Leigh M. Nason

Leigh Nason is a shareholder in the Columbia, South Carolina office of Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak and Stewart, P.C., and chairs the firm’s Affirmative Action/OFCCP Compliance Practice Group.  She currently devotes the majority of her practice to representing federal contractors and subcontractors in compliance evaluations and administrative enforcement actions triggered by the United States Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP). 

Ms. Nason has counseled manufacturing, technology, construction, food processing, hospitality, and financial institutions around the country on the preparation, management, and defense of their affirmative action programs and related matters, including jurisdictional analyses and preventative strategies. Ms. Nason is routinely involved with investigating and resolving systemic discrimination issues stemming from statistical disparities in hiring, compensation, and testing; and has extensive experience negotiating allegations of back pay liability and other sanctions imposed by OFCCP.  She has litigated numerous discrimination claims before courts and administrative agencies.  

Ms. Nason has been included in The Best Lawyers in America for many years, is listed in Chambers USA as one of the country’s leading attorneys in the affirmative action compliance arena, has been designated as a South Carolina “Super Lawyer” and is AV Rated by Martindale-Hubbell.  She has authored and edited numerous publications in the affirmative action compliance area and others, including "Affirmative Action: Overview," Practical Law Company (2011), “Obligations of Government Contractors,” Labor and Employment Law for South Carolina Lawyers 401 (S.C. Bar 4th ed. 2011); and “Executive Order 11,246,” Understanding Employment Discrimination (LEXIS/NEXIS 2008).  She is a frequent lecturer in the areas of affirmative action and employment discrimination and has presented nationally on diversity and compliance issues, including OFCCP’s internet applicant regulations and EEO-1 reporting requirements.  

Ms. Nason is a graduate of Wake Forest University and the University of South Carolina School of Law, and is certified by the South Carolina Supreme Court as a specialist in the area of employment and labor law.  She is a member of the South Carolina Industry Liaison Group and the national and Columbia, SC chapters of the Society for Human Resources Management.