Leigh M. Nason

Ogletree Deakins

Leigh Nason is a shareholder in the Columbia, South Carolina office of Ogletree Deakins and co-chairs the firm’s Affirmative Action/OFCCP Compliance Practice Group. Leigh has represented management in employment law matters for 30 years and has a national practice defending federal contractors in investigations triggered by the United States Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP).



Practice Overview: Leigh provides advice to federal contractors on the preparation, management, and defense of affirmative action programs and related matters, including jurisdictional analyses, preventative strategies, complaint investigations, and compliance evaluations. She is often retained to assist with OFCCP systemic discrimination cases stemming from statistical disparities in hiring, pay, and testing and has successfully defended allegations of significant monetary liability and other sanctions in every OFCCP region. She advises small and large employers on proactive pay equity analyses, defensible diversity and inclusion strategies and metrics, and strategic EEO-1/VETS reporting. An experienced litigator, Leigh has defended discrimination claims before federal and state courts as well as administrative tribunals.

Accolades and Awards: The Best Lawyers in America (2017 Employment Law-Management Lawyer of the Year for Columbia, SC), 2018 Distinguished Lawyer Award (South Carolina Bar’s Employment and Labor Law Section), Chambers USA, South Carolina “Super Lawyer,” Martindale-Hubbell (AV Rated), The Legal 500 (Workplace and Employment Counseling category). Editor of and contributing author to all five editions of Labor and Employment Law for South Carolina Lawyers.

Leigh is certified by the South Carolina Supreme Court as a specialist in the area of employment and labor law. She is a frequent speaker at national, regional, and local conferences on affirmative action compliance and employment discrimination.