David Fortney

Co-Founder, Fortney & Scott LLC

and former Chief Legal Officer, U.S. Department of Labor

Mr. Fortney is a co-founder of Fortney & Scott, LLC, a Washington, D.C.-based law firm counseling and advising clients on the full spectrum of work-place related matters, including pay equity, employment discrimination and labor matters, compliance programs, government contracting, international dispute resolution and counseling matters, and developing strategies for avoiding or responding to workplace-related crises. Fortney & Scott, LLC has been recognized, both locally and nationally, as a leading management employment law firm in the prestigious Best Law Firms survey for 2011-2019 by U.S. News & World Report and Best Lawyers for Washington, D.C.

Mr. Fortney has a broad-based practice representing and counseling employers and executives in employment and labor matters, including equal employment opportunity requirements, wage and hour matters, federal contractor’s affirmative action and non-discrimination obligations, collective bargaining, workplace health and safety, and pension and welfare benefits. He brings experience from the public and private sectors in advising clients on these issues, and he frequently represents clients before the U.S. Department of Labor’s agencies, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the National Labor Relations Board. Mr. Fortney previously served as the Deputy and Acting Solicitor of Labor (chief legal officer) at the U.S. Department of Labor where he represented all DOL agencies. Mr. Fortney’s also has experience in litigation as well as in designing and implementing Alternative Dispute Resolution procedures to help resolve employment claims in an efficient and fair manner.

Mr. Fortney has been widely recognized for his professional accomplishments, including being named one of the leading employment lawyers in Washington, D.C. by the Chambers USA survey of America’s Leading Lawyers for Business in all years from 2005 through present. He was selected for inclusion in the 2009 through present editions of The Best Lawyers in America, Washington D.C.; Washington D.C.’s Best Lawyers; and Super Lawyers. Mr. Fortney also has an AV rating (the highest level) by Martindale-Hubbell.