Webster & Fredrickson, PLLC is proud to announce that Natalie S. Walker is featured in the DC Bar’s Washington Lawyer Magazine for her work with the DC Bar Pro Bono Center as a Bankruptcy Expert Mentor. In the Pro Bono Effect Article, Natalie encourages attorneys to volunteer for pro bono service and to become expert mentors in their practice area(s). Read the Article below.

http://washingtonlawyer.dcbar.org/august2018/index.php#/46

On International Women’s Day 2018, we are pleased to announce that 1,100 women from around the globe have received fair pay and benefits from the sex discrimination they suffered from 1974 to 1984.

This international group of women sought justice in the late 1970s when they discovered that the Voice of America and the United States Information Agency had denied them jobs and advancement because they are women. Represented by the law firm of Webster & Fredrickson, they stood up for equal opportunity in a class action lawsuit, Hartman v. Albright, that required decades of litigation and 46 successful individual trials before the Government settled the claims in 2000.

In coming to a resolution, the Government paid for lost pay as well as benefits that those women would have received had they been treated as well as men. Now in 2018, the final payments are being processed, bringing this 40-year litigation to a conclusion. Along the way, this suit has given meaning to the federal laws against sex discrimination by putting 1,100 women from around the world back where they would have been had they received equal opportunity in the 1970s.

We are proud and honored to have helped the Hartman women stand up for equal opportunity for women worldwide.

March 8, 2018

Bruce Fredrickson, along with a number of nationally recognized trial experts, served as an instructor for the trial skills Boot Camp program of the Metropolitan Washington Employment Lawyers Association on April 21-22, 2017.

The National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women’s Clubs, Inc., Century Club, presented President Walker with the Professional Achievement Award for her outstanding achievements and contributions to the D.C. community. The National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women’s Clubs, Inc., Century Club, was founded by African American business and professional women in 1953. The organization has conducted numerous effective volunteer, civic, social, recreational, and educational service programs for citizens in the District of Columbia and surrounding counties.

Bruce Fredrickson addressed a group of 200 attorneys as the featured luncheon speaker for the Seventh Circuit NELA Conference on “Advocacy and the Employment Lawyer.”  Mr. Fredrickson focused his talk on the healing power of work and love.  Speaking from personal experience Bruce explained that many of us have our personal identities closely intertwined with our work and professional identities. Thus, when we return to work after a serious injury or illness, our bodies and minds can heal as a result of our positive work experiences. The love and support of our loved ones can also help us in the healing process. We don’t have to heal ourselves all alone. Our families, communities, and workplaces can all aid in our healing process.

Bruce Fredrickson, Natalie Walker and Geoffrey Simpson took the lead putting together a joint training program for members of the Metropolitan Washington Employment Lawyers’ Association and the Washington Bar Association. The presentation focused on providing attorneys a primer on immigration law so the attorneys knew what to look for in their own practices and could make a positive contribution in their communities. A special thanks to Kathy Doan and Kelly Rojas of the Capital Area Immigrants’ Rights (CAIR) Coalition, Eileen Megias, a pro bono practitioner, and Hnin Khaing for helping make the program happen.

Cedar Carlton delivered a talk to members of the National Employment Lawyers Association at the Fall 2016 Seminar on October 15, 2016. Sharing strategies for writing oppositions to summary judgment, Ms. Carlton provided “A Mindful Look at Summary Judgment” which laid out a roadmap for attorneys who want to successfully oppose summary judgment motions.

At the National Employment Lawyers Association Annual Conference, as Co-chair of the NELA Sexual Harassment Practice Group, Ms. Carlton and Co-Chair Scott Pollins led fellow NELA attorneys in an annual meeting of attorneys litigating sexual harassment claims.

On June 1, 2016, Natalie S. Walker, a partner at Webster & Fredrickson, PLLC, was sworn in as the Washington Bar Association’s 48th President. The oath of office was administered during the WBA Annual Conference, Annual Meeting, Elections, and Hall of Fame Ceremony held at Reed Smith. The Annual Conference showcased Harvard Law Professor Charles Ogletree and a discussion on “THE LEGACY OF PRESIDENT BARACK H. OBAMA, THE FIRST AFRICAN AMERICAN POTUS.” Legal giants Sandra H. Robinson, William P. Lightfoot, David W. Wilmot and Iris McCollum Green were inducted into the WBA Hall of Fame.

Webster & Fredrickson, PLLC is pleased to announce that Geoffrey H. Simpson has joined the firm’s partnership team as an equity partner. Mr. Simpson will remain active in the firm’s employment and whistleblower practice areas.

Mr. Simpson joined Webster & Fredrickson, PLLC in 2006 and over the past decade has successfully represented clients in claims regarding race, sex, and disability discrimination in addition to claims of retaliation and whistleblowing. Mr. Simpson practices in federal and local courts, administrative bodies, and in arbitration.

In 2014, Mr. Simpson helped secure the recovery of $5.6 million in damages for the United States, District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia and his client in connection with his client’s qui tam and retaliation claims under the federal and District of Columbia False Claims Acts, and under the anti-retaliation provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. All told, Mr. Simpson helped obtain a recovery in excess of $1 million for his client.

Mr. Simpson also represents the District of Columbia Public Employee Relations Board where he routinely handles appellate matters before the Superior Court for the District of Columbia and the District of Columbia Court of Appeals.

SuperLawyers named Mr. Simpson a “Rising Star” in 2014, 2015 and 2016.

Webster & Fredrickson, PLLC is pleased to announce that Natalie S. Walker has joined the firm’s partnership team as an equity partner. Ms. Walker will remain active in the firm’s commercial, bankruptcy, real estate, and business law practice areas.

Natalie S. Walker practices bankruptcy, commercial litigation, real estate, and business law at Webster & Fredrickson, PLLC. In the firm’s role as bankruptcy counsel, Ms. Walker represents debtors, creditors, and trustees in all aspects of the bankruptcy process.

Ms. Walker is actively involved in the Washington Bar Association (WBA) and serves as First Vice President. She also serves as President of the Washington Bar Association Educational Foundation, Inc.

Ms. Walker is a member of the Council for Court Excellence (CCE) board of directors and serves on the Strategic Planning Committee and Membership Committee.

Ms. Walker earned her J.D. from North Carolina Central University School of Law in May 2004. Following law school, Ms. Walker served as the judicial law clerk to the Honorable Erik P. Christian of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.

Natalie S. Walker delivers the Call to Commemoration at the Washington Bar Association Annual Law Day Dinner held on May 7, 2016. Attorney General Loretta Lynch and Benjamin Wilson received the Charles Hamilton Houston Medallion of Merit during the event.

Bruce Fredrickson and Natalie Walker addressed a student audience at the Washington College of Law, American University on issues of Faith, Race and Justice, along with fellow civil rights lawyer, Robert Bell, and D.C. Superior Court Judge Zoe Bush.   The program and panel discussion was sponsored by the Tucker Center at Dartmouth College, as part of the alternative spring break for Dartmouth undergraduates to study issues of Faith, Race and Justice while in Washington, D.C.  The trip was led by Leah Fredrickson Torrey, Interim Multi-Faith Advisor at Dartmouth College.

You can see a webcast of the event here.

Bruce Fredrickson addressed the Annual Conference of the Metropolitan Washington Employment Lawyers Association (MWELA) on the occasion of the Association’s twenty-fifth anniversary.  Bruce was a founding member of the organization and served as MWELA’s first president. MWELA strives to advance employee rights and serves lawyers committed to the representation of employees in disputes with their employers.

The Washington Area Metropolitan Transit Authority (WMATA) has paid $5.6 million to the United States, the District of Columbia, and Shahiq Khwaja to resolve whistleblower claims brought by Mr. Khwaja under the federal and District of Columbia False Claims Acts, and under the anti-retaliation provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, among other laws.  All tolled, Mr. Khwaja received more than $1 million for his relator’s share and other damages.

Attorneys for Mr. Khwaja, Geoffrey H. Simpson of Webster & Fredrickson, PLLC and David Colapinto of Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto, LLP, view the settlement as a vindication for Mr. Khwaja, who brought suit in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia and filed an administrative complaint in the Department of Transportation in 2012. David Colapinto, one of Mr. Khawaja’s attorneys said: “In this case, Mr. Khwaja tried to correct False Claims Act violations at WMATA before they occurred to save the taxpayers money, but he was retaliated against and fired for blowing the whistle internally. The government would not have recovered these funds on behalf of the taxpayers without Mr. Khwaja stepping forward. This settlement demonstrates that the False Claims Act is the most effective whistleblower law by restoring money to taxpayers and by protecting employees who report False Claims Act violations.”

According to Geoffrey Simpson, another of Mr. Khwaja’s attorneys, “this settlement is testament to Mr. Khwaja’s courage. Mr. Khwaja spoke out while employed by WMATA and continued to blow the whistle internally even in the face of resistance and hostility from his superiors. Without his fortitude, these claims would never have come to light.”