FACULTY
Harris D. Butler, III, Butler Royals PLC / Richmond
Harris Butler practices with the Richmond firm of Butler Royals, PLC. He primarily represents employees in employment matters and has handled individual and class employment matters for private and public employees on a wide range of issues. A regular speaker at continuing legal and judicial education programs, Mr. Butler lectures on a variety of employment and civil litigation topics. He was admitted to the American College of Trial Lawyers during the 2009 Spring Meeting of the College. He received a B.B.A. from Texas A&M University and a law degree from the University of Houston Law School. Mr. Butler is licensed to practice before all state and federal trial and appellate courts in Virginia and Texas, the District of Columbia and before the United States Supreme Court. He is a member of the American Association for Justice, the Virginia Trial Lawyers’ Association, the Richmond Bar Association, Virginia Bar Association and American Bar Association, and presently serves as the Virginia Affiliate chair for the National Employment Lawyers’ Association. Mr. Butler is active in many civic, church and community activities.
Edward Lee Isler, Isler Dare / Vienna
Edward Lee Isler is a founding Partner of the law firm of Isler Dare, P.C. in Tysons Corner - Vienna, Virginia. The Firm’s practice is dedicated solely to the representation of management in labor and employment matters. A native of McLean, Virginia, Eddie graduated in 1983 from the University of Virginia with a B.A. in Government and Economics. In 1987, Eddie graduated from the College of William & Mary, Marshall-Wythe School of Law, where he served as a member of the Board of Editors of the William & Mary Law Review and was inducted into the Order of the Coif. Upon graduation, Eddie served for a year as a judicial clerk to the Honorable James C. Turk, Chief Judge for the U.S. District Court, Western District of Virginia. Before establishing Isler Dare Ray Radcliffe & Connolly (previously Ray & Isler) in 1997, Eddie spent seven years practicing labor and employment law in Washington, D.C. with the national firm, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, and two years with a regional labor and employment firm.
In January 2010, Eddie began serving a two year term as the Chair of the Virginia Bar Association, Labor and Employment Law Section. He is a longstanding member of the Planning Committee for the Virginia CLE Annual Employment Law Update. He is also an author of Virginia Employment Practices and Forms, a co-author and co-editor of Virginia Business Torts, both published by the Virginia Law Foundation, and a co-author of the Virginia Wage and Hour Handbook, published by the Virginia Chamber of Commerce Legal Reference Series.
Eddie has been named repeatedly by Virginia Business Magazine as one of Virginia’s Legal Elite for employment law, and has been recognized by Chambers USA, The Best Lawyers in America, and Washingtonian Magazine as one of the leading employment lawyers in Virginia. He also was recognized by SuperLawyers Magazine in 2006 and 2009 as one of the top 50 lawyers in Virginia and in 2009 as one of the Top 100 lawyers in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. Eddie resides with his wife, Kimberly, and children, Emily, Lindsay, Christy, and Michael in Oakton, Virginia. He coaches youth basketball and is active in his children’s school, Dominion Christian School, and his church, McLean Presbyterian.
MODERATOR AND CHAIR of the Program Planning Committee
David Paxton, Gentry Locke / Roanoke
W. David Paxton is a partner with Gentry Locke Rakes & Moore LLP. He represents and advises businesses, non-profits, directors, officers, and executives in the areas of labor & employment law and complex litigation. He is the Chair of Gentry Locke’s labor and employment practice, is a frequent guest speaker at national and regional employment law seminars, and has been included in "Best Lawyers in America" for Labor & Employment for the past 16 years. Prior to joining Gentry Locke, David was a Navy JAG officer who served at the NLSO on Guam and in NAMARA in DC. He received his law degree from the University of Virginia and his BA from Hampden-Sydney College.