Member | Chair, Associate Program | Co-Chair, E-Discovery Practice Group
Charleston, WV
Mr. Ford’s practice focuses on complex civil litigation, including commercial litigation, product liability, and class actions.

Education

  • West Virginia University, B.A., summa cum laude, 2013
  • West Virginia University, J.D., 2016

Experience

  • Representing employers and commercial clients in deliberate intent, fatality, and serious personal injury litigation
  • Representing health care clients in a wide variety of litigation
  • Representing commercial clients in litigation concerning breach of contract, tortious interference, and other business torts
  • Representing various state entities in litigation
  • Representing product manufacturers and suppliers in construction litigation
  • Representing employers and commercial clients in premises liability lawsuits
  • Representing corporations in matters involving derivative claims, disputed dissolutions, and corporate governance issues
  • Representing state institutions of higher learning in various matters involving claims made by students and staff members
  • Representing employers in litigation involving discrimination and harassment
  • Representing employers in developing employment policies, practices, and procedures
  • Representing plaintiffs in litigation involving a catastrophic explosion
  • Representing trustees and beneficiaries in trust and estate litigation
  • Conducting independent employee investigations for employers
   

Distinctions

  • Generation Next: 40 under 40, The State Journal, 2023
  • Named on the Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch list for Commercial Litigation
  • Selected for inclusion on the West Virginia Super Lawyers "Rising Stars" list
  • JD Supra Readers' Choice Top Author, Class Action Law, 2021
  • JD Supra Readers' Choice Top Author, Product Liability Law, 2020
  • Order of the Coif
  • CALI Excellence Awards – Natural Resources, Bankruptcy, Sales & Secured Transactions, Contracts II
  • 2015 American Bankruptcy Institute Medal of Excellence

Admissions

  • West Virginia State Bar
  • United States District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia
  • United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia

Memberships

  • West Virginia Commission on Uniform State Laws, Commissioner
  • American Bar Association, Litigation Section:
    • Commercial & Business Litigation Committee, Expert Witness Subcommittee, Co-Chair
    • Products Liability Committee, Chemical Subcommittee, Co-Chair
  • Former Chairperson, Young Lawyers Division, West Virginia Bar Association
  • Former District 8 Representative, Young Lawyer Board, West Virginia State Bar

Publications & Presentations

  • Panelist, “The Ethics of Artificial Intelligence,” ABA Environmental & Energy, Mass Torts and Products Liability Litigation Joint CLE Seminar, January 2025
  • Courtwatch Panel Member, “An Overview of 2023–24 WV Appellate Court Decisions,” West Virginia Chamber of Commerce Annual Business Summit, August  2024
  • Courtwatch Panel Member, “An Overview of 2022–23 WV Appellate Court Decisions,” West Virginia Chamber of Commerce Annual Business Summit, August 2023
  • Moderator, "When Robots Pass the Bar: The Possibilities, Ethics, and Governmental Oversight of Artificial Intelligence," West Virginia Bar Association Annual Meeting, August 2023
  • Four Tips for Preparing an Inexperienced—Yet Qualified—Expert Witness in Commercial and Business Litigation, American Bar Association, December 2022
  • Executive Research Editor, West Virginia Law Review, Vol. 118

Community Involvement

  • Fund for the Arts, Board of Directors, 2021-2024
  • Community Collaborative Network, Steering Committee, 2020-2022