So, you feel that your agency discriminated against you and you want to fight for justice? You the federal employee looking for an attorney deserve the truth. When looking for an attorney to pursue the EEO Process it is essential to find a federal discrimination attorney who is honest and straightforward. Hiring an attorney is a serious matter. Lets face it, attorneys are not cheap and the process of litigating cases is rarely pleasant. You the federal employee are entitled to be given the facts and figures of what litigating a federal EEO case looks like from the beginning to end before you lay out your hard earned money.
When I work with clients in pursuing the Federal EEO process I make a point of laying out how difficult and potentially expensive it can be to litigate an EEO case from start to finish. In fact I often will discourage a federal employee from hiring my firm or any other firm before litigating an EEO case. The facts and figures are daunting when you Google what the results can be for the typical EEO case in the federal system. If I were reading this blog now and were contemplating whether or not to hire an attorney for my EEO case, right about now I would be questioning why a federal employee attorney would be discouraging me from hiring him. Good question!! The answer is two-fold: First, there are good cases out there and you happen to have one you are entitled to strong representation so the agency does not continue to discriminate against you, harass you, fail to accommodate you or wrongfully terminate you from your livelihood. Second, lets face it a lot of EEO cases result from bad supervisory behavior, in other words, a non-people person supervisor who bully’s or micro-manages his or her employees. Though discrimination might take a lot of time and effort to prove the reality of the federal employee system is there are not many other ways a federal employee can fight back against his or her manager. Often times the EEO process allows for mediation. Throughout my career I have settled hundreds of federal cases in mediation that resulted in a better working environment and more enjoyable atmosphere between the employer and employee. Of course the facts of all cases are unique and it is improper and unethical to bring a case for discrimination if you do not sincerely feel you have been discriminated against. But if you sincerely believe you have suffered discrimination and are thinking about hiring an attorney you owe it to yourself to find one who will give you an honest assessment of the likelihood of winning the case, the likelihood of positively resolving the case in mediation and the realistic expenses involved in pursuing your case. With the right case you can win your attorneys fees back and be completely made whole with damages, but you owe it to yourself to have your case evaluated by an attorney who will give you an honest assessment of the likelihood of a successful outcome.
At the Law Offices of Eric L. Pines, PLLC we discuss the basics of your case and if we see clearly that it is not worth your time we will not take your case. If you have a potentially strong case or strongly desire to have your case assessed we will do a more intensive assessment of your case for a limited flat fee and based on our 18 years of experience we will tell you whether we feel it makes sense to continue to pursue your case with an attorney or just to pursue your case on your own.