Mr. Machado counsels and advises a diverse range of clients on various areas of law.  He is also an experienced litigator, having tried cases to verdict in state and federal courts.  His experience includes:

Employment Counseling and Litigation:

Mr. Machado regularly represents employers in a wide variety of employment matters, including discipline; handbook reviews; responding to discrimination charges; advising on employment contracts and restrictive covenants; and defending wrongful discharge claims, disability discrimination claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act, age discrimination claims under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, actions filed under the Family Medical Leave Act, and claims of unlawful harassment and race and gender discrimination under Title VII and Section 1981.  His employment related litigation experience includes:

• Successfully representing employers before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the District of Columbia Office of Human Rights and the Virginia Human Rights Council.
  
  
• Rhoads v. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, 257 F.3d 373 (4th Cir. 2001) (successful appeal involving American with Disabilities Act, Family & Medical Leave Act, and retaliatory discharge claims).
  
  
• Successfully representing an employer against a claim of discrimination and retaliation based on national origin, gender and race in a three-day arbitration conducted by the American Arbitration, resulting in a 30-page decision that found for the employer on all claims. 

Media, Internet and E-commerce:

As co-chair of LeClairRyan's Media, Internet and E-commerce Practice Area Team, Mr. Machado conducts pre-publication reviews and provides advice on subpoenas, retraction demands, access, the Freedom of Information Act, reporter's privilege, and all other First Amendment matters relating to the editorial content of newspapers and broadcasts.  He also has extensive experience counseling and advising companies on privacy policies and related federal statutes, including the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, the Communications Decency Act, the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, and the Computer Fraud & Abuse Act.  His media and Internet related litigation experience includes:

• Hatfill v. Mukasey, 2008 U.S. App. LEXIS 5755 (D.C. Cir. Mar. 11, 2008) (securing emergency stay of order holding reporter in contempt for refusing to reveal confidential sources; expedited briefing of novel issues involving reporter's privilege).
  
  
• Pokorski v. Gannett Co., Inc., 2009 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 9752 (4th Dep't Dec. 30, 2009) (affirming lower court decision granting motion to dismiss libel and invasion of privacy claims brought by former town mayor, attorney and village clerk against television station and reporters).
  
  
• Condit v. USA Today, Case No. 03-863 (D.N.M.) (successfully arguing that the court lacked jurisdiction over the defendant newspaper in a libel suit brought by former Congressman Gary Condit's wife).
  
  
• Does v. Franco Publications, 2000 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8645 (N.D. Ill. June 21, 2000) (case of first impression holding that § 230 of the Communications Decency Act immunized website hosting companies from various tort claims). 

Insurance Coverage:

Mr. Machado has over fifteen years of experience analyzing, counseling, and litigating complex insurance coverage issues, including long-term pollution, breach of contract, construction defect, personal/advertising injury, and reinsurance claims.  He has handled complex insurance coverage matters involving manuscripted policy language, questions of underwriting intent, priority of coverage, additional insured/ contractual liability issues, international coverages, and class action suits.  His insurance coverage litigation experience includes:

• Perdue Farms, Inc. v. Travelers Cas. & Sur. Co. of America, 448 F.3d 252 (4th Cir. 2006) (reversing lower court decision that ordered our client to indemnify a $10 million settlement between insured and plaintiffs).
  
  
• Estate of Luckey v. Estate of Prom, et al., 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12650 (D.D.C. Feb. 12, 2010) (granting motion for summary judgment and holding that $3.5 million of homeowner's and auto coverage was not available in underlying wrongful death suit). 
  
  
• Livia Properties, II, L.C. v. Federal Ins. Co., Case No. 04-006 (W.D. Va.) (granting summary judgment and holding that insurance company client was not required to indemnify a $765,000 judgment entered against insured).

Appellate:

As a member of LeClair Ryan's appellate litigation team, Mr. Machado has participated in over 30 appeals at the federal and state level, including appeals at the United States Supreme Court; the United States Court of Appeals for the First, Fourth and Ninth Circuits; the Virginia Supreme Court; the District of Columbia Court of Appeals; the Guam Supreme Court; the Georgia Court of Appeals; the Tennessee Court of Appeals; and the Third and Fourth Departments of New York's Appellate Division.  These appeals have involved a wide range of substantive matters, including telecommunications, insurance coverage, employment, First Amendment, state taxation, criminal, accounting malpractice and zoning.  Mr. Machado also has extensive experience successfully handling appeals of state administrative agency decisions.