Joseph M. Sellers, founder and co-chair of the Civil Rights & Employment practice, is widely recognized as a civil rights and employment law visionary. He has helped lay the cornerstones of today’s employment and civil rights law through his work on the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the Civil Rights Act of 1991, and the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act of 2009, and by litigating landmark cases.

With a career spanning more than four decades, Joe has represented individuals and classes of people who have been denied their rights and opportunities of employment because of race, national origin, religion, age, disability, and sex, including sexual orientation and identity. He has represented victims of race discrimination in the denial of equal access to credit, in the rates charged for insurance and in the equal access to health clubs, retail stores, restaurants and other public places. He has challenged housing discrimination on the basis of race and the denial of housing and public accommodations to people with disabilities.  Joe is committed to fighting discrimination in all its forms. 

Joe has tried to judgment before courts and juries civil rights class actions and individual cases and has argued more than 30 appeals in federal and state appellate courts, including the United States Supreme Court. He has served as class counsel, and typically lead counsel, in more than 75 civil rights and employment class actions.

Joe’s body of work demonstrates his unshakeable commitment to serving clients vigorously and passionately for as long as the representation may require — shaping law for the common good along the way. 

Joe also serves as a leader inside the firm — as a member of the executive committee and a mentor to many.