Outten & Golden LLP

Susan E. Huhta

SUSAN E. HUHTA is the partner in charge of Outten & Golden's Washington, D.C. office, where she heads the D.C. office's individual practice group. She is Co-Chair of the firm's Discrimination and Retaliation Practice Group, and has represented employees in a wide range of employment matters, including litigation in state and federal trial courts, appellate courts and administrative agencies, for over 20 years. Ms. Huhta also provides advice and counseling to individuals experiencing employment problems or disputes, including executives and lawyers, and she negotiates employment contracts, as well as non-compete, bonus, change of control, separation and severance agreements.

Ms. Huhta’s employment practice focuses on claims of wrongful termination, discrimination, sexual harassment, retaliation, family and medical leave act violations, and breaches of contract. She also represents whistleblowers and individuals who experience adverse employment action as a result of opposing illegal or unethical corporate practices. Ms. Huhta has recovered millions of dollars in lost compensation and other damages for individuals who were wrongfully terminated or otherwise mistreated in the workplace.

Before joining Outten & Golden, Ms. Huhta practiced at a boutique employment law firm in D.C. for six years, and prior to that, for over 10 years, she ran the Employment and Public Accommodations Projects at one of D.C.’s premier civil rights organizations, the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights & Urban Affairs. She began her law career in Washington, D.C. as a litigation associate at Arnold & Porter LLP, and she clerked for the Honorable Barbara B. Crabb, United States District Court Judge for the Western District of Wisconsin. Ms. Huhta received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Cornell University and graduated cum laude from the University of Wisconsin School of Law, where she served as an Articles Editor of the Wisconsin Law Review and the President of the Wisconsin Law School’s Women’s Law Student Association.

Ms. Huhta serves on the Leadership Advisory Council of the National Women’s Law Center. She also serves on the Board of Directors of The Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights & Urban Affairs, as well as First Shift, a D.C.-based non-profit that provides employment-related legal assistance to low-income pregnant women and parents. She is a past president of the Washington Council of Lawyers, D.C.’s voluntary bar association that promotes public interest and pro bono work, and for many years has been an active member of the Metropolitan Washington Employment Lawyers Association. Ms. Huhta has been recognized by Washingtonian Magazine as a “Top Lawyer” by Washingtonian Magazine, and as one of the “Top 100 Lawyers” in civil plaintiff-side litigation by the National Trial Lawyers Association. In 2019, she was selected by her peers as a one of the “Best Lawyers in America” representing individuals in employment law, and by Lawdragon as one of the 500 Leading Plaintiff Employment Lawyers.

Ms. Huhta employs a highly client-centric approach, carefully considering all aspects of a client’s life and needs in helping develop and implement strategic decisions. She believes that every single client — without regard to position in life — deserves a dedicated, compassionate, and tenacious advocate.

Ms. Huhta is admitted to practice law in Washington, D.C. Ms. Huhta is admitted to the following federal courts: The United States District Courts for the District of Columbia and the District of Maryland; the United States Courts of Appeals for the District of Columbia and for the Fourth Circuit; and the United States Court of Federal Claims. More About This Attorney »

Daniel S. Stromberg

DANIEL S. STROMBERG is Partner and eDiscovery Counsel at Outten & Golden LLP. He is head of O&G's eDiscovery Practice Area, where he advises clients and case teams on discovery strategies, best practices, protocols and technologies, and oversees discovery collections, managed review, and productions. Mr. Stromberg frequently speaks on eDiscovery issues from a plaintiff's perspective, and teaches electronic discovery at the University of Virginia.

Mr. Stromberg negotiates eDiscovery agreements and helps manage discovery strategy and processes in cases in all areas of employment law, including wage and hour and discrimination class actions. His practice particularly focuses on the use of technology to effectively advocate for sufficient and defensible discovery. Before joining Outten & Golden LLP, Mr. Stromberg worked as Director of Discovery Technology at a boutique discovery firm, and as a Senior E-Discovery Consultant with a leading eDiscovery technology provider.

Mr. Stromberg earned his B.A., cum laude, from the University of Rochester and his J.D. from The George Washington University Law School. He is admitted to practice in Virginia and the District of Columbia, and is a member of The Sedona Conference Working Group for Electronic Document Retention and Production.

He is admitted to practice in Virginia and the District of Columbia. More About This Attorney »

Hannah Cole-Chu

HANNAH COLE-CHU is an associate in Outten & Golden’s Washington, D.C. office, and is a member of the firm’s Class & Collective Action Practice Group. Ms. Cole-Chu represents employees in class and collective action litigation in state and federal court. Her wage and hour practice focuses on representing employees misclassified as exempt from overtime laws and those forced to work off-the-clock. Ms. Cole-Chu represents individuals working in diverse fields including the restaurant, financial services, and transportation industries. She also represents veterans and reservists with claims under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), including those entitled to compensation by their employer during periods of military leave.

Prior to joining Outten & Golden, Ms. Cole-Chu clerked for the Honorable Alvin W. Thompson of the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut. She received her B.A. from Bard College and her J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law. During law school, Ms. Cole-Chu was Editor in Chief of the Maryland Law Review and Co-President of the Maryland Public Interest Law Project.

Ms. Cole-Chu is active in several of the firm’s pro bono matters, and is a Co-Chair of the Lawyers’ Alliance, an annual fundraising campaign to support the Public Justice Center based in Baltimore, MD.

Ms. Cole-Chu is admitted to practice law only in Maryland and the District of Columbia. Ms. Cole-Chu is admitted to the following federal courts: The United States District Courts for the District of Maryland and the District of Columbia. More About This Attorney »

Cassandra W. Lenning

CASSANDRA W. LENNING is a partner at Outten & Golden LLP, where she is part of the Firm’s individual practice group and an active member of several of the firm’s practice groups, including Discrimination & Harassment, Executives & Professionals, Family Responsibilities & Disability Discrimination, and Sexual Harassment & Sex Discrimination.

Ms. Lenning represents employees and executives in litigation, arbitration, and negotiation in all areas of employment law. Her litigation practice focuses on claims of discrimination, retaliation, equal pay, breach of contract, and wrongful termination, as well as representing individuals sued by their employers for alleged violations of restrictive covenants. She also provides advice and counsel to clients with respect to non-compete, separation, bonus and compensation, and severance agreements.

Before joining Outten & Golden in 2017, Ms. Lenning practiced at a boutique employment law firm in D.C., and prior to that, she litigated complex human rights cases at D.C.-based non-profit organization. She served as a fellow at the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington State, and the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs, where she worked on employment discrimination and wage and hour matters.

Ms. Lenning received her undergraduate degree, cum laude, from the University of Washington in Seattle, and her J.D. from Duke University School of Law. During law school, Ms. Lenning was actively involved in multiple civil rights organizations, and spent her summers interning at public interest organizations.

In 2018, Ms. Lenning was selected by her peers and recognized by Super Lawyers as a 2019 Rising Star.

Ms. Lenning is admitted to practice law only in Virginia, the District of Columbia, and Washington State. Ms. Lenning is admitted to the following federal courts: the Supreme Court of the United States; the United States District Courts for the District of Colorado, the District of Columbia; the District of Maryland, and the Western District of Washington; and the United States Court of Federal Claims. More About This Attorney »

Pooja Shethji

POOJA SHETHJI is an associate at Outten & Golden’s Washington, D.C. office and is a member of the firm’s Class & Collective Action Practice Group. She represents employees in a wide range of class action discrimination cases and wage and hour lawsuits. Her practice includes cases challenging age- and gender-based discrimination in digital advertising, the prosecution of wage theft claims on behalf of workers required to work off the clock, and litigation to enforce veterans’ and reservists’ rights under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA).

Before joining the firm, Ms. Shethji served as a law clerk to the Honorable Joseph A. Greenaway, Jr. of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, and to the Honorable Theodore D. Chuang of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland. She also completed internships with the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, the American Civil Liberties Union’s Racial Justice Project, the Urban Justice Center’s Community Development Project, and the Center for Popular Democracy.

Ms. Shethji received her B.A. from Yale College and her J.D., cum laude, from New York University School of Law, where she was a Root-Tilden-Kern Public Interest Scholar and an Articles Editor for the NYU Law Review. Ms. Shethji received the Paul D. Kaufman Memorial Award for her law review note, Credit Checks Under Title VII: Learning from the Criminal Background Check Context, as well as the Schulte Roth & Zabel Prize for excellence in employment and employee benefits law.

Ms. Shethji is admitted to practice law only in New York and the District of Columbia. Ms. Shethji is admitted to the following federal courts: The United States District Court for the District of Maryland, the District of Columbia; and the United States Courts of Appeals for the Third Circuit, the Fourth Circuit, the Seventh Circuit, and the Ninth Circuit. More About This Attorney »