Kraig B. Long

Nelson Mullins

Kraig B. Long, Baltimore office managing partner at Nelson Mullins, defends employers in workplace matters. As co-chair of the firm’s employment and labor group, he represents employers facing claims of discrimination and harassment, wage and hour violations, failure to accommodate, wrongful termination and retaliation. He also counsels and trains supervisors and managers on accommodating employees with disabilities, managing family and medical leave, creating diverse and inclusive workplaces and minimizing litigation risks in the workplace.

His client roster spans small business owners, Fortune 500 corporations, state and local governments, and for-profit and nonprofit organizations. For each, he conducts independent investigations into allegations of harassment and discrimination, responds to charges of discrimination and EEOC investigations and remediates other workplace issues.

Following law school, Long clerked for the Hon. Alexander Williams Jr. on the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland. He later served on the Prince George’s County Judicial Nominating Committee and currently sits on the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law Board of Visitors. He graduated with honors from both the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law and Temple University. Since 2015, he has been recognized by Maryland Super Lawyers for his work defending employers in employment litigation.

Long’s path to the profession was shaped by growing up in Los Angeles in the 1980s, where the inequities in the criminal justice system were impossible to ignore. Black lawyers in his neighborhood, including Johnnie Cochran, Leo Branton Jr. and Howard Manning, stood out as powerful advocates and community leaders. Watching them challenge systemic racial injustice left a lasting impression on him.

Though he initially envisioned becoming a civil rights attorney, employment law ultimately appealed to his desire to confront discrimination and harassment, specifically in the workplace.

He received The Daily Record’s Leadership in Law Award in 2019 and was named to The Daily Record’s MD500. Long also serves as president of the Judge Alexander Williams Jr. Center for Education, Justice & Ethics and has authored or co-authored articles on labor and employment law issues for Matthew Bender & Company’s monthly Labor and Employment Bulletin and the Society for Human Resource Management’s Court Report.

At this stage of his career, Long finds inspiration in mentoring young lawyers, passing along the hard-earned experience, judgment and practical wisdom once shared with him and watching the next generation grow into trusted advisors in their own right.

This is an honoree profile from The Daily Record’s Managing Partners awards. Information for this profile was sourced from the honoree’s application for the award. The honoree profiles were written using an artificial intelligence program and supported by honoree nominations, applications and letters of recommendation. Each profile was reviewed, fact-checked and edited for accuracy by The Daily Record’s editorial staff.