Mr. Dillard is a shareholder in Ogletree Deakins’ Greenville, South Carolina office, where he has practiced since 2003. Mr. Dillard has extensive litigation experience including state and federal courts and in the arbitration context. His primary area of focus with respect to Ogletree Deakins’ Labor and Employment Practice is ERISA litigation. In that capacity, Mr. Dillard has defended clients in a variety federal district courts against claims arising under long-term and short-term disability, healthcare and employee stock ownership plans. Mr. Dillard is also Ogletree Deakins’ resident attorney in South Carolina for workplace safety and OSHA compliance, having published and lectured on the same.
Prior to joining Ogletree, Mr. Dillard was associated with a local general practice firm where he began his career practicing in the fields of construction defect and insurance coverage litigation. In addition to the Labor and Employment practice for which Ogletree is well known, Mr. Dillard has successfully maintained a niche practice within the Firm in which he continues to represent the interests of design and construction clients in all manner of construction related matters, including contract, tort and insurance coverage disputes.
Mr. Dillard’s experience has demonstrated that many of the skills developed within the above described practice are transferable to a broader litigation context. As such, he also handles business litigation matters for Ogletree Deakins clients. Finally, and significantly, Mr. Dillard has developed a passion for the defense of complex tort claims, especially toxic exposure claims. As co-chair of the firm’s general litigation practice group, Mr. Dillard seeks to provide existing and prospective Ogletree clients with the same excellence in client service within the broader litigation context as that for which the firm is well known within the realm of labor and employment.
A native of the Upstate of South Carolina, Mr. Dillard graduated from Furman University in 1995 and received his law degree from the University of South Carolina in 2001 before returning to the Greenville area, where he resides with his wife and two young children.
