Robert Fitzpatrick, JD
Attorney
Robert B. Fitzpatrick, PLLC
Robert Brian Fitzpatrick has represented clients in employment law matters in Washington, D.C. for over 50 years. He has represented clients in individual and class actions. He has represented clients in employment discrimination, workplace harassment, retaliation, age discrimination, FMLA, ADA, whistleblower, wrongful termination, non-compete, trade secrets, Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, and wage and hour claims among others. He counsels numerous executive clients regarding employment agreements and compensation issues. He has negotiated literally thousands of severance agreements. He has represented clients in practically every industry and profession, including government employees, employees in the hospitality industry, the high tech/computer, government contractors, transportation, entertainment, sports, financial services, trade associations, lawyers, and academia. He also has served as an expert witness in attorney fee disputes and on the standard of care in professional liability matters.
Prior to entering private practice, Mr. Fitzpatrick served as a staff attorney in the Jackson, Mississippi office of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law in the late 1960s; as a staff attorney in the Office of General Counsel of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in the early 1970's; and with the Washington Research Project (now the Children's Defense Fund) training minority attorneys in the Deep South to litigate employment discrimination cases.
He was in private practice in Washington, D.C. since 1970, having been born in Washington, D.C., and raised in neighboring Chevy Chase, Maryland. He attended Georgetown Preparatory School in North Bethesda and received his undergraduate and law degrees from George Washington University. He is the father of three, and a grandfather to six.
He is a Fellow of the College of Labor & Employment Lawyers, having been inducted as a Fellow at the first annual induction ceremony in 1996. He has been listed as one of The Best Lawyers in America® for 25 continuous years.
He is admitted to practice in all courts of the District of Columbia (Superior Court, D.C. Court of Appeals, and the Federal District Court of the District of Columbia), the Federal District Court for Maryland, the Federal District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi, the Supreme Court of the United States, and the United States Courts of Appeal for the District of Columbia as well as the Fourth and Sixth Circuits.
Mr. Fitzpatrick is an active member of the American Bar Association (ABA) and the District of Columbia Bar, being a frequent speaker at Bar meetings and a participant in the activities of several sections of the ABA and the D.C. Bar. He has been Co-Chairman of the ABA's Committee on Individual Employee Rights and Responsibilities of the Labor and Employment Law Section; Co-Chairman of the Steering Committee of the Labor Relations Section of the D.C. Bar; Chairman and founder of the D.C. Bar's Committee on Individual Employee Rights and Responsibilities; Chairman of the Federal Bar Association's Labor Law and Labor Relations Section; Chairman of the FBA's Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity; Chair of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee of the ABA's Section of Individual Rights and Responsibilities; and Chair of the Employer-Employee Relations Committee of the Torts and Insurance Practice Section of the ABA. He has been a member of the Class Action Task Force of the Torts & Insurance Practice Section of the ABA and served as a member of the Long Range Planning Committee of ABA's Torts and Insurance Practice Section.
He has organized and chaired numerous CLE programs relating to employment law, including Current Developments in Employment Law sponsored by ALI-ABA (now ALI-CLE) for twenty years, Advanced Employment Law sponsored by ALI-ABA which he has co-chaired with Peter Panken for nearly twenty years, Damages in Employment Cases sponsored by ALI-ABA, Litigating Employment Cases sponsored by Georgetown University Law School CLE, and Evidence Issues in Employment Cases co-sponsored by Georgetown University Law School CLE and ALI-ABA as well as numerous other CLE programs.
Mr. Fitzpatrick is a prolific author in the field of employment law. Most recently his concentration has been on conflict resolution in the workplace. In that regard, he has written and lectured widely on the settlement of employment disputes. Lists of some of his publications, including some unpublished ones, are attached.
Mr. Fitzpatrick is one of the numerous co-authors of Settlement Agreements in Commercial Disputes published by Aspen Law & Business; one of the numerous co-authors of Drafting Employment Documents in Massachusetts published by Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, Inc. Mr. Fitzpatrick is one of the numerous co-authors of Litigating Wrongful Discharge Claims published by Callaghan & Co., whose principal author is the late Paul Tobias, Esq. of the Ohio bar and of Disability Discrimination in the Workplace published by Clark Boardman Callaghan, whose principal author is Gary Phelan, Esq. of the Connecticut bar.
He has been a member of the editorial board of The Practical Lawyer published by The American Law Institute-American Bar Association Committee on Continuing Professional Education; of Employment Law Strategist published by Lender Publications; of the board of advisors for National Disability Law Reporter Highlights published by LRP Publications, an Axon Group Company, formerly ADA Policy & Law formerly published by Buraff Publications; of the board of editorial advisers of Sexual Harassment & Discrimination Reporter published by James Publishing, Inc.; of the board of editorial advisers of Employment Law Counselor published by Business Laws, Inc.; of the board of advisors of Corporate Counsel's Guide to the Americans with Disabilities Act published by Business Law, Inc., and of the advisory board of Federal Discovery News published by LRP Publications.
Mr. Fitzpatrick has been a trustee of the Dalkon Shield Other Claimants Trust appointed by the late Hon.
Robert R. Merhige, Jr. of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. He has been a member of the Committee on Pro Se Litigation of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.
Mr. Fitzpatrick received his J.D. Degree with honors from George Washington University's National Law Center in 1967. He has been a member of the Bar of the District of Columbia since 1968.