Outten & Golden's Washington, DC, which opened in January 2017, continues to evolve and grow.
As previously announced, David Lopez, the original partner in the DC office, is becoming the Dean at Rutgers School of Law (Newark) in August. He is continuing as Of Counsel to Outten & Golden, advising and assisting on cases and other matters.
Susan E. Huhta has been promoted to Partner-in-Charge of our DC office. Ms. Huhta leads the DC practice in its representation of individual employees and has served as Administrative Partner of that office. Ms. Huhta has 22 years of experience practicing in the areas of employment law, civil rights, and litigation. She has extensive trial and mediation experience, and she counsels employees who encounter workplace problems or disputes.
Ms. Huhta represents employees, including senior executives, in a wide variety of employment matters, ranging from wrongful termination, discrimination, sexual harassment, and retaliation claims to the negotiation of employment, severance, and non-compete agreements. Ms. Huhta is a graduate of Cornell University and the University of Wisconsin School of Law. Before joining Outten & Golden, Ms.Huhta ran the EEO and Public Accommodations Projects at the Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights & Urban Affairs for more than 10 years.
Melissa E. Pierre-Louis, a partner in our NY office, is relocating to our DC office in July. Ms. Pierre-Louis represents employees in litigation and negotiation in all areas of employment law, including individual discrimination and wage-and-hour matters. Ms. Pierre-Louis is Co-Chair of O&G's Family Responsibilities and Disability Discrimination Practice Group.
Ms. Pierre-Louis is a member of the National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA) and its New York affiliate; the American Bar Association; and the New York City and State Bar Associations. She is the Co-Chair of the FMLA subcommittee of the ABA Section of Employment Law's Federal Labor Standards Legislation Committee. She is also the former Chair of the National Employment Lawyers Association's Lawyers of Color Committee.
Ms. Pierre-Louis lectures and has written articles on a variety of employment law-related topics. She is admitted to the bar of New York and the United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York.
Sally J. Abrahamson has been named head of the Class Practice Area in our DC office, and she is co-chair of the firm's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender & Queer (LGBTQ) Workplace Rights Practice Group. Ms. Abrahamson represents individual employees facing discrimination based on their sexual orientation and litigates nationwide collective and class actions. Ms. Abrahamson represented plaintiffs in the Cote v. Walmart $7.5 million class action settlement on behalf of Walmart associates who were unable to obtain health insurance coverage for their same-sex spouses from Walmart from January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2013. * Ms. Abrahamson has also litigated and settled class actions on behalf of many different employees, including restaurant and catering workers, and skilled service technicians and repair employees. Ms. Abrahamson speaks frequently about issues facing LGBTQ employees and low-wage workers.
Wayne N. Outten, O&G's Managing Partner, noted, "While we will miss David, we know the Rutgersdeanship is a great opportunity for him to advance the law in a different and meaningful way. David helped establish our presence in the D.C. community and leaves behind a great team of lawyers. We are pleased that he will continue with us in an Of Counsel role. And we are very pleased with the continuing and enhanced roles that Sue, Melissa, and Sally will play in the future of the firm and its DC office."
Outten & Golden LLP focuses on advising and representing individuals in employment, partnership, and related workplace matters both domestically and internationally. The firm counsels individuals on employment and severance agreements; handles complex compensation and benefits issues (including bonuses, commissions, and stock/ option agreements); and advises professionals (including financial services executives, doctors and lawyers) on contractual issues. It also represents employees with a wide variety of claims, including discrimination and harassment based on sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, race, disability, national origin, religion, and age, as well as retaliation, whistleblower, and contract claims. The firm handles class actions involving a wide range of employment issues, including economic exploitation, gender- and race-based discrimination, wage-and-hour violations, violations of the WARN Act, and other systemic workers' rights issues.
Outten & Golden has nine practice groups: Executives & Professionals, Financial Services, Class & Collective Actions, Sex Discrimination & Sexual Harassment, Family Responsibilities & Disabilities Discrimination, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) Workplace Rights, Discrimination & Retaliation, Whistleblower Retaliation, and WARN Act.
