The law governing the relationship between government at all levels and its employees is very complex. In addition to experiencing all the problems present in private sector employment, public sector employment presents its own unique legal challenges. These arise from due process and other constitutional considerations that arise because the government is the employer; federal civil rights laws; overlapping layers of governing law, regulation and policy; the presence of politics and the absence of a profit motive; the size and complexity of the government bureaucracies; complex immunity issues, and the sundry court and administrative avenues available for challenging government employment actions. A unique blend of experience, knowledge and expertise is needed to successfully navigate this sea of complexities. Adam J. Conti, LLC, is uniquely qualified to conquer this complex field.

Adam possesses a truly rare combination of government employment experience, academic distinction and employment litigation proficiency. He worked for the federal government for ten years, beginning in 1971 in New York City with the U.S. Department of Labor. There, while climbing the federal career ladder to GS-12, Adam handled a wide variety of private and public sector labor and employment problems. In 1976 he relocated to Atlanta to supervise the federal sector labor-management relations program throughout the Southeastern. When the Civil Service Reform Act took effect in 1979, Adam was transferred in function to the newly created Federal Labor Relations Authority. The following year he was selected as the Assistant to the FLRA's New York Regional Director. In this GM-14 position he supervised fourteen attorneys and labor relations specialists who administered the federal labor-management relations program in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. In 1981 Adam transferred to the Bronx VA Medical Center where he handled labor and employee relations in a large urban medical center's labor relations practice.

In 1982 Adam left federal service to attend law school. He earned his law degree with several academic awards from Emory University Law School in 1984. This capped his undergraduate degree from Georgetown University and his M.B.A. with a concentration in labor-management relations from Manhattan's Pace University.

Upon law school graduation, Adam joined the Atlanta management labor law firm of Mack & Bernstein, where he represented many Fortune 500 Corporations in virtually every aspect of labor and employment law. He became a partner in that firm in 1989, and subsequently headed both its employee benefits and litigation practices. During his nine years with Mack & Bernstein, Adam litigated employment cases across the country, wrote academic and professional articles on employment law, and gained comprehensive practical employment law expertise. He represented several governmental entities in defense litigation, including the Housing Authority of the City of Atlanta, the State of Georgia, the City of Atlanta, the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA), the DeKalb Board of Education and several counties and municipalities throughout the Southeast. In addition, he has represented numerous governmental employees from laborers to high level executives at the federal, state, county and municipal levels, as well in various governmental and quasi-governmental agencies in administrative proceedings and in state and federal court.

In 1993, Adam joined the Buckhead corporate firm of Wagner & Johnston to head its employment law practice. Two years latter he left to become Of Counsel to the nationally recognized management labor and employment law firm of Wimberly & Lawson. In both positions Adam continued to represent employers in employment and labor litigation, while his public sector employee practice continued to grow. In May 1997 he formed his own law firm, Adam J. Conti, LLC, to better serve his clients.

Today, Adam represents both public sector employees and employers in virtually every aspect of employment law. Approximately 80% of the firm's practice consists of public sector employment law. These include:

• Equal employment opportunity complaints alleging discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, and exercise of protected rights under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act;
• Age discrimination complaints under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act;
• Disability discrimination under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans With Disabilities Act;
• Civil Rights claims under 42 U.S.C. 1983 (deprivation of federally protected civil rights under color of state law);
• Constitutional claims, including First Amendment and Due Process claims;
• Collective bargaining negotiations, impasse arbitration and grievance arbitration;
• Adverse actions based on misconduct and unsatisfactory job performance;
• Reductions in force, reorganizations and reassignments;
• Unfair labor practices, representation proceedings, and related labor-management proceedings;
• Torts Claims;
• Wage and hour claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act;
• Privacy Act and Freedom of Information Act claims;
• Claims for workers compensation benefits;
• Whistle-Blower claims, including individual rights of action and prohibited personnel practices;
• Counseling government employees and employers on all varieties of employment related problems and issues.
• Adam and his affiliated attorneys practice in federal and state courts throughout the United States, and before the Merit Systems Protection Board, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Federal Labor Relations Authority, the National Labor Relations Board, the Office of Federal Workers Compensation Programs and various other specialized appeals tribunals. In addition, Adam has represented 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 cases include: Martin v. Merriday, 706 F.Supp. 42 (N.D. Ga. 1989); Peterson v. Atlanta Housing Authority, 998 F.2d 904 (11th Cir. 1993); Harmond v. Cavazos, 56 FEP Cases (BNA) 142 (N.D. Ga. 1991); Newsome v. Cooper-Wiss, 179 Ga. App. 670, 347 S.E.2d 619 (1986), Napier v. Weyerhauser, 766 F.Supp. 1574 (M.D. Ga. 1991);Costin v. DHHS, and Burchfield v. Derwinski, 782 F.Supp. 532 (D. Colo. 1992). Adam has taught Public Sector at Georgia State University, and published numerous articles on employment law and contributed to the American Bar Association's 1995 Committee Report on Federal Service Labor and Employment Law.

Quality legal services from experienced attorneys are not inexpensive, especially when litigation becomes necessary. Adam's current standard hourly rate is $375 per hour, with lower rates for other attorneys and paralegal in his firm. 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 still prevail and there are often additional hurdles to overcome. Although the firm does not accept cases on a contingency basis, it does strive to evaluate each case individually and to structure 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 E-mail: aconti@contilaw.com or call us at (404) 531-0701 to begin the process.