Douglas E Fierberg

Douglas E. Fierberg.  Twenty-five years ago, Mr. Fierberg expanded his Washington, D.C.-based trial practice to establish the legal practice of representing victims of school violence nationwide. The aim was to develop the premier national trial practice for victims; one superior to those developed over decades by institutions to blame and punish victims and defeat their just claims.  ;

The achievement of that goal is evidenced by:

• Unprecedented victories on behalf of victims in state and federal courts across the country;
• Tens and tens of millions of dollars in verdicts and settlements against fraternities, schools and wrongdoers;
• Legal concessions by institutions to make them safer and transparent;
• Specialized accommodations for sexual assault survivors to protect their educational rights; and
• Establishment of new legal precedent and a team of top-flight, passionate trial lawyers to aid school violence victims nationwide.

Mr. Fierberg founded the national litigation group, Schools: Violence, Misconduct, and Safety, which operates within and under the authority of the American Association for Justice. Mr. Fierberg is past President of the National Advisory Board of the National Crime Victim Bar Association. Mr. Fierberg was lead counsel for twenty families whose loved ones died or suffered catastrophic injuries as a result of the April 2007 massacre at Virginia Tech University, which resulted in a historic settlement with the Commonwealth of Virginia valued at more than $11 Million. He continues to serve as counsel for the VTV Family Outreach Foundation established by the settlement.  Identified as a SuperLawyer for many years.

Mr. Fierberg has been admitted to practice in federal, district and circuit courts serving Michigan, Maryland and the District of Columbia, and courts located in states in which he is not generally licensed to practice have allowed him to do so in order to serve as lead counsel for cases involving wrongful death, catastrophic personal injury, and complex commercial matters. This includes, among others, Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, New York, New Jersey, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.

Mr. Fierberg often lectures to professional legal associations, victims advocacy organizations, and universities on legal issues related to school violence and victims’ rights.  His most recent lectures include:  Harvard Law School; Gender Violence, Law and Social Justice, Litigating Against Fraternities, Schools and Students in Cases of Sexual Violence, Hazing and Other Deadly Misconduct (March, 2018; March 2015); and, National Center for Victims of Crime, Third Party Liability in Cases of Sexual Violence and Other Deadly Misconduct in Schools (December 2015).  Board Member (Current):  Women’s Resource Center, Traverse City, Michigan (“The mission of the Women’s Resource Center is to protect, shelter, and empower people impacted by domestic and sexual violence.”); Member, Senior Advisory Board (current):  Engender, Yale University (The mission of Engender is to advocate for gender-based integration of social spaces, including fraternities, and end discrimination that restricts and economic opportunities in the fraternity system to men.)

Mr. Fierberg graduated from the University of Michigan (BA, Psychology) with Class Honors in 1980, and received his law degree with Honors from The George Washington University National Law Center in 1988. He is a member of the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Michigan Bar.