Allan K. Townsend
Allan K. Townsend has prosecuted workers’ rights cases for over 20 years, including before administrative agencies, trial courts, and appellate courts.
Before joining Johnson & Webbert, LLP, Allan worked for 10 years as a Senior Trial Attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, Employment Litigation Section (DOJ). At DOJ, Allan worked nationwide conducting investigations, oftentimes in coordination with the EEOC, and pursuing employment civil rights cases in federal courts.
DOJ entrusted Allan with some of its most high-profile cases. He served as the lead attorney on the first Title VII case DOJ ever pursued on behalf of a transgender individual. Tudor et al. v. SE Okla St. Univ. et al., 13 F.4th 1019 (10th Cir. 2021). Allan also worked as a lead attorney on DOJ’s largest-ever Title VII pattern-or-practice case, in which DOJ sued New York City because its Fire Department engaged in systemic race discrimination against Black and Hispanic firefighter applicants. United States and Vulcan Society et al. v. City of New York, 847 F. Supp. 2d 395 (E.D.N.Y. 2012). DOJ secured a settlement of about $100 million and obtained injunctive relief that transformed the FDNY’s hiring process.
While in private practice in Maine and New Hampshire, Allan has scored important wins in trial and appellate courts for his clients in all types of employment law cases. For example, he persuaded the United States Court of Appeals in Boston to order a new trial in a disability discrimination case in Maine, which led to a $867,000 verdict upon retrial. Bell v. O'Reilly Auto Enters., LLC, 972 F.3d 21 (1st Cir. 2020). And Allan has successfully represented workers in jury trials, including when a jury found the employer retaliated against a Black employee because he opposed racial harassment. E.E.O.C. and Mayo v. DCP Midstream, L.P., 603 F. Supp. 2d 220 (D. Me. 2009).
Allan also successfully represented an employee before the New Hampshire Supreme Court when it ruled, for the first time, that an employer could be required to accommodate an employee who uses medical marijuana to treat a disability. Paine v. Ride-Away, Inc., 174 N.H. 757 (N.H. 2022).
Allan has received numerous awards for his hard work and dedication to protecting workers’ civil rights, including the Attorney General’s Distinguished Service Award, the Civil Rights Division’s Distinguished Service Award, Special Commendations from the Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division, and the James R. Douglass Award from DOJ Pride for his work on the Tudor case. Allan is also AV-rated by Martindale-Hubbell.
Education
- The Ohio State University College of Law, with honors
- The University of Texas