SUSAN E. HUHTA is the partner in charge of Outten & Golden’s Washington, D.C. office, where she heads the D.C. office’s individual practice group. She is Co-Chair of the firm’s Discrimination and Retaliation Practice Group, and has represented employees in a wide range of employment matters, including litigation in state and federal trial courts, appellate courts and administrative agencies, for over 20 years. Ms. Huhta also provides advice and counseling to individuals experiencing employment problems or disputes, including executives and lawyers, and she negotiates employment contracts, as well as non-compete, bonus, change of control, separation and severance agreements.
Ms. Huhta’s employment practice focuses on claims of wrongful termination, discrimination, sexual harassment, retaliation, family and medical leave act violations, and breaches of contract. She also represents whistleblowers and individuals who experience adverse employment action as a result of opposing illegal or unethical corporate practices. Ms. Huhta has recovered millions of dollars in lost compensation and other damages for individuals who were wrongfully terminated or otherwise mistreated in the workplace.
Before joining Outten & Golden, Ms. Huhta practiced at a boutique employment law firm in D.C. for six years, and prior to that, for over 10 years, she ran the Employment and Public Accommodations Projects at one of D.C.’s premier civil rights organizations, the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights & Urban Affairs. She began her law career in Washington, D.C. as a litigation associate at Arnold & Porter LLP, and she clerked for the Honorable Barbara B. Crabb, United States District Court Judge for the Western District of Wisconsin. Ms. Huhta received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Cornell University and graduated cum laude from the University of Wisconsin School of Law, where she served as an Articles Editor of the Wisconsin Law Review and the President of the Wisconsin Law School’s Women’s Law Student Association.
Ms. Huhta serves on the Leadership Advisory Council of the National Women’s Law Center, and she is a board member of First Shift, a D.C.-based non-profit that provides employment-related legal assistance to low-income pregnant women and parents. She is a past president of the Washington Council of Lawyers, D.C.’s voluntary bar association that promotes public interest and pro bono work, and for many years has been an active member of the Metropolitan Washington Employment Lawyers Association. Ms. Huhta has been recognized by Washingtonian Magazine as a “Top Lawyer” by Washingtonian Magazine, and as one of the “Top 100 Lawyers” in civil plaintiff-side litigation by the National Trial Lawyers Association. In 2019, she was selected by her peers as a one of the “Best Lawyers in America” representing individuals in employment law, and by Lawdragon as one of the 500 Leading Plaintiff Employment Lawyers.
Ms. Huhta employs a highly client-centric approach, carefully considering all aspects of a client’s life and needs in helping develop and implement strategic decisions. She believes that every single client — without regard to position in life — deserves a dedicated, compassionate, and tenacious advocate.