Graham Platz has been practicing law since 2021. He joined Powell & Majestro, PLLC in 2023.

Mr. Platz began his legal career as an appellate public defender, representing clients convicted of criminal offenses throughout the State of West Virginia. Mr. Platz served as counsel of record for numerous criminal appeals before the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals. He has argued twice before the State’s high court and secured a win for his client both times. State v. Byers, 247 W. Va. 168, 875 S.E.2d 306 (2022) (sentence vacated); State v. Jackson, 248 W. Va. 504, 889 S.E.2d 77 (2023) (conviction reversed).

Mr. Platz also served as the Deputy General Counsel for the West Virginia Departments of Commerce, Economic Development, and Tourism. In that role, he advised cabinet level state officials on policy and legal issues related to the work of the Departments. Mr. Platz has experience drafting regulations for state agencies, drafting bills on behalf of state agencies for consideration by the West Virginia Legislature, and drafting contracts obligating public dollars.

Mr. Platz recently assisted in briefing a response in opposition before the United States Supreme Court in Tug Hill Operating, LLC v. Rogers, 144 S. Ct. 818 (2024), where the firm successfully defended a Fourth Circuit ruling that allowed plaintiffs to bring their Fair Labor Standards Act claims in federal court as opposed to being forced to arbitrate those claims.  In this employment class action, the Firm’s clients were denied overtime pay after they were purposefully and wrongly classified as independent contractors.  The U.S. Supreme Court denied Certiorari, allowing plaintiffs to continue to seek just compensation for their work.

Mr. Platz is currently working on the nationwide opioid litigation against the opioid manufacturers, distributors, pharmacies and Pharmacy Benefit Managers (“PBMs”) which the Washington Post has called “the largest and most complex case in the history of jurisprudence.” As part of the law and briefing team, he is focused on legal research and writing.

Mr. Platz is part of the legal team representing residents of Charleston’s West Side in the ongoing litigation related to the November 2023 water and gas utility outages that left thousands of residents to endure freezing temperatures without heat, gas, or water over the Thanksgiving holiday.  Consistent with the firm’s dedication to representing consumers harmed by large corporations, Mr. Platz is working to make sure the members of our community that suffered because of any potential corporate wrongdoing are made whole. Thomas Toliver and Bailes Glass Co. v. West Virginia-American Water Co. and Mountaineer Gas Co., Civil Action No. 23-C-1007.

A West Virginia native, Graham received his bachelor’s degree in Economics from West Virginia University in 2018. He received his Juris Doctorate Degree from WVU College of Law in 2021. He is admitted to practice law in West Virginia, the Southern District of West Virginia, the Northern District of West Virginia, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.