Lynne Bernabei

Lynne Bernabei has been litigating employment discrimination, civil rights, and whistleblower protection cases for over thirty years. She is a founding partner of Bernabei & Kabat, PLLC, where she handles claims of civil rights violations, discrimination, and other employment and contract disputes. Ms. Bernabei has developed extensive trial experience in federal and local courts in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia, and before administrative agencies. Ms. Bernabei has argued appeals before the United States Courts of Appeals for the Third Circuit, the Fourth Circuit, the Sixth Circuit, the D.C. Circuit, and the Federal Circuit.

Lynne Bernabei received a Bachelor of Arts degree, magna cum laude, from Harvard University in 1972. In 1977, she received a J.D. degree, cum laude, from Harvard Law School. Ms. Bernabei clerked for the Honorable William B. Bryant, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, from 1977-1978.

Ms. Bernabei was selected for inclusion in all editions of The Best Lawyers In America, since 2006. From 2002 onward, the Washingtonian magazine named Lynne Bernabei on its list of Best Attorneys in Washington, D.C. In April, 2004 the Legal Times Magazine named Lynne Bernabei one of top 12 Leading Labor & Employment Litigators in Washington, D.C. In November, 2002, Washingtonian magazine named Ms. Bernabei as one of Washington, D.C.’s top 75 lawyers. In November, 1997, Washingtonian magazine named Ms. Bernabei as one of Washington, D.C.’s top 100 most powerful women. Ms. Bernabei has also been featured in an article that appeared in The City Paper in August of 1992, entitled “The Women to See,” and in the July/August, 1988 edition of The American Lawyer, entitled “Lynne Bernabei: In Tune with Whistle-Blowers.” She was also featured in an article that appeared in The Washington Lawyer, entitled “Whistleblowers and the Law,” June 2001

Ms. Bernabei has appeared on “Sixty Minutes,” the “Today” show, Court TV, CBS, NBC, ABC, CNN, FOX, and MSNBC national news broadcasts, National Public Radio, and many other broadcast media outlets. She has also been quoted regularly by New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe, People, Time, National Law Journal, Legal Times, ABA Journal, and numerous other print media outlets for her expertise in employment law and civil rights issues.

Ms. Bernabei serves as a member of the editorial board of the Labor Law Journal and formerly served on the board of the Journal of Employment Discrimination. She is also a faculty member of the American Law Institute-American Bar Association and teaches courses on employment law and civil rights matters for the District of Columbia Bar and as a guest lecturer at law schools. Ms. Bernabei has been selected as a member of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers and is also a member of the National Employment Lawyers Association and the American Bar Association. Ms. Bernabei is on the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) for its National Roster of Neutrals.

Representative Matters:

• Successfully prosecuted major sex harassment and retaliation case on behalf of 11 employees against a large employer. These cases led to enactment of New York State and New York City laws to protect unpaid interns from sex harassment and other forms of workplace discrimination.
• Represented employees and managers in the financial and mortgage finance industries who blew the whistle on corporate illegalities, financial fraud, and other violations of federal laws.
• Successful representation of female and minority professors in tenure denial cases and termination cases across the country.
• Representation of corporate executives in negotiating severance packages after termination, including provisions relating to stock and stock options.
• Significant practice in representing government officials who were retaliated against for having reported discrimination or illegal conduct.