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About 

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 represents employees in a wide range of employment matters, including litigation in state and federal trial and appellate courts. Ms. Huhta also provides advice and counseling to individuals experiencing employment problems or disputes, including executives and lawyers, and she negotiates, 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 tens of 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 in 2017, Ms. Huhta practiced at a Washington D.C. boutique employment law firm for six years.  From 1999 to 2011, she ran the Equal Employment Opportunity and Public Accommodations Projects at one of D.C.’s premier civil rights organizations, the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights & Urban Affairs, where she represented individuals, classes and institutional clients such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in cases involving discrimination based on race, gender, age, religion and disability. 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. 

Annually since 2019, Ms. Huhta has been selected as one of the “Best Lawyers in America” representing individuals in employment law, and in 2023, she was selected as the “Best Lawyer” in the D.C. Metropolitan Area representing individuals in employment law.  Since 2019 she has also been rated as a top lawyer by “Super Lawyers.”  She currently serves on the Board of Directors of The Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights & Urban Affairs. 

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.

(*Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.)

Bar Admission and Professional Activity

  • Ms. Huhta is admitted to practice law only in Washington, D.C.
  • Ms. Huhta is admitted to the following federal courts: The United States District Courts for the District of Columbia and the District of Maryland; the United States Court of Federal Claims; and the United States Courts of Appeals for the District of Columbia and for the Fourth Circuit.
  • Member, American Bar Association
  • Member, National Employment Lawyers Association
  • Member, Metropolitan Washington Employment Lawyers Association (MWELA)
  • Member, Women’s Bar Association, D.C. Chapter
  • Member, Trial Lawyers Association, D.C. Chapter
  • Member, Board of Directors, The Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights & Urban Affairs
  • Past Member, Board of Directors, First Shift, 2019-2022
  • Past Member, Leadership Advisory Committee, National Women’s Law Center, 2020-2022
  • Past Member, Board of Directors, MWELA, 2010-2011
  • Past President, Washington Council of Lawyers, 1998

Video & Podcasts

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Speaking Engagements

2024

  • “The Year in Review – Discrimination & Retaliation Trends,” The National Labor & Employment Symposium, Steamboat Springs, Colorado.

2022

2021

  • Co-panelist: “Executive Compensation and Pensions,” Metropolitan Washington Employment Lawyers’ Association Virtual Seminar, Washington, D.C.

2020

  • Co-panelist: “Equal Pay and Workplace Hiring & Retention Policies,” D.C. Bar Annual Convention, Washington, D.C.

2019

2018

Blogs & Publications

Recent Changes to the District of Columbia’s Human Rights Law Protect More D.C. Workers From Harassment and Discrimination

Many states and local jurisdictions are amending their anti-discrimination and anti-harassment laws to specifically cover independent contractors and other workers not classified as employees. One of the latest jurisdictions to join this trend is the District of Columbia.

 

Looking Forward and Looking Back: Using the Pregnancy Discrimination Act and Discriminatory Gender/Pregnancy Stereotyping to Challenge Discrimination Against New Mothers

Susan E. Huhta, Westfall and Williams, 7 Emp. Rts. & Emp. Pol'y J. 303, 2003

Awards & Recognition

  • 2023: Best Lawyers – Lawyer of the Year for Employment Law – Individuals in Washington, D.C.
  • 2019-2024: Best Lawyer – Employment Law – Individuals
  • 2020-2024: Best Lawyer – Litigation – Labor and Employment
  • 2019-2023: Super Lawyers – Super Lawyer
  • 2019-2021: Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Employment Lawyers
  • 2023: Lawdragon 500 Civil Rights & Plaintiff Employment Lawyer
  • 2018: Avvo – Clients’ Choice Award
  • 2016-2018: National Trial Lawyers Association – Top 100 Lawyers (civil plaintiff’s side)
  • Washingtonian Magazine, Washington’s Top Lawyers, Individual Rights (2010)
  • Member, Order of the Coif
  • Articles Editor, Wisconsin Law Review

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