Drew Capuder

Drew Capuder, Attorney

Drew M. Capuder
Capuder Fantasia PLLC
1543 Fairmont Avenue, Suite 101
Fairmont, West Virginia 26554
Voice: 304-333-5261
Fax: 681-404-6800
Email Drew Capuder

Practice Areas

Mr. Capuder focuses on employment litigation and consulting, business litigation and consulting, representing medical professionals in litigation & licensing board issues, and mediation. He serves clients in Fairmont (and Marion County), Clarksburg (and Harrison County), Morgantown (and Monongalia County), Parkersburg (and Wood County), Charleston (and Kanawha County), Wheeling (and Ohio County), and numerous other cities in West Virginia. Mr. Capuder is past President of the West Virginia Employment Lawyers Association.

Lawyer Drew Capuder | Top Attorney Employment

Mediation

Mr. Capuder is honored that other attorneys and parties choose him to help them settle their disputes through the mediation process. Mr. Capuder focuses on mediating disputes involving employment matters, business disputes, and personal injury disputes; and Mr. Capuder accepts mediations in other areas of law.

Mr. Capuder has completed both the basic and advanced courses in mediation skills conducted by the West Virginia State Bar, and is on the State Bar’s list of qualified mediators.

Of Counsel to Manchin Injury Law Group

Mr. Capuder is pleased to be Of Counsel to Manchin Injury Law Group, PLLC. The attorneys at Manchin Injury Law Group, PLLC (formerly Manchin & Aloi, PLLLC), have long and distinguished legal careers. Tim Manchin was a member of the House of Delegates in the West Virginia Legislature. Former partner Michael Aloi became a Circuit Court Judge in Marion County, West Virginia, and then a Federal Magistrate in the Northern District of West Virginia. Judge Aloi is past president of both the West Virginia State Bar and the Marion County Bar Association, and was a member of the Adjunct Faculty at the West Virginia University College of Law.

Mr. Capuder lived and practiced law in Houston, Texas until he moved to West Virginia.

Attorney Bar Memberships and Organizations

United States Supreme Court Bar
Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals Bar
United States District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia
United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia
State Bar of West Virginia
National Employment Lawyers Association
West Virginia Employment Lawyers Association (link); Mr. Capuder was President from October 2010 to October 2011.
Employment Law Committee of the West Virginia State Bar
Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee of the West Virginia State Bar
Marion County Bar Association
When Mr. Capuder previously lived in Houston, Texas, he was a member of the following: State Bar of Texas, Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, and United States District Court for the Western District of Texas.

Television and Radio Appearances

Mr. Capuder was interviewed by television station WBOY concerning West Virginia University’s lawsuit against its former football coach, Rich Rodriguez. WBOY has been kind enough to provide us with a copy of the video recording of the interview, and you can watch the interview on our site by clicking here.

Mr. Capuder has been a guest several times in recent years on the Wednesday morning law talk program in the series Ask the Experts on radio station WAJR. The programs included the following topics related to employment law: the employment at will rule, what gets employers in trouble, sexual harassment claims, disability discrimination, reasonable accommodations for disabled employees, age discrimination, retaliation claims under employment discrimination laws, employee privacy issues, whistle blower claims, and other topics.

Mr. Capuder was also a guest in Houston on the television program “Footnotes,” which was a program hosted by the Texas Society of Certified Public Accounts. Mr. Capuder spoke about expert witness issues.

Speeches and Articles

On October 14, 2022, Mr. Capuder spoke and presented an article on “Update on the Harless Wrongful Discharge Doctrine” at the Annual Conference of the West Virginia Employment Lawyers Association in Morgantown, WV.
On October 22, 2021, Mr. Capuder spoke and presented an article on “Update on the Harless Wrongful Discharge Doctrine” at the Annual Conference of the West Virginia Employment Lawyers Association in Roanoke, WV.
On June 4, 2020, Mr. Capuder spoke and presented an article on “Can We Still Protect Whistleblowers? The Changing Landscape in State and Federal Law” at the Annual Conference of the West Virginia Association of Justice.
On February 12, 2020, Mr. Capuder spoke and presented an article on “Pleadings, Persuasive Briefs and Protocol When You Arrive in Court: Practice Pointers” at the National Business Institute seminar entitled “Civil Trial: Everything You Need to Know” in Charleston, WV.
On November 2, 2019, Mr. Capuder spoke and presented an article on “Update on the Harless Wrongful Discharge Doctrine” at the Annual Conference of the West Virginia Employment Lawyers Association in Logan, WV.
On September 16, 2019, Mr. Capuder spoke and presented an article on “Dirty Litigation Tactics: How to Deal With the ‘Rambo’ Litigator” in an online seminar for Clear Law Institute. Click here to watch the seminar.
On October 13, 2018, Mr. Capuder presented an article and spoke in a panel discussion on “Social Networking and Electronic Discovery Issues,” at the Annual Conference of the West Virginia Employment Lawyers Association, at Hawk’s Nest State Park in Ansted, WV.
On October 12, 2018, Mr. Capuder spoke and presented an article on “The Harless Wrongful Discharge Doctrine”, at the annual conference of the West Virginia Employment Lawyers Association, at Hawk’s Nest State Park in Ansted, WV.
On June 14, 2018, Mr. Capuder spoke and presented an article on “Dirty Tricks That You Need to Look Out For”, at the National Business Institute seminar entitled “Dirty Litigation Tactics: How to Deal with the ‘Rambo’ Litigator”, in Charleston, WV. Click here to listen to the seminar.
On June 13, 2018, Mr. Capuder spoke and presented an article on “Social Media Policies: Balancing Employer Needs and Employee Rights”, at the National Business Institute seminar entitled “Human Resources Boot Camp”, in Morgantown, WV. Click here to listen to the seminar.
On May 24, 2018, Mr. Capuder spoke and presented an article on “The Harless Wrongful Discharge Doctrine and Recent Developments”, at a seminar hosted by West Virginia University entitled “Employment Law 2018” in Charleston, WV. Click here to watch or listen to the seminar.
In May 2018, Mr. Capuder spoke and presented an article on “What to Look For, Where to Find it and What to Do With It: Email, Social Media, Texts, and Video”, at the National Business Institute seminar entitled “How to Get Your Social Media, Email, and Text Evidence Admitted (and Keep Theirs Out)”, in Morgantown and Charleston, WV. Click here to listen to the seminar.
In February 2018, Mr. Capuder spoke and presented an article on “Discrimination and Harassment”, at the National Business Institute seminar entitled “Human Resource Law, What You Need to Know”, in Wheeling and South Charleston, WV. Click here to listen to the seminar.
On October 12, 2017, Mr. Capuder spoke and presented an article on “The Harless Wrongful Discharge Doctrine” at the Annual Conference of the West Virginia Employment Lawyers Association, at Hawk’s Nest State Park in Ansted, WV.
On October 7, 2017, Mr. Capuder spoke and presented an article on “Rules of the Road in Employment Litigation, Part 2”, at the Annual Conference of the West Virginia Employment Lawyers Association, in Morgantown, WV.
On March 29, 2017, Mr. Capuder spoke and presented an article on “The Perilous Intersection of FMLA and ADA,” at a seminar hosted by Sterling Education Services. The Seminar, “Employment Law: Rights, Benefits, and Emerging Issues,” took place in Morgantown, WV.
On January 25, 2017, Drew Capuder spoke at an event for the Labor Law Society at West Virginia University’s College of Law. The event was a panel discussion about employment law, by Mr. Capuder, Walt Auvil, and Susan Thompson, all members of the West Virginia Employment Lawyers Association, and Professor Anne Lofasso.
On October 7, 2016, Mr. Capuder spoke and presented an article on “Rules of the Road in Employment Litigation,” at the Annual Conference of the West Virginia Employment Lawyers Association. The conference took place in Shepherdstown, WV.
On March 30, 2016, Mr. Capuder spoke and presented an article on “Handling Medical and Leave Issues,” at a seminar hosted by Sterling Education Services The seminar was entitled “Essentials of Employment Law,” and took place in Morgantown, WV. The book containing all of the articles from the seminar, including Mr. Capuder’s article, is available at the Sterling Education Institute web site.
On April 22, 2015, Mr. Capuder spoke and presented an article on “Dirty Tricks you need to look out for”, at a seminar hosted by National Business Institute. The seminar was entitled “Dirty Litigation Tactics: How to Deal with the ‘Rambo’ Litigator”, and took place in Morgantown, WV. The book containing all of the articles from the seminar, including Mr. Capuder’s article, is available at the National Business Institute web site.
On April 2, 2014, Mr. Capuder spoke and presented two articles two topics, “Sexual, Racial, and Other Harassment in the Workplace” and “ADA and FMLA Updates and Interplay,” at a seminar hosted by Sterling Education Services. The seminar was entitled “Fundamentals of Employment Law” and took place in Morgantown, WV. The book containing all of the articles from the seminar, including Mr. Capuder’s articles, is available at the Sterling Education Services web site.
On June 11, 2013, Mr. Capuder spoke and presented an article on “The Hiring, Firing, and Discipline Processes,” at a seminar hosted by the West Virginia State Auditor’s Office for the State’s County Clerks and Deputies. The seminar took place in Morgantown, WV.
On November 9, 2012, Mr. Capuder spoke on “Update on Employment Law,” at Annual Conference of the West Virginia Employment Lawyers Association in Bridgeport, WV. For Mr. Capuder’s speech, he handed out an article entitled “Update on Employment Law” written by Professor Robert M. Bastress, Jr. of the West Virginia University College of Law.
On September 14, 2012, Mr. Capuder spoke and presented an article on “Sexual, Racial, and Other Harassment and Discrimination,” at a seminar hosted by Sterling Education Services. The seminar was entitled “Employment Law, Beyond the Basics,” and took place in Morgantown, WV. The book containing all of the articles from the seminar, including Mr. Capuder’s article, is available at the Sterling Education Services web site.
On January 7, 2012, Mr. Capuder spoke and presented an article on “Sexual and Other Harassment in the Workplace: What is it, and what to do about it,” at a seminar hosted by Lorman Educational Services. The seminar was entitled “Employment Law Update in West Virginia,” and took place in Morgantown, West Virginia.
On October 29, 2011, Mr. Capuder was part of a panel discussion on “Discovery and Settlement Issues” (with Drew Capuder, Kay Bayless, and Walt Auvil) at the Annual Conference of the West Virginia Employment Lawyers Association. The conference took place in Morgantown, WV.
On October 30, 2010, Mr. Capuder spoke and presented an article on “Protection of Employees Against Unlawful Retaliation Discharges” at the Annual Convention of the West Virginia Employment Lawyers Association. Mr. Capuder was elected president of WVELA at that Annual Conference, for 2010-2011. Mr. Capuder was also part of a panel discussion on “Twitter, Facebook, and Other Social Media for Lawyers” at the Conference.
On October 20, 2010, Mr. Capuder spoke and presented 2 articles at a seminar hosted by Sterling Education Services. The seminar was entitled Fundamentals of Employment Law in Morgantown, West Virginia. Mr. Capuder presented 2 speeches and 2 articles on these topics: (1) “Sexual, Racial, and Other Harassment in the Workplace”, and (2) “ADA and FMLA Update”. The book containing all of the articles from the seminar, including Mr. Capuder’s article, is available at the Sterling Education Institute web site.
On October 2, 2009, Mr. Capuder spoke and presented an article on “Sexual, Racial, and Other Harassment in the Workplace, at the Annual Convention of the West Virginia Employment Lawyers Association, in Morgantown, West Virginia.
On March 25, 2009, Mr. Capuder spoke and presented 2 articles at a seminar hosted by Sterling Education Services. The seminar was entitled “Employment Law Update” in Morgantown, West Virginia. Mr. Capuder presented 2 speeches and 2 articles on these topics: (1) “Hot Topics: The Latest Interpretations of Current Employment Law”, and (2) “Employment Issues in the Paperless Workplace”. The book containing all of the articles from the seminar, including Mr. Capuder’s article, is available at the Sterling Education Institute web site.
On October 24, 2008, Mr. Capuder spoke and presented an article on “Attorneys’ Fees in West Virginia Employment Litigation” at the Annual Conference of the West Virginia Employment Lawyers Association in Lewisburg, West Virginia.
On August 27, 2008, Mr. Capuder spoke and presented articles on 5 topics at a seminar hosted by Lorman Education Services in Morgantown, West Virginia. The seminar was entitled “Employee Discipline and Discharge: How to Avoid Employment Litigation in West Virginia.” Mr. Capuder’s 5 speeches and 5 articles were on (1) “Disability Discrimination”, (2) “Age Discrimination”, (3) “The Good News and Bad News on Employment at Will”, (4) “Retaliation Claims”, and (5) “Whistle Blower Claims”. Click here for the complete agenda and list of speakers.
On July 23, 2008, Mr. Capuder spoke and presented articles on 2 topics at a seminar hosted by Sterling Education Services. The seminar was entitled “Employment Law Update” in Morgantown. Mr. Capuder’s 2 speeches and 2 articles were on (1) “Sexual, Racial, and Other Harassment in the Workplace”, and (2) “Employment Law Developments.” Click here (Microsoft Word document) for the complete agenda and list of speakers.
On October 26, 2007, Mr. Capuder spoke and presented an article on “Age Discrimination Under West Virginia Law” at the Annual Convention of the West Virginia Employment Lawyers Association in Hedgesville, West Virginia.
On November 21, 2002, Mr. Capuder spoke and presented an article on “Spotting Employment Issues in West Virginia” for a Marion County Bar Association meeting. Click here for a copy of Mr. Capuder’s article.
In Texas, Mr. Capuder spoke and presented articles several times to the Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants (TSCPA) in connection with their continuing education seminars and conferences, on topics covering employment litigation, business issues, and expert witness testimony. The following is a partial list:
“Avoiding Employment Litigation and Other Wishful Thinking” (article and speech) July 17 & 18, 1996, in Arlington and Austin, Texas, for the TSCPA.
“Business Law Update: Issues of Interest to CPAs and Their Clients” (article and speech), September 27, 1994, in Houston, Texas, for the TSCPA.
“Accountants’ Expert Testimony: Trial and Deposition Techniques” (article and speech), June 28, 1994, in Houston, Texas, for the TSCPA.
“Preparing for Depositions as an Expert: Practical Considerations” (article and speech), December 9, 1992, in Houston, Texas, for the TSCPA.
“Discovery of Documents and Privilege Law” (article and speech), June 2, 1992, in Houston, Texas, for the TSCPA.
“Documents, Privileges, and Deposition Testimony in the Litigation Process” (article and speech), May 19, 1992, in Houston, Texas, for the TSCPA.
“Depositions and Trial Testimony: Dealing With Difficult Questions and Answers” (article, speech, and mock trial presentation), February 4, 1992, in Houston, Texas, for the TSCPA.
“Advanced Deposition Techniques” (article and speech), October 22, 1991, in Houston, Texas, for the TSCPA.
“Giving Depositions and Testimony as an Expert Witness” (article and speech), January 31, 1991, in Houston, Texas, for the TSCPA.

Teaching

From 2005-2010, Mr. Capuder (as a member of the Adjunct Faculty) taught a class in legal and ethical issues in media at Fairmont State University. The class focused on First Amendment free speech issues, defamation law, media bias, copyright law, and many other topics involving large media organizations (such as newspapers, television networks, and radio stations).
Mr. Capuder was also an Adjunct Faculty Member for several years (1990-1996) at the University of Houston Law Center, teaching Legal Writing.

Education

Doctor of Jurisprudence, University of Houston Law Center in Houston, Texas (1985).
Bachelor of Arts degree, with a major in Music Theory and Composition, from the University of Southwest Louisiana (now named University of Louisiana) in Lafayette, Louisiana. Graduated with honors (“Dean’s List” all years); Louisiana State Debate Champion 1974; Most Valuable novice
Debater, University of Southwest Louisiana Debate Team, 1973-74).