>  Peter M. Whelan
Peter M. Whelan
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I am a founding partner with the Washington, D.C. employment law firm District Employment Law PLLC, and have achieved favorable outcomes for numerous private-sector and federal employee clients in a wide range of employment-related litigation, including individual discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination, whistleblower retaliation, and Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) cases, as well as in severance negotiations and contractual disputes.

I chose to become an employment law attorney, and chose to represent employees facing discrimination, sexual harassment, and retaliation, because I know how important your career is to your life and to your family. I have the skills, passion, and practical experience to guide you honestly and carefully through the confusing maze of options available to those seeking to fight for their rights in the workplace. I will listen carefully to your needs and your unique situation, and will devise a strategy tailored to those needs.

I believe that every employee should be treated with dignity. You spend more waking hours at your workplace than you do practically anywhere else, so when you face discrimination, harassment, or retaliation at work, it affects every part of your life. When your employer fires you for an illegal reason after you’ve given years of dedicated service to that employer, it is a devastating and humiliating insult to you as a person.

Nothing I do will undo the mistreatment you’ve endured in the workplace, but I will do my absolute best to help you obtain a result that will enable you to move on to the next chapter in your life, and that gives you the satisfaction of knowing that you stood up for your rights.

Prior to starting District Employment Law, I worked as an employment lawyer with Bernabei & Kabat, PLLC for over thirteen years. I also worked in the litigation group at Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP, where I focused on employment law, helped represent high-profile clients in trial and appellate litigation, and represented clients pro bono in political asylum and landlord-tenant matters.

I graduated magna cum laude from the George Mason University School of Law, and served as a Research Editor for the George Mason Law Review and as a Writing Fellow in the Legal Research, Writing, and Analysis program. As a member of the Moot Court Board, I and two classmates won the Domenick L. Gabrielli National Family Law Moot Court Competition. Prior to law school, I taught U.S. History at an Alexandria, Virginia middle school. I graduated magna cum laude from the College of William & Mary with a B.A. in American Studies.

Bar Admissions:

  • Virginia (2008)
  • District of Columbia (2010)
  • U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (2012)
  • U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia (2009)
  • U.S. Supreme Court (2017)
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (2019)

Education:

    • George Mason University School of Law
      • J.D.
      • magna cum laude
      • Legal Research, Writing, and Analysis program, Fellow
    • College of William & Mary
      • B.A.
      • magna cum laude

Recognitions: