legal Industry Gets Wrong about DEI
    January 21, 2022
  • Richmond SHRM | 2022 Legal Update
    March 17, 2022
  • Association of Legal Administrators State Conference | Marijuana and the Workplace
    March 4, 2022
  • New River Valley SHRM Annual Legal Update | Are You an HR Hero? Managing Litigation
    September 16, 2021
  • Roanoke Valley SHRM | Diversity, Equity And Inclusion In The Workplace
    August 24, 2021
  • Shenandoah Valley SHRM 2021 Virginia Legal Forum | How Does a Lawsuit Work
    September 15, 2021
  • Virginia CLE | Elimination of Bias: Racial Bias Challenges in the Legal System
    August 27, 2021
  • Virginia CLE | Elimination of Bias: Racial Bias Challenges in the Legal System
    August 19, 2021
  • IPMA-Va Spring Conference | 2021 Legal Updates
    March 23, 2021
  • Virginia Association of Community Service Boards HR Leadership | Virginia’s New Employment Laws
    October 30, 2020
  • UVA Club of Tidewater | Hoo Knows the Law?
    October 9, 2020
  • American Counsel of Engineering Companies of Virginia | HR Roundtable – Virginia’s New Workplace Laws: What’s Here and What’s Coming?
    August 26, 2020
  • Virginia Credit Union League | Virginia’s Updated Workplace Standards & EFMLA
    August 5, 2020
  • VACAP Human Resources Peer Group | COVID-19 – Returning to Work: Legal Issues Agencies Need to Consider
    June 10, 2020
  • Bedford Area Chamber of Commerce | COVID-19 Webinar Series
    April 24, 2020
  • Richmond SHRM | HR on Mock Trial: Romance Gone Wrong (Allegedly)
    September 19, 2019
  • 2019 Virginia Statewide Payroll Conference "Payroll Strikes Back" | HR Issues in Payroll
    October 10, 2019
  • Council of Independent Colleges in Virginia | Higher Education Legal Update
    May 22, 2019
  • MSCUA Annual Meeting | Hot Topics in Employee Handbooks
    May 16, 2019
  • Lynchburg Regional Alliance Business Summit | Employment Law Updates
    April 30, 2019
  • Virginia SHRM Annual Conference | Employment Law Update
    April 8, 2019
  • Richmond SHRM | Legal Update
    February 21, 2019
  • Mississippi Credit Union Association | MSCUA HR Training
    February 12, 2019
  • Conference for Virginia Magistrates | #MeToo & Harrassment, Employment Law Update
    December 5, 2018
  • Conference for Virginia Magistrates | #MeToo & Harrassment, Employment Law Update
    November 28, 2018
  • ACEC HR Forum | The Role of Human Resources in Securing the Workplace
    October 16, 2018
  • Credit Union Collaborative: IN, KY, LO, MI, TN, VA, WVA | HR University for Credit Union HR Professionals
    September 25, 2018
  • Richmond SHRM | HR on (Mock) Trial: Racial Discrimination
    September 20, 2018
  • VA District Judges Summer Meeting | Harassment
    August 7, 2018
  • VA Circuit Court Clerks | FMLA and ADA
    June 6, 2018
  • Virginia Legal Aid Society Pro Bono Conference | Diversity in the Law
    April 20, 2018
  • Association of Clerks of the District Courts of Virginia 28th Annual Meeting | Employment Law 101 | HR, Diversity, Harassment, Sexual Orientation
    April 16, 2018
  • North Carolina ALA Chapter Education Conference | Updates from the EEOC and DOL
    March 13, 2018
  • Richmond SHRM: Legal Update | Sexual Harassment is Unlawful!
    February 13, 2018

Seminars + Events

  • Stronger Together: WRVB 2022 Labor & Employment Seminars
    October 6 - October 24, 2022
  • 40th Annual Labor & Employment Webinar Series
    October 7 – November 4, 2021
  • HR LifeLine: 2020 Labor & Employment Webinar Series
    Every Thursday in October, 2020
  • HR University for Credit Unions
    Nov. 12-14, 2019
  • 2019 Labor and Employment Seminar Series
    October 2 - November 5, 2019
  • 37th Annual Labor & Employment Seminar Series
    September 20 - October 17, 2018
  • Workplace Violence: Legal Liabilities for Employers
    March 20, 2018
  • Key Legal Issues in Higher Education
    March 1, 2018

Recognition