Education
Duke University Law School
1985, teaching assistant to Professor William Reppy
Colgate University 1982
cum lade
Bar Admissions
State
Maryland
District of Columbia
Federal
U.S. Supreme Court
U.S. Court of International Trade
U.S. District Court
— Maryland
— District of Columbia
U.S. Court of Appeals
— 3rd Circuit
— 4th Circuit
— D.C. Circuit
Partner
Email: dvandeusen@islerdare.com
Darrell VanDeusen has been a management-side labor and employment lawyer for 40 years. He represents public and private sector employers throughout the country. His clients include Fortune 500 companies, municipalities, government contractors, small employers, and a variety of other businesses including a number of nationally recognized educational institutions. Darrell has been a member of the National Association of College and University Attorneys (NACUA) since 1995.
Darrell represents clients before administrative agencies such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the National Labor Relations Board, as well as in state and federal courts. He has defended employers in thousands of charges before the EEOC and other state and local fair employment practice agencies. He has litigated hundreds of cases, many of which have been significant in developing labor and employment law in federal and state courts.
Darrell is a “traditional” labor lawyer. He regularly works with public and private sector employers that confront union organizing, collective bargaining, contract management, and arbitration. Darrell regularly represents colleges and universities in their relationships with unions who either do or would like to represent their staff, graduate students, adjunct, and full-time faculty.
A significant part of Darrell’s practice involves training and counseling. He frequently provides training for employers on matters such as managing a diverse workforce, avoiding harassment claims, and “best practices” for complying with federal and state labor and employment laws.
In addition to the practice of law, for 30 years Darrell taught at the University of Baltimore Law School as an adjunct professor, teaching Employment Law, Employment Discrimination Law, and Legal Writing, as well as coaching the School’s Labor Law Moot Court team in national competitions. Darrell was recognized by UB Law School as the “outstanding adjunct faculty member of the year.”
He was on the faculty of the National Employment Law Institute (NELI) and provided training for Maryland lawyers through the Maryland State Bar Association, where he was a member of the MSBA’s Labor & Employment Section’s Executive Council for over 20 years. He provided an annual educational session on employment discrimination law to Maryland’s Federal Court law clerks for over 15 years.
Darrell’s treatise on the Family and Medical Leave Act, and his work on the Family Medical Leave Act/Wage and Hour Law (as a part of the Labor & Employment Law multi-volume set), are available through LexisNexis. His work has been cited by federal appellate courts and the U.S. Supreme Court as authoritative on the subject. Darrell is on the editorial board of Matthew Bender’s Labor and Employment Bulletin. Darrell also authored the “Non-Discrimination” chapter of the Matthew Bender book Drafting the Union Contract.
Darrell’s recognized expertise in his field has led to his selection as an arbitrator, mediator, and expert witness in labor and employment law matters. He is a member of the National Arbitration and Mediation (NAM) employment arbitration panel.
Darrell has been called upon to assist in the drafting of Maryland legislation on labor and employment law. He was the management representative who worked with the plaintiffs’ bar and the Maryland Commission on Civil Rights to craft corrective legislation for Maryland’s Anti-Discrimination Law (Title 20 of the State Government Article).
Darrell is married to Carrie Emerson, a former Assistant Attorney General for the State of Maryland and a fully recovered lawyer who is a small business owner, www.fitforartpatterns.com, and a past docent at the Walters Art Museum. Darrell and Carrie have two adult children, neither of whom (and with their parents’ complete support and encouragement) had any interest in pursuing careers in the law.
Darrell is active in Scouting. He volunteers with the Y of Central Maryland and other youth-related programs.
He is a member of the Maryland State Bar Association.
Honors
Outstanding Lawyers in America (2003)
Chambers USA (since 2005)
Who’s Who Legal (2006)
Super Lawyers (since 2007)
Best Lawyers (since 2008) including:
“Employment Lawyer of the Year – Management” (2013)
“Labor Lawyer of the Year – Management” (2016)
“Labor and Employment Lawyer of the Year – Management” (2017)
“Labor Lawyer of the Year – Management” (2019)
“Labor and Employment Lawyer of the Year – Management” (2025)
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