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Connie Bertram is head of Cooley's D.C. Employment & Labor and Government Contractor Compliance practice groups and a member of the firm's Litigation Department. She joined the firm in 2009 and is resident in the Washington, DC and Reston offices.
Ms. Bertram was selected as "Top Washington Lawyer" in Employment Litigation by Washington Business Journal in 2009. Ms. Bertram was also named the "Leading Lawyer" in labor and employment law by Legal Times in its most recent "Leading Lawyer" award series. She also was named a "Top Washington Lawyer" in employment law by Washingtonian Magazine in 2004, 2007, 2009 and 2011. Ms. Bertram was selected as a Washington, D.C. "Super Lawyer" in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011. She was nominated by clients to the "Legal Elite" in 2011.
Ms. Bertram concentrates her practice on labor and employment, whistleblower, government contractor compliance and handicap accessibility litigation and counseling. She counsels, investigates, and litigates disputes between employers and former employees concerning restrictive covenants and trade secret issues. She has defended complex employment and fair housing litigation matters across the country, including claims brought under Title VII, Age Discrimination in Employment Act, Americans with Disabilities Act, Fair Housing Act, Family Medical Leave Act, Sarbanes-Oxley Act, False Claims Act and other federal and state whistleblower provisions.
Ms. Bertram also advises federal government contractors and subcontractors on the many unique employment, affirmative action and other compliance issues that arise in the government contracts context, including (1) developing and implementing conflict of interest, ethics, and whistleblower policies and programs; (2) investigating and defending False Claims Act and other whistleblower complaints; (3) conducting internal audits and investigations; and (4) advising contractors and subcontractors with respect to all aspects of Office Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), Service Contract Act (SCA), and Davis-Bacon Act compliance and defending OFCCP and Department of Labor audits and enforcement proceedings.
Ms. Bertram publishes the Federal Contractor Compliance Watch blog, which tracks the near-daily developments in the compliance arena for government contractors and subcontractors, including the OFCCP and related agencies and departments.
Ms. Bertram's recent significant litigation and enforcement matters include:
- Prevailing on summary judgment in an action against a major D.C.-based employer alleging gender discrimination and retaliation
- Obtaining summary judgment in False Claims Act and trade secret litigation
- Obtaining sanctions against the plaintiff in a trade secret action and in an employment discrimination action
- Representation of a mid-Atlantic grocer before the Maryland Court of Special Appeals in a decision upholding the dismissal of state law claims of a former employee on federal preemption grounds
- Successfully defending a manufacturer in an eight-day jury trial of a former employee's age and sex discrimination claim
- Successfully opposing class certification in race discrimination and harassment actions
- Representation of national retailers and apartment owners/managers in lawsuits under the federal fair housing and handicap accessibility laws
- Successfully representing federal government contractors in OFCCP audits and enforcement proceedings
Ms. Bertram represents a number of employers in the Washington, D.C. area and around the country, including Pepco Holdings, Giant Food, U.S. Foodservice, MITRE Corporation, Hargrove, Inc., Lincoln Property Company, Orbital Sciences, PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP, ITT Industries, and GeoLogics, Inc.
Prior to joining Cooley, Ms. Bertram was a partner at Winston & Strawn. She is a member of the Labor and Employment Section of the American Bar Association, D.C. Bar Association, and Fairfax Bar Association. She is a past co-chair of the Steering Committee of D.C. Bar's Labor and Employment Section, and currently serves as Chair of the Whistleblower and Government Contractor committees of the section. Since 1995, Ms. Bertram has been an instructor for NITA's Trial Advocacy and Deposition Skills programs. She is the former Chair of United Way's Women's Leadership Council.
Ms. Bertram received a J.D., with honors, from George Washington University Law School in 1990, where she was a member of the editorial board of The George Washington Journal of International Law and Economics and on the Executive Committee of the Moot Court Board. She received a B.B.A. from the College of William & Mary in 1987.
Speeches and Publications:
Ms. Bertram is a frequent speaker on a variety of labor and employment relations, trade secrets, government contracts and handicap accessibility issues, including Sarbanes-Oxley and other whistleblower issues, internal investigations, trade secrets and restrictive convenants, ADA and FHA compliance and accommodation obligations, contingent workers, the Family and Medical Leave Act, OFCCP and contractor compliance, and sexual harassment. Ms. Bertram also has commented on employment issues for major publications, including the New York Times in a May 2007 article addressing the Supreme Court's decision to pay discrimination in Ledbetter v. Goodyear.
She has spoken at programs and seminars sponsored by Fed Pubs, the National Multi-Family Housing Council, National Apartment Association, Washington Metropolitan Area Corporate Counsel (WMACCA) Georgetown University, ALI-ABA, the ABA, the District of Columbia Bar and the Virginia Bar, and at other seminars and training conferences. Ms. Bertram is an instructor for Fed Pubs for programs concerning OFCCP and government contractor compliance. For many years, Ms. Bertram has served as a panelist at Georgetown University's "Views from the Bench: Employment Litigation" program. She also co-chairs a program for Georgetown University and ALI-ABA entitled "Evidence and Jury Instructions in Employment Litigation." Her article entitled "Sarbanes-Oxley: A New Whistle-Stop for Whistleblowers" was published in the Winter 2005 edition of The Labor Lawyer. She is on the editorial board of The Leave & Disability Coordination Handbook and a member of the Task Force rewriting the D.C. Superior Court jury instructions.
Education- George Washington University Law School
JD, 1990, With honors - College of William and Mary
BBA, 1987
Court Admissions
- District of Columbia Court of Appeals
- Maryland Court of Appeals
- U.S. Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit
- U.S. District Court, District of Columbia
- U.S. District Court, District of Maryland
- U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Virginia
- United States Supreme Court
- Virginia Supreme Court
Admissions
- District of Columbia
- Maryland
- Virginia
Memberships
- District of Columbia Bar Association
- Fairfax Bar Association
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