Practice Areas Overview

The experienced attorneys at Shuman, McCuskey & Slicer, PLLC maintain a diverse defense practice, assisting businesses, insurers, and employers that have been accused of committing a negligent or wrongful act.  With offices in Charleston and Morgantown, the firm is well-positioned to assist clients throughout West Virginia, Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky and Pennsylvania.

Business Transactions & Litigation

Our business law attorneys provide a full range of services related to the organization of business entities, including handling everything from the drafting of documents for the organization of entities to the mergers and dissolutions of entities.  This includes drafting buy-sell agreements for shareholders, documents for the sale of entities, and non-compete agreements related to sales.  The firm also litigates disputes pertaining to business entities, including shareholder disputes, minority shareholder freeze-outs, and general contract dispute matters.

Bank Operations & Lender Liability Defense

Shuman, McCuskey & Slicer, PLLC represents banks, savings and loan associations, credit card companies, thrifts, loan servicers, brokers, mortgage lenders, other financial institutions, and attorneys in a wide variety of lending, bank, mortgage banking, and real property matters.  Our representation extends to state, federal, and appellate courts.

State, Municipal, & Public Entity Defense

The firm's attorneys defend cities, counties, and other public entities throughout West Virginia and in the adjoining states of Virginia, Kentucky, and Ohio.  They have represented government officials, correctional facilities, school boards, and administrative agencies in numerous cases, including those involving street and road maintenance, civil rights violations, construction, employment issues, personal injury defense, and environmental law matters. 

Gas & Coal Industry Defense

For more than 30 years, the firm has assisted members of the gas and coal industry with a number of legal issues.  Our attorneys possess a wealth of trial experience representing companies in the coal, oil, gas, timber, and natural resource industries in numerous areas of law, including accident and injury defense, safety and citation defense, and employment issues unique to this industry.

Personal Injury Defense

The firm's attorneys represent individuals, small businesses, major corporations, and insurance companies throughout West Virginia, Virginia, eastern Kentucky, and eastern Ohio that have been accused of causing injuries to another.  The firm's broad personal injury expertise encompasses defending cases involving a variety of legal theories and types of accidents, including products liability, medical malpractice, nursing home and long-term care abuse and neglect, coal mining accidents, motor vehicle crashes, slip and fall and premises liability injuries, workplace injuries, and toxic exposure such as asbestos and silica.

Class Actions & Mass Torts

Shuman, McCuskey & Slicer, PLLC possesses the resources and legal expertise to handle complex, multi-district class action litigation involving thousands of plaintiffs, dozens of witnesses and experts, and hundreds of thousands of documents.  Our experience includes defending clients in cases involving personal injury, property damage, flood and environmental contamination, prescription drugs, financial wrongdoing, and breach of warranty claims.  

Long-term Care Litigation & Nursing Home Defense

With attorneys who possess medical experience, as well as medical consultants on staff, Shuman, McCuskey & Slicer, PLLC is proficient at handling cases involving the defense of any type of elder care abuse or neglect allegation, including medical negligence involving nursing homes, personal care homes, assisted living facilities, residential board and care homes, in-home care, and complex long-term care litigation. 

Insurance Defense

Shuman, McCuskey & Slicer, PLLC represents insurance carriers and their insureds across the entire spectrum of their involvement in the litigation process.  Services range from providing coverage opinions to complete defense litigation support that encompasses many areas of law, including personal injury, malpractice, employment, civil rights, business officer liability, claims of bad faith, and claims under the Unfair Claims Settlement Practices Act. 

Professional Malpractice Defense

In addition to our expertise handling medical malpractice claims, the firm's malpractice defense experience extends to attorneys and law firms accused of legal malpractice, as well as architects, engineers, accountants, insurance agents and brokers, realtors and real estate agents, stock brokers, fiduciaries, executors, and other licensed professionals.  The firm's attorneys also represent individuals in administrative law hearings, disciplinary proceedings, and license reinstatement applications.

Employment Defense

Shuman, McCuskey & Slicer, PLLC provides large and small employers with effective legal representation in state and federal courts throughout West Virginia and in many of the state and federal courts of Virginia, Kentucky, and Ohio.  Clients include insurance companies, hospitals, public entities, natural gas and coal mining companies, financial institutions, and large and small businesses accused of violating both state and federal laws in matters of harassment, discrimination, wage and hour violations, contractual and compensation disputes, unemployment hearings, and administrative matters. 

The firm also provides preventative services for employers looking to minimize the risk of employment-related lawsuits.  These services include on-site seminars regarding company policies, best practices, and current legal news; risk management consulting; drafting and reviewing handbooks and policies; and employee education and training. 

Civil Rights Defense

The firm has extensive experience representing governmental entities and officials, employers, police departments, school departments, and correctional facilities and officers in numerous civil rights cases.  These cases often involve allegations of discrimination, failure to provide jail inmates with adequate medical care, prisoner abuse, and police misconduct.

Workers' Compensation Defense

The lawyers at Shuman, McCuskey & Slicer, PLLC have provided aggressive workers' compensation defense representation to employers across all stages of the claims process and before various administrative agencies, boards, and courts.  These cases include fraudulent claims and alleged post-injury retaliation, harassment, or termination.  In addition, the firm provides employers with risk management consulting services regarding workplace safety and preventing workplace injuries.

Environmental Law

Shuman, McCuskey & Slicer, PLLC offers a full array of professional services in the field of environmental law, particularly in the regulatory arena.  This includes any type of permitting matter, adverse administrative board decisions, brownfields redevelopment and cleanup issues, and oil, gas, and mining matters.  In addition to our experience in state and federal courts, our attorneys have extensive experience representing clients in front of state and local environmental administrative councils and boards.

Alternative Dispute Resolution

Attorneys at Shuman, McCuskey & Slicer, PLLC recognize that litigation is not always the most appropriate way to resolve issues.  As such, we have developed extensive experience in resolving matters using alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, including arbitration and mediation, in virtually all of our areas of expertise.

Appeals

While the firm's attorneys have considerable experience at the trial level in both state and federal courts, they have all also handled numerous appellate matters, including in front of the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.