Seth Rosenthal is an experienced trial lawyer, litigator and advisor who represents individuals and businesses in criminal matters, complex commercial litigation and investigations by an array of state and federal regulators.

Significant Matters

Mr. Rosenthal maintains a diverse practice. His recent experience includes the following:

• representing companies in a range of industries, including online sales and marketing, mortgage lending, payment processing, government contracting, child care and waste management, that are either in litigation with or under investigation by federal or state government agencies, including the U.S. Department of Justice and various State Attorneys General;
• conducting internal corporate investigations involving alleged data misappropriation, theft and false claims;
• litigating, through trial, management disputes involving small business owners, including partners in a nationally-renowned law firm, a partner in a local medical practice and a member of a family-owned real estate enterprise;
• representing trade associations in a variety of matters, including drafting an amicus curiae brief before the Maryland Court of Appeals, conducting an internal ethics investigation, and handling a federal grand jury probe; and
• as general litigation counsel for a large, Virginia-based construction company, overseeing and participating in litigation involving a broad range of matters, including commercial contract disputes.

Mr. Rosenthal also has an active pro bono practice.  Among other matters, he led a successful effort to secure the recent release of a D.C. man wrongly imprisoned for 19 years for a murder he did not commit. 

Prior to joining Venable, Mr. Rosenthal developed an extensive body of courtroom experience in the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division, where he conducted dozens of grand jury investigations and successfully tried to verdict numerous high profile cases involving forced labor/human trafficking, police misconduct and hate crimes, as well as related charges of obstruction of justice, false statements and fraud.  He also handled all facets of class action-type civil litigation, including trial, in cases arising under the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act.

Early in his career, Mr. Rosenthal litigated death penalty and prison reform cases as a Skadden Public Interest Fellow at the Southern Center for Human Rights.  Prior to joining Venable, he served as legal director of a non-profit organization, where he managed a team of lawyers, interacted with members of Congress and their staffs, and appeared frequently in print and broadcast media.

Activities

Mr. Rosenthal serves as co-chair of the steering committee of the Criminal Law and Individual Rights Section of the D.C. Bar.  He has been an instructor in a number of trial advocacy courses, including the National Institute for Trial Advocacy's advanced trial skills program, and an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center and George Washington University Law School.

Mr. Rosenthal is on the boards of directors of the Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project and Anne Frank House. He coaches in Cap City Little League.