Adam Augustine Carter

Known for his deft touch in high-stakes negotiations, Adam Carter frequently helps executives to reach favorable agreements with their companies at pivotal career moments such as hiring, promotion, and separation.

He is also a seasoned courtroom advocate who has won numerous cases at trial and on appeal. He represents clients who bring claims against their employers for wrongful termination, retaliation, and discrimination of all sorts.

Mr. Carter has strong experience representing service members and veterans who face bias in the workplace, including at defense contractors and government agencies. He has written and spoken about the rights of employees under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), a federal statute that forbids employers from discriminating against workers based on their military service.

He is also devoted to helping employees at higher educational institutions, including college professors and administrators who stand up to discrimination on campus.

Among his notable outcomes for clients:

• An $819,000 jury verdict for a university scientist who suffered retaliation after blowing the whistle on misuse of federal research grants;
• Success at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit for a U.S. Army reservist who suffered retaliation at a government agency because of his military service;
• An $830,000 jury verdict for a former Marine Corps pilot of Mexican ancestry who was dismissed by Lockheed Martin after contesting a performance review;
• An appellate ruling that whistleblowers have an absolute right to move to federal court if the U.S. Department of Labor takes too long to act on their complaints;
• A $1 million jury verdict for a woman who was sexually harassed at work and then fired after filing complaints against her supervisor; and
• An appellate ruling that allowed his client to proceed with claims against three government officials who conducted an investigation that the client considered unfair, defeating an argument by the U.S. Department of Justice that these officials had absolute immunity from civil litigation.

Just as important as such victories, however, are the many settlements Mr. Carter has negotiated without courtroom conflict. At The Employment Law Group® law firm, Mr. Carter teaches the intricacies of negotiation to new and upcoming attorneys. While he’s always prepared for litigation, a satisfactory resolution is his true goal.

“I see myself as a problem solver,” he says. “I like to help good people get through bad situations — and since there’s not much I haven’t seen by now, I often can identify the fastest route to the best result.”

Clients working with Mr. Carter can expect a nimble attorney who shows everyone the care and attention they deserve. While no lawyer can guarantee a result, he readily commits to dedication, open communication, and a brisk work pace.

“I bring my A game all the time,” he says. “I bring it in service of every matter — large, small, and in-between. What matters to me is a happy client.”

Multiple publications and rating organizations have recognized Mr. Carter for his work, including Northern Virginia magazine and Lawdragon. For the past eight years, The Best Lawyers in America has honored him for his prowess in three areas of law: employment law, litigation, and qui tam law. He has been recognized by Super Lawyers for 13 years running and named multiple times on its “Top 100” list for all D.C. lawyers — not just employment specialists. In 2021, Mr. Carter was ranked by Chambers, a prestigious global legal directory. In 2023, Mr. Carter was nominated by his colleagues to become a fellow of the prestigious College of Labor and Employment Lawyers.

Mr. Carter received his law degree in 1991 from the Georgetown University Law Center, where he served as editor-in-chief of the American Criminal Law Review. He began his legal career as a law clerk to the Hon. Oliver Gasch of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, then spent several years defending individuals and corporations in white-collar criminal cases.

A founding attorney at TELG, Mr. Carter has since dedicated most of his career to employment law. His white-collar defense experience gives him insight into the tactics of opposing counsel in whistleblower actions under the False Claims Act, among other laws.

Mr. Carter is known for his sharp command of detail, first honed as a defender in criminal cases where small facts can make or break a case. He now represents clients in a wide range of venues, from federal courts to state courts to arbitration to informal Zoom negotiations.

He is admitted to practice law in the District of Columbia, Virginia, and Maryland, and in many federal courts around the nation — including the U.S. Supreme Court.

Mr. Carter is a member of the National Employment Lawyers Association and the Metropolitan Washington Employment Lawyers Association. He is an active participant in two social clubs for attorneys: the Barristers, for which he serves as treasurer, and the Counsellors, for which he served as president from 2018 to 2019.

Beyond professional associations, Mr. Carter spends much of his free time in service to his community. He is currently the treasurer of Friends of Stead Park, an organization dedicated to redeveloping a local park for children in D.C. He is also an active member of the Order of Malta, a Catholic organization through which he has helped to plan 15 pilgrimages to Lourdes for ill people and their companions.

Since the start of the pandemic, Mr. Carter has revisited many of his childhood hobbies, including gardening and sports — especially racquet sports. Cooking and baking are another interest, inspired in part by his mother and one of his sisters, both of whom have formal culinary training.

As an avid socializer and connoisseur of minutiae, he really missed trivia nights during the lockdown.