Q: How did you get started in civil rights law?
A: I started out in class actions and quickly learned that, while you may represent 40,000 people, you rarely speak to any of them. I wanted to work with individual clients to help people solve their specific problems.
In 2012, I started this firm and I’ve worked closely with well over a thousand clients since then. I help people find justice—whether they’ve been fired unfairly, subjected to police violence or otherwise hurt by individuals in power.
Q: What is keeping you busy right now?
A: We are always busy with cases that involve workplace violence, sexual assaults and racial discrimination. We have seen a lot of pregnancy discrimination lately, and we’ve also been busy with prisoners’ rights cases. Virginia’s jails and prisons are notoriously dangerous.
Beyond that, Virginia has vastly expanded its employment protections in recent years, including the right to pursue claims for unpaid wages under state law and discrimination laws which cover sexual orientation and gender expression. And we finally have a private sector whistleblower law so you can’t be fired for reporting illegal activity to your supervisor or the government.
Q: What makes you different than other firms?
A: The thing I hear most from clients and potential clients is some version of “thank you for your candor.” We are always straight with people, even if it isn’t what they want to hear.
Awards/Honors:
Washingtonian—D.C.’s Best Lawyers
Virginia Super Lawyers
Washington, D.C. Super Lawyers
Virginia Business Magazine—Virginia Legal Elite
Virginia State Bar Harry L. Carrico Professionalism Course—Faculty