Mr. Blandford joined the Lexington law firm of McBrayer, McGinnis, Leslie and Kirkland in 1998. Mr. Blandford focuses his practice on civil litigation with an emphasis in all areas of labor and employment law. Mr. Blandford is currently involved in a substantial amount of employment related work, including representing clients in state and federal court and before the EEOC and various Human Rights Commissions. He has represented a variety of clients in all state and federal administrative agencies, and in state and federal courts under the FMLA, ADEA, Title VII, and numerous state civil rights acts. In addition, he regularly represents and advises business clients in preparation of employment policies, employment manuals and general personnel matters, including hiring and firing. Mr. Blandford has experience in initiating lawsuits on behalf of employers to enforce non-compete agreements and to protect against and recover for misappropriations of trade secrets. The employers represented by Mr. Blandford maintain employees from as small as a handful to thousands. Mr. Blandford is a frequent speaker on employment issues and works with clients on preventive strategies to avoid discrimination, retaliation and other employment claims.