DANIEL B. EDELMAN
YABLONSKI, BOTH & EDELMAN
1140 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Suite 800
Washington, D.C. 20036
(202) 833-9060
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DANIEL B. EDELMAN |
Daniel B. Edelman is a founding partner in the law firm of Yablonski, Both & Edelman. He was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College in 1966 and cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1969.
Mr. Edelman was law clerk to Honorable Harry A. Blackmun on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (August 1969-June 1970) and the U.S. Supreme Court (June 1970-June 1971).
Between July 1971 and December 1972, Mr. Edelman worked as a staff attorney at the Miners Project, a public-interest law firm that represented coal miners in union-democracy and coal-mine health and safety litigation. These efforts culminated in historic reforms in the internal governance of the United Mine Workers of America.
Mr. Edelman was Associate General Counsel of the United Mine Workers from December 1972 through October 1975. He represented the union in trial, appellate, and administrative proceedings under the Labor-Management Relations Act, the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act, and the Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act and arbitration proceedings under the National Bituminous Coal Wage Agreement. He shared legal oversight of internal functions including the union’s political action program and the pension plan for its officers and employees. He was the principal UMW negotiator for the 1974 National Coal Mine Construction Agreement and the Anthracite Wage Agreement of 1975.
Mr. Edelman joined in forming Yablonski, Both & Edelman in Washington, D.C. in October 1975 where he has practiced continuously. The firm’s practice, emphasizes complex civil litigation including prosecution and defense of labor, civil rights, employee benefits, antitrust, personal injury, disability, and breach of contract claims. Mr. Edelman has annually received the top rating of AV in the Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory since shortly after the firm was founded. Other partners in the firm are Joseph A. Yablonski and Charles R. Both.
In 1999, Yablonski, Both & Edelman succeeded before the U.S. Supreme Court in establishing a liberalized standard for punitive damages in federal civil rights cases in Kolstad v. American Dental Association, 527 U.S. 526 (1999), vacating, 108 F.3d 1431 (D.C. Cir. 1998). The liberalized standard has since been applied in hundreds of federal civil rights cases under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Americans with Disabilities Act.
In 1988, Yablonski, Both & Edelman secured recognition of a more generous framework for determining the amount of court-awarded attorneys fees for attorneys who charge below-market hourly rates with a view to making legal representation available to plaintiffs seeking to bring civil rights and other statutory fee claims. The decision, which has since governed attorneys fees in federal and local courts in the District of Columbia and also in administrative agencies, entitles such attorneys to be paid market rates for representation of plaintiffs who prevail in civil rights and other statutory-fee cases. Save our Cumberland Mountains v. Hodel, 857 F.2d 1516 (D.C. Cir. 1988)(en banc). The decision has substantially encouraged attorneys in the District of Columbia to provide legal representation to persons who cannot afford to pay market rates.
Mr. Edelman and the firm have participated as cooperating counsel in civil rights litigation sponsored by the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights under Law and the Washington Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs.
Representative decisions involving Mr. Edelman’s long-term litigation undertakings include:
Ambromovage v. United Mine Workers of America, 726 F.2d 972 (3rd Cir. 1984)(successful culmination of defense of union in 20-year, multi-million dollar, pension derivative suit);
United Mine Workers of America v. Allied Corporation , 765 F.2d 412 (4th Cir.)(en banc), cert. denied, 473 U.S. 905 (1985)(requiring employer to provide ongoing retiree health coverage for violation of collectively-bargained successorship provision);
NAACP v. Detroit Police Officers Association and City of Detroit , 900 F.2d 903 (6th Cir.), cert. denied, 498 U.S. 983 (1990)(defense of constitutional challenge to lay-offs of police officers);
Detroit Police Officers Association v. Young, 920 F. Supp.755 (E.D. Mich. 1995)(defense of constitutional challenge to affirmative-action promotions of police officers);
Bidwell v. Garvey, 943 F.2d 498 (4th Cir. 1991), cert. denied, 502 U.S. 1099 (1992)(affirmance of $30 million judgment for delinquent pension payments);
Jenson v. Eveleth Taconite Co., 130 F.3d 1287 (8th Cir. 1997)(appellate briefing of psychic damage issues in first-ever class sexual harassment suit).
Mr. Edelman has taken part, under court auspices, in mediated settlements of large-scale employment class actions including:
In re Pepco Employment Litigation, C.A. No. 86-603 (D.D.C.)(settlement in 1993 of longstanding class litigation involving claims of discrimination against black and female PEPCO employees and applicants);
Detroit Police Officers Association v. Young, C.A. No. 74-71838 (E.D.Mich.)(1996 settlement of 22-year class action challenging affirmative action program for promotion of police officers in Detroit Police Department).
Mr. Edelman served as court-appointed Special Master in Neal el al. v. Director, D.C. Department of Corrections, C.A. No. 93-2420 (D.D.C.)(class action by female corrections officers presenting claims of sexual harassment).
Mr. Edelman is a member of the Bar of the District of Columbia. He is also a member of the Bar of the Supreme Court of the United States and has argued cases before seven United States Courts of Appeals. Mr. Edelman is a member of the Metropolitan Washingon Employment Lawyers Association. In 1992, he received the pro bono award of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund for substantial contributions to enforcement of the civil rights laws.
Mr. Edelman and his wife Toby live in Washington, D.C. They have two children–Benjamin Edelman (May 2, 1980) and Miriam Edelman (November 8, 1982). When not at work, Mr. Edelman enjoys playing the piano and clarinet, running with friends, outdoor grilling, and travelling abroad with family.