Seth Rosenthal is an experienced trial and appellate lawyer who represents individuals and businesses in criminal matters, investigations by state and federal regulators, and complex commercial and civil rights litigation.  Mr. Rosenthal also manages Venable’s pro bono program and serves as chair of the firm’s pro bono committee.

Experience

Mr. Rosenthal’s recent experience includes:

• obtaining a probationary sentence in federal court in the District of Columbia for a government employee accused of receiving a kickback
• representing an elected official accused of misappropriating government funds
• obtaining a favorable ruling, after a federal court bench trial, for former partners whose law firm improperly reduced their liquidating capital account balances by more than $1 million
• representing several individuals and government contractors, online marketers and trade associations in connection with federal grand jury and agency inspector general investigations probing allegations of false claims, Procurement Integrity Act violations, deceptive trade practices, fraud and conflict of interest
• conducting internal investigations on behalf of government contractors involving, among other things, false claims, theft and data misappropriation
• avoiding federal charges for the founder of a payment processing company suspected of illegally processing online gaming payments
• representing online marketer facing allegations of deceptive trade practices by a coalition of 40 state attorneys general
• advising and representing nationwide child care company in connection with issues involving care for children with disabilities
• negotiating settlement agreement with Justice Department on behalf of community bank accused of lending discrimination
• leading successful effort to secure the release of a DC man wrongly imprisoned for 19 years for a murder he did not commit
• obtaining dismissal with prejudice of nuisance suit against solid waste processing facility in DC and helping secure comprehensive settlement agreement with DC government allowing facility to remain in operation
• briefing, arguing and prevailing in the Maryland Court of Special Appeals a precedent-setting Public Information Act lawsuit seeking State Police records regarding the investigation of racial profiling complaints
• representing individual alleging racial profiling and malicious prosecution against state troopers

Mr. Rosenthal is also a member of the Criminal Justice Act panel in the District of Maryland and is currently appointed to represent a federal death row prisoner in post-conviction proceedings.

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 numerous grand jury investigations and successfully tried to verdict or obtained guilty pleas in more than twenty high-profile cases involving 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 has been active in the DC Bar, recently serving as co-chair of the steering committee of the Criminal Law and Individual Rights Section.  He has been an instructor in a number of trial advocacy courses, including various National Institute for Trial Advocacy programs, 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, the advisory committee of the DC Bar Foundation, and the Board of the DC Access to Justice Commission Foundation.