Daniel M. Rosenthal

Danny Rosenthal is a leading advocate for worker rights.

Danny has often helped clients develop cutting-edge legal strategies to advance their interests. For instance, he led a team that relied on the public nuisance doctrine to obtain workplace protections from COVID-19 in the early months of the pandemic.

Danny currently works with unions of teachers, airline pilots, and baristas, among others. He has secured multi-million dollar awards and settlements in several labor arbitration matters. He has also served as the lead attorney in high-stakes union matters such as negotiating a teachers’ collective bargaining agreement and defending a union from accusations of trademark and copyright infringement by the employer.

Danny frequently represents federal government workers. During the second Trump administration, he has led efforts to challenge the mass termination of probationary employees through MSPB class actions. He has successfully represented federal government employees before the MSPB, EEOC, and in the Court of Federal Claims. He has often been asked to train other lawyers on representation of federal government employees.

Consistently recognized as a leader in the field, Danny was named one of the 500 leading plaintiff employment and civil rights lawyers in the United States by Lawdragon from 2021 to 2024. He was identified as a “Rising Star” by SuperLawyers for labor and employment law in Washington, DC, from 2018 to 2024.

Before joining the firm in 2011, Danny graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School. He received his college degree in mathematics with honors from the University of Chicago. From 2013 to 2014, he served as a law clerk for the Honorable William J. Kayatta, Jr., of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.

Danny lives in DC with his wife, Roxanna, and their two sons.

Representative matters:

Developed a lawsuit on behalf of Starbucks workers falsely accused by the company of crimes, and defeated employer’s motion arguing that the claims were preempted. Blume v. Starbucks (S.C. Ct. of Common Pleas 2023). Developed a lawsuit on behalf of a victim of sexual harassment and supported the trial team that obtained a $700,000 verdict. Doe v. District of Columbia (D.D.C. 2023). Briefed and argued successful appeals in defense of unions. American Airlines Flow-Thru Pilots Coalition v. Allied Pilots Association (9th Cir. 2022) (affirmance of judgment for union in duty of fair representation class action), Krakowski v. Allied Pilots Association (2d. Cir 2021) (affirmance of judgments for union in two related duty of fair representation class actions); Peterson v. Washington Teachers’ Union (D.C. 2018) (affirmance of dismissal of claim brought by former union officer). Represented employees of federal government agencies including the FBI, Department of Justice, Department of State, Department of Defense, Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Energy, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Agriculture, and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Obtained more than $14 million in backpay for D.C. Public School teachers in arbitrations and related proceedings. Represented a whistleblower under the False Claims Act and Anti-Kickback Statute, leading to settlements after discovery of more than $20 million. United States ex rel. Dean v. Paramedics Plus (E.D. Tex. 2018). Led a team that secured a preliminary injunction requiring certain McDonald’s restaurants to improve their COVID-19 safety measures under the public nuisance doctrine. Massey v. McDonald’s (Ill. Cir. Ct. 2020).