Overview
Steve is senior counsel who advises and defends employers in workplace safety and health matters, with a strong focus on Occupational Safety and Health (OSHA) law.
He guides clients through inspections, enforcement actions, and litigation, helping them navigate complex regulatory requirements and minimize risk.
Steve has decades of experience addressing safety and health issues in industries such as construction, manufacturing, engineering, and process safety management. He counsels employers on OSHA compliance and defends them in administrative proceedings and civil litigation, including whistleblower and retaliation claims. His extensive background includes serving as Counsel for Occupational Safety and Health with the U.S. Department of Labor, where he supervised trial lawyers and handled civil and criminal cases in U.S. District Court and before the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
Steve brings deep insight into OSHA enforcement and settlement processes, having served nineteen years as a judge, including fifteen years with the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission in Atlanta. He was part of the team that developed the Commission’s mandatory settlement process and has mediated over 250 complex cases involving technical workplace safety issues nationwide. As a registered neutral in Georgia, he has also mediated more than 120 general civil cases in state and superior courts.
Prior to his judicial career, Steve designed OSHA’s first Criminal Investigation Training Program for Compliance Officers at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center. He is active in professional associations, including the American Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Law Section and the ABA Occupational Safety and Health Committee.
About Me
Steve is married to Virginia Townes of Birmingham, Alabama. They have three adult children.
Credentials
Education
Emory University School of Law
- J.D.
Florida State University
- B.S.
Media
News
Legal Analysis
Professional & Civic Associations
Professional
- American Bar Association, Labor and Employment Law Section
- American Bar Association, Occupational Safety and Health Committee
- State Bar of Georgia, ADR Section
- Registered Neutral, Georgia Office of Dispute Resolution
Admissions
- Georgia, 1972
"Peace does not mean the suppression of all differences, but their coexistence and fruitful collaboration."
Thomas Merton
