Debra Katz

Debra Katz represented Dawn Dunning, who testified against Harvey Weinstein during his criminal trial in February 2020.

In March 2020, Weinstein was found guilty of criminal sexual assault in the first degree and rape in the third degree.

In February 2020, it was reported that the American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA) reached a deal in which it would limit the union’s comments about the investigation into Domingo, and Domingo would pay the union $500,000. The deal fell apart after details were made public by the Associated Press. Domingo has since withdrawn from AGMA.

Weinstein was not criminally charged in connection with Dunning’s allegations – but the prosecution used her testimony to show a pattern of behavior.

Debra Katz represents Patricia Wulf, the first woman to come forward publicly with information detailing the sexual harassment allegations against opera star Placido Domingo, and Angela Turner Wilson, another professional singer with similar claims regarding Domingo. In interviews with the Associated Press and National Public Radio, Ms. Wulf detailed Domingo’s repeated unwelcome sexual advances and propositions that created a sexually hostile work environment for women.

Wulf and Wilson’s accusations ultimately led to Domingo withdrawing from his Metropolitan Opera performances and submitting his resignation as the director of the Los Angeles Opera. Domingo has either withdrawn from or been removed from all scheduled performances with U.S. opera companies, and several in Europe.

Debra Katz represents Dr. Rick Bright, a federal scientist who served as director of the Department of Health and Human Services’ Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority until his removal in April 2020.

Dr. Bright alleges that he was retaliated against after raising concerns about the federal government’s lack of medical protective equipment, and its apparent unwillingness to take urgent action to adequately prepare for the coronavirus pandemic. Additionally, Dr. Bright was reluctant to push unproven, and potentially dangerous drugs – specifically, the antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine – through approval processes, despite pressure from his superiors who Dr. Bright believed were acting on political motivations, rather than scientific merit.

Katz represents Vanessa C. Tyson, associate professor at Scripps College, who in 2019 alleged that Justin Fairfax sexually assaulted her in 2004.

Katz's work representing victims of sexual harassment and assault, discrimination, and retaliation also won her recognition as a Law360 2019 “Titan of the Plaintiffs Bar” – an annual award bestowed upon ten influential plaintiff-side attorneys who had a significant impact in the past year inside and outside the courtroom.

T’ruah, an organization of rabbis and cantors with the mission of advancing human rights around the world, honored Katz with the Raphael Lemkin Human Rights Award during its “Celebration of Human Rights” event.

Katz represented a former aide to Congressman Patrick Meehan who accused the Pennsylvania representative of sexual harassment. Meehan and the aide reached a confidential settlement using taxpayer money, which became public in January 2018. A few months later, Meehan resigned from Congress before the House Ethics Committee could complete its full investigation.

Katz represented Chloe Caras, a former Director of Operations for Isabella Eatery in her sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit against celebrity chef Mike Isabella, Mike Isabella Concepts, and four of his business partners. The lawsuit was settled in May 2018. The financial terms of the settlement remain confidential, but included is a binding agreement requiring the restaurant company to implement harassment training and stronger policies to prevent future sexual harassment.

Katz represents Christine Blasey Ford, professor at Palo Alto University, who in September 2018 alleged that U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her in the early 1980s, when they were both teenagers.

Debra Katz, Carolyn Wheeler and Joseph Abboud represented members of a student feminist group at the University of Mary Washington who were subjected to online harassment and threats. In December 2018, the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that university officials had an obligation to proactively protect the students against online sexual harassment, and that such action would not infringe any student's free speech rights. This ruling represents the first time that students have a constitutional right to a school environment free from student-on-student sexual harassment.

Katz is a Fellow at The College of Labor and Employment Lawyers, a Member of the International Women's Forum, and a Fellow of the American Bar Association. Katz was named the “Civil Rights Lawyer of the Year” for Washington by The Best Lawyers In America for 2018, a pioneering #MeToo attorney by the Washington Post and Washingtonian Magazine, and was listed as one of Forward's 50 American Jews who have had a profound impact in 2018.

Katz was honored as a 2018 Lawyer of the Year by the Metropolitan Washington Lawyers Association along with her colleague, Lisa Banks. The award is presented annually to one or more Washington, DC attorneys who have achieved great accomplishments, and whose work embodies the mission of the association. Katz was recognized for the influential role she has played in the #MeToo movement through her representation of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, Michelle Manning Barish, Chloe Caras, and Irwin Reiter.

In July 2011, ArmorGroup North America and its affiliates paid $7.5 million to resolve allegations that AGNA submitted false claims for payment on a State Department contract to provide armed guard services at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan. The settlement resolves U.S. claims that in 2007 and 2008, AGNA guards violated the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) by visiting brothels in Kabul, and that AGNA's management knew about the guards’ activities. The settlement resolves a whistleblower suit filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia under seal by James Gordon against AGNA, ArmorGroup International plc, G4S plc and Wackenhut Services Inc. under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act.

Katz represented a former staffer of Congressman Eric Massa in his sexual harassment complaint against Massa. Stories published in NBC, Politico and the Washington Post detailed the egregious sexual harassment suffered by many of Massa's staffers, and the power structure put in place to facilitate such behavior. Massa resigned in March 2010, during a pending House Ethics Committee investigation. In November 2017, it was reported that a number of Massa's former staffers were paid nearly $100,000 of taxpayer funds in settlements.

Dunning, a former aspiring actress, testified that after she met Weinstein in the early 2000s, they formed a relationship she believed would help her career. However, during business meetings, Weinstein propositioned Dunning for sex and sexually assaulted her.

Katz was raised in Woodmere, New York as a Reform Jew. and graduated from George W. Hewlett High School. In 1980, she received a Bachelor of Arts degree (summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa) from Union College and in 1984, a J.D. cum laude from the University of Wisconsin Law School where she was a member of the Wisconsin Law Review and as Articles Editor of the Wisconsin Women's Law Journal.