Former EEOC Lawyer Joins Katz Marshall

WASHINGTON – (Sept. 15, 2015) – The whistleblower, employment and civil rights law firm Katz, Marshall & Banks, LLP today announced that Carolyn L. Wheeler, who served for the last 25 years as Assistant General Counsel in the Office of General Counsel of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity (EEOC), has joined the firm as Of Counsel.

As Assistant General Counsel for the EEOC’s Appellate Services Division, Ms. Wheeler supervised attorneys who prepared briefs and argued appeals in EEOC cases in all U.S. federal courts of appeals, who filed briefs as amicus curiae in cases raising important legal issues under the EEOC’s statutes, and who worked with the Solicitor General’s Office in developing and drafting briefs on employment issues in the Supreme Court. For 12 years, Ms. Wheeler also served intermittently as the Acting Associate General Counsel for Appellate Services, with responsibility for managing the entire Appellate Services Division and staff.

“We are thrilled that Carolyn has joined our firm and we think that she will be a great asset for our firm and for our clients,” said Lisa J. Banks, a founding partner of Katz, Marshall & Banks. “Carolyn brings to KMB her tremendous experience, knowledge and passion for helping victims of employment discrimination and unlawful retaliation. She will also be a great mentor to our more junior attorneys as they develop into strong and relentless advocates for our clients.”

As an appellate lawyer with the EEOC, Ms. Wheeler was in the forefront of developing cutting edge legal arguments and theories to prove discrimination and harassment under Title VII, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Equal Pay Act. In her new role with Katz, Marshall & Banks, she will focus her practice on cases involving employment discrimination, sexual harassment and retaliation; whistleblower claims under Sarbanes Oxley and other federal and state laws; and contractual employment disputes.

“After many years as an EEOC appellate litigator advancing legal arguments designed to expand the protections of federal anti-discrimination laws, I wanted the opportunity to work more directly with individuals challenging discrimination and other unlawful employment actions in the workplace, as well as to join with efforts to combat harassment and sexual violence on college campuses,” Ms. Wheeler said. “Katz, Marshall & Banks has a stellar reputation for achieving great outcomes for its clients, and I am honored to have this opportunity to collaborate with the firm’s gifted and dedicated attorneys in this important work.”

Upon her departure from the EEOC, the Commission passed a resolution acknowledging Ms. Wheeler’s achievements in helping to develop the law and in serving “as an outstanding example to others in her leadership, teaching, and mentoring of Appellate Attorneys, as well as her guidance of trial attorney teams and other legal units across the Agency.”

Ms. Wheeler also has been a frequent speaker at labor and employment law conferences on topics ranging from harassment to retaliation as well as the emerging issues of coverage and accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Prior to her tenure at the EEOC, Ms. Wheeler served for three years as a law clerk to the Hon. Thomas Tang of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Before practicing law, she taught English, humanities and women's studies for 10 years at both the University of Missouri and the University of Montana. She earned her law degree from the University of Montana School of Law and holds A.B. and M.A. degrees from the University of Missouri.

About Katz, Marshall & Banks, LLP

Katz, Marshall & Banks, LLP is a boutique law firm representing plaintiffs in the areas of employment, whistleblower and sexual harassment law; Title IX of the Education Amendments; and other civil rights and civil liberties matters. The firm’s lawyers also represent whistleblowers in seeking monetary rewards by submitting tips to the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodities Futures Trading Commission Whistleblower Programs, and through the filing of “qui tam” actions under the False Claims Act. The firm and its attorneys consistently are recognized as leaders in whistleblower and employment law nationally and in the Washington, D.C., area. For more information, visit http://www.kmblegal.com.