Bill Foster leads the employment practice in the Firm’s Greenville, South Carolina, office. For the last 17 years, his practice has been focused exclusively on advising and defending management on all issues of employment law, employee benefits, immigration, and human relations on a local, regional, and national basis.

Mr. Foster advises and defends employers of all sizes in a variety of employment-related matters, including: all forms of discrimination and retaliation under federal and state equal employment opportunity laws; state common law wrongful discharge; employee benefits litigation under ERISA; immigration compliance; non-compete and trade secrets agreements and related litigation; and contract disputes. He has tried jury and non-jury cases in both state and federal courts throughout the Southeast and has argued cases in both the federal and state courts of appeal at the national level. Since 1993, Mr. Foster has also worked with Firm clients on numerous employment law and employee benefits class actions.

Mr. Foster was recognized as a “rising star” in labor and employment matters, ERISA and employee benefits, OSHA, immigration, governmental relations, and administrative work by legal publishers Chambers and Partners in its Chambers USA 2007-2011 editions. The publication recognized him in 2008 as a South Carolina leader for his ERISA and employee benefits, OSHA, and immigration work.  Mr. Foster has also been listed in the 2009-2011 editions of The Best Lawyers in America for labor and employment law, and has been recognized as a "South Carolina Super Lawyer" in that publication's 2009-2011 editions.

A frequent lecturer for both industry and legal forums, Mr. Foster is the author of "Tap-dancing in the Minefield: Handling on the Job Injuries Under the ADA, FMLA and Workers Compensation," and is the co-author of "Stress and Mental Disorders in the Workplace: Increased Focus Under the Americans with Disabilities Act," published by South Carolina Lawyer.   Mr. Foster has also been a featured speaker at the South Carolina/North Carolina Employment Law Annual Bar Meeting, covering all key employment decisions of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.

A selection of Mr. Foster's reported decisions include:

• Farish v. Carolina Commercial Heat Treating, Inc., 225 F. Supp. 2d 632, (MDNC 2002)
• Safety Kleen Systems, Inc. v. Hennkens, 301 F.3d 931 (8th Cir. 2002)
• Christos, et al. v. Westinghouse Savannah River Co., 11 Fed. Appx. 367 (4th Cir. 2001)  (Class Action)
• Stokes, et al. v. Westinghouse Savannah River Co., 206 F.3d 420 (4th Cir. 2000) (Class Action)
• Jones v. General Electric Co., 331 S.C 351, 503 S.E.2d 173 (1998)
• Roberts v. National Health Corp., 133 F.3d 916 (4th Cir. 1998)
• Roberts v. National Health Corp., 963 F. Supp. 512 (DSC 1997)

Prior to joining Nelson Mullins, Mr. Foster served as a law clerk for U.S. District Court Judge G. Ross Anderson, Jr., of South Carolina.

Mr. Foster earned a Juris Doctor, magna cum laude (First Honor Graduate), from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1993. While in law school, he served on the South Carolina Law Review, was named to The Order of the Coif, and was Chief Justice of the Order of Wig and Robe. Mr. Foster also served as a tutor for the Black Law Students Association and as Legal Writing instructor for Professor James Flanagan.

Mr. Foster earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Furman University in 1990, where he was a member of Furman's 1988 national championship football team.