Debra S. Katz
Recognized as "Civil Rights Lawyer of the Year" for Washington, D.C. by The Best Lawyers© In America for 2018, as one of the “toughest” employment lawyers in Washington, D.C. by Washingtonian magazine, and as an expert in sexual harassment, employment, and whistleblower law by The New York Times, The Washington Post, TIME magazine and others, Debra S. Katz has been successfully litigating employment discrimination, civil rights, and whistleblower protection cases for over 30 years.
Ms. Katz is a founding partner of Katz, Marshall & Banks, LLP, where she concentrates her practice on employment discrimination, sexual harassment, wrongful discharge, Sarbanes-Oxley, corporate, environmental and other whistleblower retaliation claims, SEC whistleblower tips, and contractual employment disputes. She has developed extensive litigation experience in federal and local courts and has achieved significant courtroom successes in a number of high-profile cases. Throughout her legal career, Ms. Katz has successfully represented dozens of whistleblowers in the nuclear, financial, pharmaceutical and medical-device industries. She also regularly handles cases involving fraud in government contracts, including most recently at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan.
Washingtonian Magazine selected Ms. Katz for its “Top Lawyers” list from 2004 to 2020, naming her one of the magazine’s top 30 “Stars of the Bar” in its biennial listings in 2009 and 2011, and calling Ms. Katz, "Washington's top attorney for women who want to fight back," in a 2018 profile. She was selected for inclusion in the 2006-2021 editions of “The Best Lawyers© In America,” named the Best Lawyers© 2018 and 2013 Civil Rights Law "Lawyer of the Year" in Washington, D.C., and rated by Martindale-Hubbell as “AV Preeminent,” its highest possible peer review rating. Law360 recognized her as a 2019 "Titan of the Plaintiffs Bar" and in 2018, the Washington Business Journal selected Ms. Katz as an honoree in the Managing Partner category of its annual C-Suite Awards.
Ms. Katz has been profiled as a pioneering #MeToo attorney by the Washington Post in "The feared attorney of the #MeToo moment" and a "Leading #MeToo Lawyer" by Washingtonian Magazine. For her extraordinary work representing victims of sexual harassment and assault, as well as advocating for legislative change, the Metropolitan Washington Employment Lawyers Association recognized Ms. Katz with its 2018 Lawyers of the Year Award. And for her work as part of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford's legal team, the Women's Bar Association recognized Ms. Katz with the "Dare to Make an Impact" award, which honors those who fight for advancement for women attorneys, and for a more egalitarian future.
Ms. Katz was named by Super Lawyers as a leading Washington, D.C. lawyer in 2007-2021, and was also recognized by Super Lawyers as a top 100 lawyer in Washington, D.C. and top 50 female lawyer in Washington, D.C. from 2009-2010. She was featured in Super Lawyer’s 2009 edition as one of the top four whistleblower attorneys in Washington, D.C. Ms. Katz has been profiled as a pioneering whistleblower attorney in the 2009 Super Lawyer’s article, “Protecting the Insider.”
In 2007, Human Resource Executive magazine named Ms. Katz one of the nation’s “Top 10 Plaintiffs’ Attorneys to Fear the Most.” In January 2014, Ms. Katz was selected to the 2013-2014 edition of Lawdragon's list of "The 500 Leading Lawyers in America." She had previously been selected for membership in the Lawdragon “500 Leading Trial Lawyers in America” in March 2006, and from September 2006 through 2010, Lawdragon named her to its list of “The 3,000 Leading Lawyers in America.” Ms. Katz was also recognized as one of Lawdragon's 500 Leading Plaintiff Employment Lawyers from 2018-2021.
Ms. Katz serves as Vice Chair on the Board of Directors of the Project on Government Oversight (POGO), a nonpartisan independent government watchdog. POGO's mission is to strengthen laws and regulations to protect whistleblowers from intimidation and retaliation and to create a more accountable and effective federal government by investigating allegations of government corruption and misconduct.
Ms. Katz is a contributing writer for Ms. Magazine, where she writes about legal issues of importance to women. In 2019, Ms. Magazine honored Ms. Katz with the "Wonder Woman Award" for her work fighting against injustices faced by women and girls because of their gender. Ms. Katz is also co-chair of ALI-CLE’s Advanced Employment Law program and a board member of Law360's Editorial Advisory Board.
Ms. Katz received her Bachelor of Arts degree, summa cum laude, from Union College, where she was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. She received her J.D. degree, cum laude, from the University of Wisconsin Law School, where she served as a member of the Wisconsin Law Review and as Articles Editor of the Wisconsin Women’s Law Journal. Following law school, Ms. Katz clerked for the Hon. William Bablitch on the Wisconsin Supreme Court and held a Women’s Law and Public Policy Fellowship at Georgetown University Law Center.
Ms. Katz is a member of the District of Columbia and New York Bar Associations, the Bar of the Supreme Court of the United States and the bars of several federal courts of appeals.
- Fellow of the American Bar Foundation
- Fellow, College of Labor and Employment Lawyers
- Law360 Titan of the Plaintiff Bar, 2019
- Lawdragon "500 Leading Lawyers in America," 2013–2014
- Lawdragon%u2019s List of %u201CThe 3,000 Leading Lawyers in America%u201D - 2008-2010
- Member of International Women’s Forum
- Ms. Magazine's "Wonder Woman Award," 2019
- MWELA Lawyer of the Year, 2019
- Rated "AV Preeminent" by Martindale-Hubbell
- Super Lawyers Top 100 Lawyers in Washington, D.C. - 2009-2017
- Super Lawyers Top 50 Women Lawyers in Washington, D.C. - 2009-2018
- T'ruah, Raphael Lemkin Human Rights Award
- Washington, D.C. “Super Lawyers” - 2007-2018
- Washingtonian Magazine “Top Lawyer” - 2004-2018
- Washingtonian Magazine's 150 Most Powerful Women in Washington, 2019
- Washingtonian Top 30 “Stars of the Bar,” 2009 and 2011
- Women's Bar Association's "Dare to Make an Impact" Award, 2018
Washington, District of Columbia 20009
