A trusted litigator in Virginia’s state and federal courts
Will Prince is a partner in the firm’s Civil Litigation and Employment Practice Groups, representing clients in complex litigation and employment matters in state and federal courts across Virginia.
In his employment practice, Will defends businesses and employers in cases brought under numerous federal and state employment statutes, including Title VII, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). His employment litigation work includes defending lawsuits alleging discrimination, retaliation, wrongful discharge, sexual harassment, violations of wage and hour laws, breach of employment agreements, breach of non-compete and non-solicitation provisions, § 1983 claims against government officials, and business torts.
He routinely advises employers in all areas of human resources and employment law, including on matters relating to employee handbooks, internal investigations, employee leave and terminations, discrimination and harassment laws, restrictive covenants in employment contracts, ADA and religious accommodation issues, and federal and state wage and overtime laws.
Will has significant experience in handling cases in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia (EDVA), commonly known as the “Rocket Docket.” He frequently serves as lead and local counsel in cases before the EDVA, which has unique rules that present challenges for litigants.
Will has excelled as a first-chair trial and appellate attorney, successfully arguing dispositive motions in state and federal court. In his litigation practice, Will handles large-scale document productions, including collecting, reviewing, and producing electronically stored information. He has experience conducting depositions outside the United States in accordance with the Hague Service Convention.
Will also maintains a significant bankruptcy practice, regularly advising secured and unsecured creditors and other parties involved in Chapter 7 and 11 proceedings. He has led clients through notable bankruptcy cases, including Toys “R” Us, Health Diagnostic Laboratory, LandAmerica Financial Group, Circuit City Stores, Alpha Natural Resources, and Patriot Coal.
Before joining the firm, Will served as a law clerk for the Honorable Jackson L. Kiser of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia. During law school, he completed a judicial externship with the Honorable M. Hannah Lauck, U.S. Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of Virginia.
He is an active member of the Virginia Bar Association and currently chairs the Joint Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee for the VBA and the Virginia State Bar. Will is named among Virginia’s “Legal Elite” by Virginia Business Magazine, regularly listed in Virginia Super Lawyers, and selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America©.
Practices
Bankruptcy, Creditors' Rights, and Restructuring
Civil Litigation
- Consumer Finance Litigation Defense
- Federal Courts and Local Counsel Practice
- Government, Public Official, and Municipal Liability Defense
- Insurance Coverage Disputes
- State and Federal Appellate Practice
Labor and Employment
Representative Experience
EMPLOYMENT LITIGATION
- Served as lead counsel for an employer in a putative collective and class action alleging failure to pay regular and overtime wages in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) and various state overtime and wage laws; after filing opposition to FLSA collective and Rule 23 class certification, obtained early dismissal of all claims at the motion-to-dismiss stage after filing opposition to FLSA collective/class certification
- Represented a public employer in a lawsuit filed by the United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division alleging a violation of Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act relating to the failure to provide a reasonable accommodation to a qualified individual with a disability, including reassignment to a vacant position within the defendant’s organization; successfully prevailed on a motion for summary judgment in the district court
- Representation of employer seeking to enforce a non-solicitation provision against a former employee who resigned to start a new enterprise in direct competition with his former employer; the case was resolved after extensive discovery, resulting in a favorable settlement for the client
- Represented state constitutional officer in a lawsuit filed by the United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division alleging a violation of Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act involving an alleged failure to provide a reasonable accommodation and failure to engage in an interactive process with the disabled employee prior to termination
- Represented an employer in a lawsuit alleging reverse racial discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, intentional race discrimination under 42 U.S.C. § 1981, and a First Amendment retaliation claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, claiming that the former employee was terminated because of the employee’s race and protected First Amendment speech
- Represented an employer in a lawsuit brought by a former employee who claimed that she was terminated because she initiated an internal grievance proceeding, which she alleged violated the Virginia Whistleblower Protection Law, Va. Code § 40.1-27.3
BUSINESS AND COMPLEX LITIGATION
- Represented an executive agency of the Commonwealth of Virginia in a federal class action lawsuit brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 alleging violations of procedural due process and state law related to the alleged failure to timely process and adjudicate claims for unemployment insurance benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic
- Represented a private aviation company in a multi-million-dollar coverage dispute regarding foreign object damage to a jet engine covered by an aviation broad coverage insurance policy
- Represented various defendants in a class action lawsuit alleging violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (“RICO”), as well as Virginia’s usury and licensing laws, related to the issuance and collection of allegedly unlawful and usurious debts based upon loan products offered and issued through companies owned by Native American tribes and organized under tribal laws
- Representation of businesses and employers as local counsel in state and federal courts throughout Virginia, including the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, commonly known in the legal community as the “Rocket Docket”
- Representation of a finance technology company in an arbitration proceeding involving alleged violations of Virginia consumer protection statutes relating to the financing of a residential solar energy system
BANKRUPTCY LITIGATION, RESTRUCTURING, AND CREDITORS’ RIGHTS
- Represented an interested party in a multi-prong effort to address the disclosure obligations of court-approved professionals employed in large Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases pursuant to Bankruptcy Rule 2014 and 11 U.S.C. § 327
- Represented consumer lending company in numerous bankruptcy adversary proceedings filed by multiple plaintiffs asserting individual and class claims for violations of Virginia consumer finance and usury statutes, as well as objections to proofs of claim filed by the lender on a class-wide basis, relating to the issuance and validity of consumer lines of credit and alleged non-compliance with the statutory requirements for open-end lenders; supervised implementation and handling of class-wide settlement and obtaining requisite approval of settlement by the bankruptcy court
- Representation of numerous defendants, who were former officers and directors of a company operating for-profit, post-secondary institutions of higher learning, in an adversary proceeding filed by a Chapter 7 trustee asserting alleged prepetition breaches of fiduciary duties as directors and officers, alleged common law and statutory business conspiracy, and alleged preferential and fraudulent transfers
Recognition
- Selected to the Super Lawyer’s “Rising Stars” Virginia List, Business Bankruptcy category (2013-2022)
- Virginia Business Magazine’s “Legal Elite,” Young Lawyer (Under 40) category (2012-2019); Civil Litigation category (2020); Bankruptcy/Creditors’ Rights category (2019, 2021-2022); Labor/Employment category (2023)
- Selected by peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America© in the fields of Litigation – Insurance (2022-2025), Commercial Litigation and Litigation – Bankruptcy (2024-2025)
- Virginia Lawyers Weekly “Go To Lawyers” for Employment Law (2024)
Education
- University of Richmond School of Law, J.D., cum laude, 2008
- Articles Editor, University of Richmond Law Review, 2007 – 2008
- The College of William and Mary, B.A. in Economics, 2004
Admissions
- All Virginia courts including the Supreme Court of Virginia
- U.S Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern and Western Districts of Virginia
- U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern and Western Districts of Virginia
Affiliations
- Virginia State Bar
- Virginia Bar Association
- Joint ADR Committee, Secretary/Treasurer, VBA/VSB (2023); Chair (2024-present)
- Former YLD Executive Board Member
- Former Legal Food Frenzy Chair
- YLD Sponsorship Committee Chair (2018-2019)
- Legal Food Frenzy Co-Chair (2013-2016)
- Lewis F. Powell, Jr. Inn of Court
- Barrister, 2018-present
- Federal Bar Association, Richmond Chapter
- Board of Directors (2011-present)
- Richmond Bar Association (2008-present)
- Local Government Attorneys of Virginia
- Virginia Creditors Bar Association
- Volunteer at the Central Virginia Legal Aid Society (2013-2016)
Texas Federal Judge Strikes Down DOL Overtime Pay Rule