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Robert C. Whitaker, Jr. is a partner in the Labor & Employment, Construction and Intellectual Property Practices. He is Chair of the Firm’s Labor & Employment Department and Leader of the Military Law Practice, and formerly served as Chair of the Hiring Committee. Mr. Whitaker focuses his practice on representing private employers in all aspects of state and federal labor and employment law. Mr. Whitaker regularly defends employers before state and federal agencies and in the courts regarding claims under Title VII, Age Discrimination in Employment Act, Americans with Disabilities Act, Fair Labor Standards Act, Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, New York State Human Rights Law and all other New York state labor laws. He also has experience litigating other employment disputes regarding employment contracts, including enforcement of non-compete agreements and other restrictive covenants. In addition, he regularly enforces copyrights in federal court on behalf of national and international musical composers, authors and lyricists.

Prior to joining the Firm, Mr. Whitaker served as a Defense Attorney for the Navy Judge Advocate General’s Corps (Navy JAG Corps), representing active-duty military personnel in military federal courts throughout the southeastern United States. He also served as Deputy Staff Judge Advocate and Prosecutor for the Commanding General of the 2nd Marine Logistics Group in Al Anbar, Iraq. Since joining the Firm, Mr. Whitaker continues serving in the Navy Reserve where he holds the rank of Commander and serves as the Litigation Department Head for the Navy Reserve Civil Litigation command in Washington, DC. He has also served as an instructor at the Naval Justice School teaching newly commissioned attorneys how to best litigate administrative separation boards. Mr. Whitaker continues to represent clients in matters involving Administrative Separation Boards, Boards of Inquiry, Qualitative Management Program, Non-Judicial Punishment (Article 15s) and correction of military records, including petitions to the Army Suitability Evaluation Board and the Board of Correction of Military Records for all services.