MELISSA E. PIERRE-LOUIS WASHINGTON is the founding member of the Washington Law Firm PLLC. She was a former partner at Outten & Golden LLP in New York and Washington D.C., where she successfully represented employees in litigation and negotiation in all areas of employment law for over a decade, including individual discrimination and retaliation claims, sexual harassment, whistleblower claims, contractual claims, and wage and hour actions. Ms. Washington also handles a variety of professional and executive compensation and benefits matters, including the negotiation of employment contracts, severance agreements, and restrictive covenants. Ms. Washington has been recognized by Super Lawyers as a Rising Star in 2017, 2018, 2020-2021 and by LawDragon as the 500 Leading Plaintiff Employment Lawyers in 2020 and 2021. Ms. Washington is a seasoned litigator with substantial experience representing plaintiffs in both individual and class action cases in state and federal courts, as well as before FINRA and administrative agencies. She also works with clients to avoid litigation where appropriate, and to craft unique solutions to clients’ problems through a combination of negotiation, mediation and alternative dispute resolution.

Ms. Washington is a member of the National Employment Lawyers Association, the American Bar Association, the Washington Bar Association, the New York State and City Bar Associations, and the New Jersey State Bar Association. She is the former co-chair of the FMLA subcommittee of ABA Federal Labor Standards Legislation Committee. She is also the former Chair of the National Employment Lawyers Association's Lawyers of Color Committee.