Norfolk, Virginia Labor and Employment attorney James Theuer in a blue suit with a blue tie. He wears glasses and has salt and pepper hair. His hands are crossed in from of him. He is smiling.

Jim Theuer, an experienced litigator and trial attorney in Norfolk, Virginia, has received an AV preeminent rating from his peers and judges, and has been recognized as a SuperLawyer and member of the Legal Elite in Virginia for employment law. He knows how to assist businesses in managing efficiently the workforce to minimize risk through navigating the challenges employers face.

Jim represents employers in a wide range of employment law compliance matters and disputes, including in the areas of: employment and severance agreements; non-compete, non-solicitation and non-disclosure agreements; employee handbooks and employment policies; employee hiring, discipline, and termination; employee classification and overtime; wage payments; wage investigations; discrimination and retaliation charges; unemployment claims; unfair labor practice charges; criminal investigations; and ERISA compliance.

Mr. Theuer has been a CLE lecturer for Wake Forest University CLE, National Business Institute, and Sterling Educational Services, and has co-authored CLE materials for Tulane University CLE and the Virginia Bar Association, Labor & Employment Section. 

Mr. Theuer received his B.A. degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and J.D. degree, with honors, from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  He is a member of the Norfolk & Portsmouth Bar Association, the North Carolina State Bar, and the Virginia State Bar, and is admitted to practice in all State courts and Federal district courts in Virginia and North Carolina, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the Federal Court of Claims. 

EDUCATION 

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Law, Juris Doctor with Honors

Staff Member, North Carolina Journal of International Law and Commercial Regulation

Certificate of Merit, Employment Law 

L’Université Jean Moulin (Lyon III), Lyon, France, Exchange student in the Maîtrise en Droit curriculum

The University of Wisconsin-Madison, Bachelor of Arts in French

Alliance Française, Comité Universitaire de Nancy, Nancy, France, French language diploma

Brillantmont International School, Lausanne, Switzerland, Secondary School Certificate 

EXPERIENCE

Trial experience in civil and criminal matters in Virginia, North Carolina, and Federal courts

Appellate experience in Virginia, North Carolina, and Federal courts

Labor and Employment attorney with Hunton & Williams, LLP, an AmLaw 100 law firm

Civil litigator and trial attorney with Robinson & Lawing, LLP, an AV-rated litigation boutique

Former Captain, United States Marine Corps

Marine Detachment and Stinger missile battery commanding officer 

MEMBERSHIPS

Virginia State Bar

North Carolina State Bar

Bars of the Eastern and Western Districts of Virginia, the Eastern, Middle, and Western Districts of North Carolina, the

Federal Court of Claims, and the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals

Norfolk-Portsmouth Bar Association

PUBLICATIONS and PRESENTATIONS

Three Years of Unpaid Wage Claims Under § 40.1-29: What Do We Know, and What Remains Uncertain?, Virginia Lawyer, April 2024

The New Employment Law Frontier for Wage Claims in Virginia, Norfolk-Portsmouth Bar Association, October, 2021

Toto, I Don’t Think We’re In Virginia Anymore! 2020 Employment Law Update, Norfolk-Portsmouth Bar Association, October 2020

Be The Exception To The Rule: Beyond The Basics of Federal Court Practice, Norfolk-Portsmouth Bar Association, October 2019

What is left of a Bowman claim under Virginia law after Francis?, Virginia State Bar Litigation News, Fall 2017

Creating Fair Labor Standards Act Compliance Strategies That Work, National Business Institute, October 2017

Alternative Dispute Resolution in the Employment Context & Wage and Benefit Issues, National Business Institute, June 2016

Recent Developments in the ADA and FMLA, Sterling Educational Services, March 2009

When Is Too Late? New Rule 3:21 And Jury Demands In Virginia, Virginia State Bar Litigation News, Fall 2007

Litigating Workplace Emotional Distress Claims, Tulane University CLE, September 2006

Adhering to the FMLA, National Business Institute, June 2006

Virginia Business Torts in the Employment Context, VBA Labor & Employment Section, October 2005

Valuation of Marital Property, Equitable Distribution, Wake Forest University CLE, November 2003

Family Law Practice - Equitable Distribution, General Practice Symposium, Wake Forest University CLE, November 2001

Prejudgment Restraint of Assets for Claims of Damages: Should the United States Follow England’s Lead? 20 N.C. J. Int’l L. 419 (2000)

VOLUNTEER AND COMMUNITY SERVICE

Jim is a founder and the Secretary and Treasurer of the Badger Marine Memorial Association, a War Veterans' organization that supports past, current, and future Marine Officers and their survivors from the University of Wisconsin-Madison

Jim has served since 2004 as the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of St. Andrew's Theological College and Seminary