IF YOU HAVE ALREADY COMPLETED A TRAINING, IT IS NOT REQUIRED TO ATTEND THIS TRAINING. VOLUNTEERS MUST ONLY ATTEND OR WATCH ONE TRAINING TO PREPARE TO REPRESENT FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.

To join this training, click “Volunteer for this Project.” If you are new to We The Action, enter your email address and click the green “Join” button. After signing up, check your email for a message from We The Action with the subject line: “You were selected to volunteer with We The Action!” This email will include the Zoom registration link for the training.
Recently, tens of thousands of federal workers have been fired or encouraged to resign — regardless of the importance of their roles, their qualifications, or their job performance. These efforts have the potential to undermine the integrity of the federal workforce and the services they provide to our communities. We The Action launched the Public Service Legal Response Center to mobilize lawyers who want to help federal workers access legal resources. This 90-minute training offers information to broaden the field of legal counsel available to serve these workers. Completing the training will prepare you to represent federal workers, starting this April.

This virtual training session will discuss:

The critical need surrounding federal employee firings, the Civil Service Reform Act, FLRA, Panel (FSIP) Jurisdiction, where to seek relief, challenging a termination, employee MSPB appeal rights, remedies, and an overview of how intake will work for the Federal Employee Legal Defense Network.
Workshop Speakers:
- Daniel Rosenthal, James & Hoffman, Washington, DC
- Suzanne Summerlin, Summerlin Labor Strategies
- Abigail Carter, Bredhoff & Kaiser, Washington, DC

Danny Rosenthal litigates on behalf of workers and their unions. He also advises unions and non-profit organizations on various matters. Danny has often helped clients develop winning legal strategies to advance their interests. For instance, he led a team that relied on the public nuisance doctrine to obtain workplace protections from COVID-19, and he crafted a successful challenge to a regulation restricting overtime pay for federal government workers. Danny joined James & Hoffman in 2011. He served as a law clerk for the Honorable William J. Kayatta, Jr., of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. Danny was named one of the 500 leading plaintiff employment and civil rights lawyers in the United States by Lawdragon from 2021 – 2024. He has been identified as a “Rising Star” by SuperLawyers for labor and employment law in Washington, DC, in each year since 2018. Danny is a senior editor of the leading treatise on the Railway Labor Act, and he has published articles on topics including labor law preemption and public sector collective bargaining.
Abigial Carter is a member of the firm representing international and local unions in a wide variety of litigation before federal and state courts, administrative tribunals, and arbitrators. Her work includes representing clients in connection with employment discrimination, RICO, ERISA, union governance, and common-law tort and contract matters. In addition to her litigation practice, Abigail serves as labor counsel to several Washington and Baltimore area public sector unions, and in that capacity participates in negotiations and provides advice on a range of issues. Abigail has written briefs in the United States Supreme Court, in five federal courts of appeals, in numerous federal and state trial courts, as well as in administrative and arbitral tribunals; she has also argued on behalf of the firm’s clients in a wide variety of motion proceedings at the trial level in state and federal courts, and has argued appeals in state and federal appellate courts. Abigail has also represented clients at trial, and in arbitration proceedings. From March 2022 through June 2023, Abigail served as General Counsel of the International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace & Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW), AFL-CIO.
Suzanne Summerlin is a seasoned labor attorney with extensive experience in labor law, union advocacy, and workplace justice. She has represented a diverse range of federal employees across more than thirty agencies, including U.S. Forest Service wildland firefighters, Department of State passport processors, Veterans Administration medical professionals, and Transportation Security Administration security screeners. In 2017, Suzanne was lead counsel in a coalition lawsuit challenging restrictive executive orders under the first Trump administration, representing 13 unions in a case heard by now-Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. Her career also includes roles with the American Federation of Government Employees, the National Federation of Federal Employees, and the Federation Education Association where she handled labor arbitrations, collective bargaining, and unfair labor practice hearings. Suzanne has led litigation, negotiated collective bargaining agreements and provided strategic legal guidance to federal employees worldwide. Recognized for her expertise, Suzanne was nominated by President Biden to serve as General Counsel of the Federal Labor Relations Authority. Her work reflects a steadfast commitment to protecting the rights of federal workers and empowering unions in complex and evolving legal landscapes.

To join this training, click “Volunteer for this Project.” If you are new to We The Action, enter your email address and click the green “Join” button. After signing up, check your email for a message from We The Action with the subject line: “You were selected to volunteer with We The Action!” This email will include the Zoom registration link for the training.