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

Mr. Rosenthal developed an extensive body of courtroom experience during nearly 10 years in the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division. As a trial attorney in the Division's Criminal Section, 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 related charges of obstruction of justice, false statements and fraud. Earlier, as a member of the Division's Housing Section, Mr. Rosenthal 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. Mr. Rosenthal's work at the Justice Department, together with his previous accomplishments litigating death penalty and prison reform cases as a Skadden Public Interest Fellow at the Southern Center for Human Rights, earned him recognition by Washingtonian magazine as one of DC's "top 40 under 40" lawyers.

Significant Matters

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

• representing companies in a range of industries, including mortgage lending, 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, the D.C. Attorney General, the State of Maryland and the New York State Attorney General;
• representing small business owners embroiled in management disputes, 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;
• representing several large corporations under scrutiny by the U.S. Congress; and
• serving as general litigation counsel for a large, Virginia-based construction company.

Mr. Rosenthal also led a successful, newsworthy effort to secure the 2008 release of a D.C. man wrongly imprisoned for 20 years for a murder he did not commit. 

Immediately prior to joining Venable, Mr. Rosenthal was legal director of Alliance for Justice, where he managed a team of lawyers who produced detailed reports on federal judicial nominations and civil justice reform initiatives, interacted with members of Congress and their staffs, and appeared frequently in print and broadcast media, particularly in connection with recent Supreme Court appointments.

Activities

Mr. Rosenthal serves on the steering committee of the Criminal Law and Individual Rights Section of the D.C. Bar. He has been an instructor in 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, Anne Frank House and the Community Council for the Homeless at Friendship Place. He coaches in Cap City Little League.