Our Team

R. Scott Oswald
Washington, District of Columbia
Principal

R. Scott Oswald, Principal

Mr. Oswald represents executives, many of whom have uncovered corporate or government wrongdoing, in state and federal courts and administrative tribunals. He has tried more than two dozen cases to verdict, and since 2002, has recovered nearly $20 million for his clients in judgments and settlements. His successes have been featured in several publications including The National Law Journal, BNA’s Daily Labor Report, and Employment Law360.  Notably, Mr. Oswald was Sheila Kalkunte's lead trial counsel in the ground-breaking Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) whistleblower case of Kalkunte v. DVI, which remains one of the few SOX whistleblower cases in which the SOX whistleblower prevailed at the trial level.  Furthermore, Mr. Oswald represented SOX whistleblower David Stone, in the case that establishes that a SOX whistleblower has an absolute right to bring a SOX action in federal district court when a complaint has been pending before the Department of Labor for more than 180 days without a final judgment.

Mr. Oswald, who is rated 10 out of 10 by Avvo, is a seasoned trial lawyer whose cases help define the boundaries of protections for federal employee whistleblowers: Drake v. USAID, Miller v. TSA; SOX whistleblowers: Kalkunte, Leznik, Stone; those who have been subjected to age discrimination: Inman v. Klockner-Pentaplast; Qui Tam whistleblowers: Glynn v. IST, Mann v. H&K; sex discrimination: Rachel Smith v. FT Data, Murtagh-Cooke v. U.S.; disability discrimination: Fink v. Richmond; race and national origin discrimination: Kumar v. Hilton Hotels Corp.; those who have been wrongfully terminated: Miller v. Washington Workplace, McFarland v. VRSCC; and those who have had their wages or benefits withheld: Adde v. US, Sharer v. Tandberg. Mr. Oswald has also been at the vanguard of fighting mandatory arbitration as a condition of employment: Shaffer v. ACS, Booker v. Robert Half International.

Mr. Oswald is one of the few attorneys who has prosecuted a wrongful termination in violation of Maryland public policy claim to a winning jury verdict and who has prosecuted a Maryland retaliation claim to a winning punitive damages jury verdict. In 2008, Mr. Oswald prosecuted a gender claim under the Equal Pay Act to a $466,816 verdict, Murtagh-Cooke v. U.S., and a sexual harassment claim to a $1 million emotional damages jury verdict. Sterling v. Atlantic Automotive.  In 2009, Mr. Oswald prosecuted a claim under the District of Columbia Whistleblower Protection Act to a $282,000 verdict after a jury trial. 

Mr. Oswald, who holds a Top Secret security clearance, represents executive branch political appointees and senior executives in misconduct and security clearance suspension/revocation investigations. He lectures extensively on employment related topics, especially on executive employment rights and compensation, and was recently interviewed on a radio program about federal employee whistleblower protections. Mr. Oswald has authored numerous articles on state and federal employment law protections.

In February  2009, Mr. Oswald's peers elected him to serve as the 2009/2010 President-Elect of the Metropolitan Washington Employment Lawyers Association, the 300+ member DC/MD/VA affiliate of the National Employment Lawyers Association.  Mr. Oswald is also a member of the National Employment Lawyers Association’s Executive Compensation and Whistleblower Committees. He has authored numerous amicus curiae briefs on discrimination and whistleblower protection issues and is active in efforts at the national and state level to strengthen legal protections for employees.

Mr. Oswald is a graduate of the University of Virginia and received his law degree from The Howard University School of Law. He is admitted to practice before the District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia and Florida bars, the United States Supreme Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the 3rd, 4th, 5th, 9th, 11th, D.C., and Fed Circuits, the United State District Courts for the District of Columbia, District of Maryland, Eastern and Western Districts of Virginia, Northern and Southern Districts of Florida, Northern District of Illinois, and the Western District of Tennessee.

Publications

Co-Author: “Federal Whistleblower Protections for Transportation Employees,” The Employee Advocate (Spring/Summer 2009)

Co-Author: "SOX: A Robust Remedy For Whistleblowers," Law360 (August 2009)

Co-Author: “Representing Whistleblowers in Adler Wrongful Discharge Actions,” Maryland Bar Journal (July 2009)

Co-Author: "Questions and Answers About the Qui Tam Provision of the False Claims Act,” The Practical Lawyer (June 2009)

Co-Author: “Strategies for Defending Against Non-Compete Litigation,” Virginia State Bar’s Litigation News (June 2009)

Co-Author: “DOL ARB Decision Reinvigorates Sarbanes-Oxley Whistleblower Protection,” 7 Workplace L. Rep. (BNA) No. 475 (April 3, 2009)

Co-author, “Blowing the Whistle on Tax Fraud Reaps Rewards,” SmartPros Ethics & Compliance Insights (March 2009)

Co-Author: "Stimulus Fund Safeguards for Whistleblowers," Law360 (February 2009)

Author: Update to "Employment At Will and Exceptions to Doctrine," a chapter in the D.C. Practice Manual (D.C. Bar Publications), 2008

Co-Author: "New Protections for Consumer Safety Whistle-blowers," American Bar Association Section of Labor and Employment Law Newsletter Vol. 37, No. 1 (Fall 2008)

Co-Author: "Win for Whistleblowers," National Law Journal (September 8, 2008)

Author: "Sarbanes-Oxley Act Whistleblower Retaliation Provision," Avvo (September 2008)

Co-Author: "The Umpires Strike Back", Legal Times (June 2008)

Co-Author, "Protecting the Whistleblower," Corporate Responsibility Officer (February 2008)

Speaking Engagements:

Panelist: “Fundamentals of Employment Law Series,” District of Columbia Bar CLE, October 20, 2009.

Panelist: “Changing Currents in Employment Law: Recent Developments Update,” District of Columbia Bar CLE, June 18, 2009.

Panelist: “The Use of Technology at Trial – Using Technology to Demonstrate Expertise, Better Service Clients, and Attract New Business,” District of Columbia Bar CLE, May 21, 2009.

Moderator and Panelist: “Litigating Under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act,” District of Columbia Bar CLE, April 16, 2009.

Moderator and Panelist: “Demonstrating Hidden Bias or Stereotyping to Win our Cases,” 2009 Metropolitan Washington Employment Lawyers Association Annual Convention, March 13, 2009.

Panelist: “Litigating Successfully under the Equal Pay Act: Lessons Learned from Murtagh-Cooke v. NTSB,” Metropolitan Employment Lawyers Association CLE, January 30, 2009.

Panelist: “Negotiating Separation Agreements: What Employers Need to Know, What Employees Should Insist Upon, and Where the Interests of Both Parties Converge,” District of Columbia Bar, January 29, 2009.

Panelist: "Representing the Maryland Whistleblower under Adler," Maryland Whistleblower Laws, Montgomery County Bar Association CLE, November 13, 2008.

Panelist: "Knowing Your Legal Rights," Annual National Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender , and Ally College Student Conference, Out for Work, September 27, 2008.

Moderator and Panelist: “Punitive Damages – How to Get Them and Keep Them,” 2008 Metropolitan Employment Lawyers Association Annual Convention, April 11, 2008.

Panelist: “The Nuts and Bolts of Litigating Disability Discrimination Cases,” D.C. Bar CLE, May 1, 2007.

Panelist: "Understanding the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act," D.C. Bar CLE, May 4, 2005.