Kristin D. Alden

Kristin D. Alden is a skilled litigator and fierce advocate dedicated to protecting employees’ rights in the workplace. Kristin and her firm have fought tirelessly to enforce the laws prohibiting harassment and discrimination, to protect brave employees who speak up against wrongdoing, and to compel employers to accommodate employees’ medical needs and pay them the wages they earn.

Kristin manages the firm’s practice while also representing its clients from virtually every workplace – the federal government, local government, corporations, and non-profits. Kristin has counseled and represented thousands of employees in claims against their current and former employers in court and before federal and local agencies charged with protecting civil rights in the workplace, including the D.C. Office of Human Rights, D.C. Office of Employee Appeals, D.C. Office of Administrative Hearings, Foreign Service Grievance Board, the Congressional Office of Compliance, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB), the Office of Special Counsel (OSC), the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA), the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS), the U.S. Department of Labor and local agencies in Virginia, DC and Maryland.

Employees from all walks of life have benefitted from Kristin’s extensive knowledge and experience, including corporate executives, lawyers, assembly line workers, construction workers, law enforcement, Foreign Service Officers, Senior Executives (SES), Special Agents, Air Traffic Controllers, TSA Agents, nurses, doctors, administrative judges, human resource professionals, IT professionals, software engineers, government contractors, and more.

Kristin has been representing federal employees for over twenty-five years. Kristin is widely recognized as an expert in the field. Kristin has testified as an expert on federal sector matters in court and administrative proceedings and has provided written opinions. She been honored with recognition from Washingtonian’s Top 100 Lawyers, U.S. News & World Report/Best Lawyers, U.S. News & World Report/Best Law Firm, and Super Lawyers, and she is rated “AV Preeminent” for the “highest level of professional excellence” and is a Martindale Hubble Client Champion.

Kristin enjoys teaching continuing legal education classes, dozens of which have focused on the art of representing employees before the Merit Systems Protection Board, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the Office of the Special Counsel. She has been involved in local organizations, including the D.C. Bar where she served as the Vice Chair of the Bar’s Continuing Legal Education (CLE) Committee following an extended term as a Member of the Committee. She was also deeply involved in the work of the D.C. Bar’s Labor and Employment Section where she chaired and presented CLEs and other courses. Earlier in her career, she served as the Public Sector Chair of the D.C. Bar’s Labor and Employment Section, where she prepared and presented programs on a variety of employment law topics. Kristin is also an active member of the National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA) and the Metropolitan Washington Employment Lawyers Association (MWELA).

Kristin received her J.D. in 1992 from the Washington College of Law of the American University and her B.A. from the Johns Hopkins University where, as an undergraduate, she attended its School of Advanced International Studies in Bologna, Italy. Kristin has been admitted to practice law in Virginia since 1992, followed by her admissions to the Bars of Maryland and the District of Columbia.

Below is a sampling of Kristin’s speaking engagements:

• Guiding Federal Employees Through a Complex Landscape, National Employment Lawyers Association, Chicago, IL, June 2018
• Nuts & Bolts of Discrimination Law, D.C. Bar, Continuing Legal Education, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016
• Introduction to Federal Personnel Law: Practice Before the EEOC, MSPB and OSC. D.C. Bar, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015
• Representing Federal Employees: Navigating a Complex Landscape, National Employment Lawyers Association, Fall Conference Committee, October 2014
• EEOC & MSPB Case Law Update, National Employment Lawyers Association, Washington, DC, Moderator, October 2014
• EEOC EXCEL conference, Effective Discovery: Do’s and Don’ts, San Diego, CA, August 2014
• Issue Spotting & Navigating Claims in Federal Sector Litigation, National Employment Lawyers Association, Boston, MA, Presenter & Moderator, June 2014
• Practice Before the EEOC: Practical Advice on Hearings, D.C. Bar Association, Continuing Legal Education, Presenter, May 2014
• Whistleblowers’ Protection Enhancement Act, D.C. Bar Association, March 2013
• Federal Circuit Bar Association’s MSPB Forum, Washington, D.C., February 2013
• Federal Sector Mediation and Arbitration, National Employment Lawyers Association, Seattle, WA, March 2012
• The Ins and Outs of Maximizing Damages & Recovering Attorney Fees In Federal Sector Cases, National Employment Lawyers Association Annual Convention, New Orleans, LA, June 2011
• Election of Remedies for Federal Sector Labor Unions, Washington, D.C., September 2010
• Federal Sector Employment Disputes, D.C. Bar Continuing Legal Education, Program Chair, Moderator and Presenter, September 2009
• Issue Spotting and Navigating the Federal Sector Labyrinth, National Employment Lawyers Association Annual Convention, Palm Springs, CA, June 2009
• Advanced EEO Workshop Series, EEOC Training Institute, Presenter, May 2009
• Special Considerations in Federal Sector Constructive Discharge Claims, NELA Annual Convention, San Juan, PR, June 2007
• Fundamentals of Employment Law in the District of Columbia, Program Chair, D.C. Bar’s Labor and Employment Section, Continuing Legal Education program, October 2004
• Best Practice Tips for Litigating Federal Employee Cases, National Employment Lawyers Association’s Federal Sector Convention, Washington, D.C., October 2004
• Discovery & Evidentiary Issues in Litigating Federal Employee Cases, National Employment Lawyers Association, Annual Convention, San Antonio, TX, June 2004
• Litigating a Federal Sector Case at the EEOC, D.C. Bar’s Labor and Employment Section, Public Sector Committee, October 2003
• Pitfalls to Avoid in Settling EEO Complaints, American Bar Association, Labor & Employment Law Section, Federal Service Committee, Washington, D.C., January 2003
• Settlements in Public Sector Cases: Thinking Outside the Box, D.C. Bar, Labor and Employment Section, Public Sector Committee, Washington, D.C., January 2003
• How to Litigate a Federal Sector EEO Case, Metropolitan Washington Employment Lawyers Association, November 2002
• EEO Investigations, Rights and Obligations, and Reprisal, Federal Training Foundation, May 2002
• Reasonable Accommodations, NAACP Federal Sector Task Force Summit III, January 2002