Adam J. Conti, LLC, represents Federal employees in all aspects of employment law in the Southeast, throughout the United States and worldwide. The firm has handled Federal sector cases in the following areas:

• Equal Employment Opportunity Complaints during the investigation phase, in hearings before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and discrimination lawsuits in Federal Courts
• Adverse action appeals before Federal agencies and before the Merit Systems Protect Board
• Whistleblower complaints before the Office of Special Counsel and the Merit System Protections Board
• Workers compensation claims under the Federal Employee Compensation Act before the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Workers Compensation Programs
• Regular and disability retirement applications with the Office of Personnel Management and appeals to the Merit Systems Protection Board
• Mediation and arbitration proceedings involving Federal employment issues
• Counseling Federal employees in all aspects of their employment

The firm’s concentration in Federal sector employment law arises from Adam Conti’s ten years’ experience as a Federal employee with the U.S. Department of Labor, the Federal Labor Relations Authority and the Department of Veterans Affairs, coupled with his experience in representing employers in all aspects of employment law. Adam has developed a practice representing Federal employees since 1985. He has shared that expertise with other attorneys and staff of his firm. The firm has represented hundreds of federal employees and Federal sector matters currently comprise about  85% of the firm’s practice.

The firm welcomes representation of employees of  every  Federal agency and has represented many employees of the following agencies: U.S. Postal Service, Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, including employees of the Transportation Security Administration, the General Services Administration, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the   Internal Revenue Service, the Department of Justice, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and numerous other Federal agencies. We have represent employees of all grades and all federal occupations. We have represented many letters carriers, Postal clerks and mail handlers, Federal law enforcement agents, doctors, nurses and other health care professionals, public health advisors, scientists, contracting officers, teachers, transportation security officers, computer professionals,  electronic technicians, welders, machinists, clerks, truck drivers, supervisors and managers at all levels, plus a broad array of other Federal occupations.

Our offices are in Atlanta and our Federal sector practice is centered in the Southeast. But we  also have represented Federal employees in most major U.S. cities and in several foreign countries. Firm attorneys have made seven trips to Japan to represent federal employees who work at U.S. military bases in that country of for the Department of Defense Dependent School Systems.  Since most case transactions are handled by mail, fax, e-mail and telephone, the location of counsel’s office makes no difference. Typically only a single trip or possibly two trips to the client’s work location are required during the course of a representation. Our Atlanta location provides ready access to all major locations in the U.S. and aboard. It also enables us to offer hourly rates that are significantly below those of law firms in Washington, D.C, and other major U.S. cities. Therefore, even though travel expenses are incurred for clients outside the Atlanta area, the overall cost to that client is likely to be less than if comparably experienced local counsel is retained.

Federal employees’ employment rights differ markedly from private sector employees. They some additional rights, some laws do not apply and in many cases there are special provisions in  the laws that do apply. Furthmore, unique procedures apply to the processing of Federal sector discrimination complaints, adverse action appeals, compensation claims and whistleblower complaints. One court described these procedures as oftentimes so complex as to be “traps for the unweary.” Most importantly, for successful litigation it is crucial that counsel thoroughly understand the policies, procedures and actual workings of the Federal workplace. This understanding can only be obtained through years of experience in handling Federal sector employment litigation. Our firm has handled literally hundreds of such matters over the past ten years. Adam Conti has been working in the federal sector for over 30 years, 20 of which he has devoted to representing federal employees. We invite you to utilize our experience and expertise by retaining our firm to resolve your federal sector employment issues.

Today, Adam together with other attorneys and staff members of Adam J. Conti, LLC represent federal employees in all types of employment related actions. These include:

• Equal employment opportunity complaints alleging discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability and exercise of protected rights under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and other anti-discrimination laws and regulations before:
  • federal agencies under 29 C.F.R. Sec. 1614,
  • the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and
  • Federal Courts across the nation
• Collective bargaining negotiations, union elections, unfair labor practices and grievance arbitration before:
  • the Federal Labor Relations Authority the Federal Service Impasses Panel, and
  • arbitrators
• Adverse actions based on misconduct and unsatisfactory job performance before:
  • the Merit Systems Protection Board
  • Arbitrators, and
  • the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
• Individual counseling and representation for federal employees involving all aspects of their employment, including Reductions in force, reorganizations, reassignments, retirement appeals, priority placements, position classification appeals, and misconduct, suitability and security clearance investigations, before:
  • individual agencies,
  • the Office of Personnel Management
  • Department of Defense Agencies
  • the Merit Systems Protection Board, and
  • Federal Courts.
• Whistle-Blower Protection Act claims and Individual Right of Actions Claims before
  • the Office of the Special Counsel, and
  • the Merit Systems Protection Board
• First amendment and constitutional claims before;
  • individual agencies,
  • the Merit Systems Protection Board, and
  • Federal Courts
• Claims arising under the Federal Torts Claims Act both
  • Administratively and in
  • Federal Courts
• False Claims Act claims in Federal Courts;
• Wage and hour claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act;
• Privacy Act and Freedom of Information Act claims both
  • Administratively and in
  • Federal Courts.
• Retirement applications and employee benefit questions
• Federal Employee Compensation Act Claims before
  • the Office of Workers Compensation Programs
  • the Board of Hearings and Review and
  • the Employees Compensation Appeals Board
• Compensation, reimbursement and other financial and payment claims before
  • individual agencies and
  • the Comptroller General of the United States
• Classification claims before
  • Administrative Agencies and
  • he Office of Personnel Management
• Alternative Dispute Resolution of any claims before
  • mediators
  • arbitrators and other
  • adr resources
• Counseling federal employees and federal employers on all varieties of employment related problems and issues.

In addition, Adam has represented federal employees in negotiated and administrative grievance proceedings, a wide variety of administrative hearings, before arbitrators and in various other alternative dispute resolution forums. Adam's published cases include:

• Martin v. Merriday, 706 F.Supp. 42 (N.D. Ga. 1989) (Sexual harassment and individual liability of supervisor in federal employment);
• Peterson v. Atlanta Housing Authority, 998 F.2d 904 (11th Cir. 1993) (First Amendment and due process claims for local government employees) ;
• Harmond v. Cavazos, 56 FEP Cases (BNA) 142 (N.D. Ga. 1991) (Race discrimination and retaliation in federal employment);
• Burchfield v. Derwinski, 782 F.Supp. 532 (D. Colo. 1992) ( Sex discrimination and retaliation claims of federal employees) and
• Costin v. DHHS,(MSPB 1996) (Federal whistleblower receives retroactive promotion.)

Quality legal services from experienced attorneys are not inexpensive, especially when litigation becomes necessary. The firm's hourly rates range from $150 to $295. Adam's standard hourly rate is currently $295.00. Although attorneys' fees can be frequently recovered from public sector agencies in employment litigation, this is not always the case. Even where recovery is legally possible, the employee must first prevail, additional hurdles to fee recovery must frequently be overcome, there is protracted delay in recovery of fees and a fee award may not fully compensate the attorneys for all time devoted to the representation. Because of these considerations, the firm does not accept representation of federal employees on a contingency fee basis, except for compelling FTCA and False Claims Act claims. The firm does offer representation on a fixed negotiated fee basis and other alternatives to hourly billing. We evaluate each case individually and are usually successful in structuring a fee arrangement tailored to the client's individual circumstances. The firm welcomes inquiries regarding representation from both public employers and public employees.

We would be delighted to assess your particular situation and to respond to any questions you may have. Please call us at (404) 531-0701 to begin the process. Or click here to send us an E-mail for more information.