Debbie Whittle Durban

South Carolina

Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP
Meridian, 17th Floor
1320 Main Street
Columbia, SC 29201

Tel: 803.255.9465

Email: debbie.durban@nelsonmullins.com
Web: www.nelsonmullins.com

Debbie Durban is a partner of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP in Columbia, South Carolina where she practices in the areas of labor and employment law, ERISA, ADA compliance, trade secrets, and business litigation.

Key Experience:

  • Has defended employers against individual and class claims of employment discrimination on the basis of age, race, national origin, disability, religion, and sex, including sexual harassment; wage and hour claims, Family and Medical Leave act issues, enforceability of covenants not to complete, breach of employment contracts; retaliation; wrongful discharge; trade secrets, ERISA, and other employment-related suits
  • Has represented companies regarding compliance with ADA public accommodation standards
  • Has counseled employers on compliance issues and development of strategies designed to avoid litigation
  • Has drafted and revised policies and handbooks for employers and institutions of higher education

Honors & Recognition:

  • Benchmark Litigation, Labor and Employment Star (2021)
  • S.C. Supreme Court Pro Bono Honor Roll (2019, 2020)
  • The Best Lawyers in America, Labor and Employment Litigation (2013–2022)
  • South Carolina Super Lawyers (2010–2021)

Education:

  • University of South Carolina School of Law, JD, cum laude (1999)
  • University of South Carolina, BA, Political Science

Admissions:

  • North Carolina
  • South Carolina
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
  • U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina
  • U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina

Leadership:

  • Advisory Board, Employment and Labor Law Specialization
  • Board Member, Employment and Labor Law Section, SC Bar

Whether you are seeking to:

  • understand your obligations under federal, state and local employment laws
  • create or revise an employment agreement, restrictive covenant or employee handbook
  • implement or discuss employment-related policies, procedures or measures
  • receive guidance for union organizing, labor disputes or collective bargaining matters
  • defend individual, class, and collective lawsuits brought by an employee or employees

our team is here to help.


Our team works with a diverse group of employers—some with large in-house legal, human resources, and labor/employee relations teams, and others with limited or no in-house support.  We collaborate directly with your management team to increase efficiencies and synergies that support your business and employee relations goals.

We help clients manage:

  • Properly classifying and paying employees under federal and state laws, including the FLSA, Davis-Bacon Act and Service Contract Act
  • Internal investigations including wage-hour audits
  • EEOC or NLRB charges, OFCCP audits and OSHA inspections
  • Claims of harassment, retaliation and discrimination
  • Positive employee relations strategies
  • Lawful responses to union organizing
  • Training of management on compliance with federal and state employment laws

Nelson Mullins is a diversified law firm of more than 800 attorneys, policy advisors, and professionals across 25 offices serving clients in more than 100 practice areas.

  • Our litigators are trial lawyers, serving Fortune 200 clients, litigating high-stakes matters, and participating on national and virtual trial teams.
  • Our corporate and transactional teams provide high quality corporate, securities, finance, venture capital, commercial real estate, real estate capital markets, and technology services.
  • Our government relations team serves clients at the federal, state and local levels and includes former high-ranking government officials.
  • Our intellectual property group has been recognized nationally for IP litigation and provides a full-range of IP services for clients across industry sectors.
  • Our Nelson Mullins Encompass team is a dedicated practice group that provides integrated e-discovery and information governance services to clients on a flexible and scalable basis, serving as Enterprise E-Discovery Counsel for Fortune 200 clients and empowering focused and defensible strategies with law firm accountability.

Together, we serve as trusted advisors to clients across a range of business sectors with client relationship fundamentals of quality, dependability, solution-oriented service and value.

Certified Specialist in Employment and Labor Law, South Carolina Supreme Court
Certifications