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George R.A. Doumar

Founder and Principal of Doumar Law Group; graduated in 1986 from the University of Virginia Law School. George was on the Editorial Board of the Virginia Law Review, and also Articles Editor of the Virginia Journal of International Law. He was graduated as a member of Order of the Coif, the law school honor society.

George was graduated with a B.S.F.S. degree in International Economics from Georgetown University, where he was Phi Beta Kappa and graduated magna cum laude.

Licensed to practice law in Virginia and the District of Columbia and in various federal courts including the United States Supreme Court. George is a Permanent Member of the Fourth Circuit Judicial Conference.

Began practicing law in 1986 with Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton, a Wall Street-based law firm. Worked in the firm's Washington, D.C. and London offices, handling transactional and litigation matters for multinational companies and investment banks. After running for the Virginia House of Delegates in 1995, George developed his own legal practice. George has helped many businesses succeed, and also helped to salvage the remains of unsuccessful businesses.

View Martindale-Hubblell "A" Rating at www.martindale.com.

Work Experience

  • Drafted corporate papers and minutes, executive contracts, and partnership agreements

  • Drafted and litigated employment contracts, executive compensation, stock option and severance issues, confidentiality, non-compete clauses, shareholder agreements, buy-sell agreements

  • Negotiated stock and asset purchase transactions, software licensing agreements, distribution and sales contracts

  • Represented clients in disputes over lender liability, patent rights, misappropriation of trade secrets, business fraud,

  • Negotiated and enforced letters of credit

  • Litigated discrimination actions for both employers and employees

  • Enforced foreign judgments in U.S. courts

  • Estate litigation,

  • Landlord-tenant disputes,

  • Commercial lease review and negotiation

  • Insurance coverage disputes

  • Personal injury litigation involving foreign governments and Embassies

  • Transactions including global securities offerings, eurobonds, and hostile takeovers.

  • Commercial loan transactions

  • Securities regulatory work: advised broker-dealers, government securities broker-dealers, and investment advisors as to net capital rules, customer protection requirements, and other regulatory issues

  • Mass tort litigation: defended products liability cases relating to L-tryptophan and managed other litigation matters; drafted briefs on jurisdiction; multidistrict litigation; class actions; deposed plaintiffs, experts and treating physicians; prepared defense experts for depositions

  • Defended various enforcement actions initiated by the Securities and Exchange Commission

  • Outside general counsel for various companies

  • Directed discovery of over 100,000 documents in investigation of failed financial institution

Representative cases:

Litigated issues of first impression in various civil matters. See, e.g, Aviles v. Equifax Information Services, LLC et al, 521 F. Supp. 2d 519 (E.D. Va. 2007)(dismissal of claims on summary judgment under Fair Credit Reporting Act); Ivanov v. Sunset Pools Management, Inc., et al, 524 F. Supp. 2d 13 (D.D.C. 2007)(dismissal of individual company officers in FLSA and fraud case); Farris v. Rice, 2007 U.S. Dist. Lexis 425053 (D.D.C. 2007)(denial of summary judgment motion in Title VII context); RZS Holdings AVV v. Commemerzbank, A.G., 279 F. Supp. 2d 716, 51 UCC Rep. Serv. 2d 797 (E.D. Va. 2003)(jurisdiction involving letter of credit issued by U.K. bank to support sale of gasoline); Lee, et al., 160 F. Supp. 2d 14 (D.D.C. 2001)(preliminary injunction prohibiting retaliation in an employment context); Pallone v. Marshall Legacy Institute, et al, 97 F. Supp. 2d 942 (E.D. Va. 2000)(no private right of action under Virginia Wage Claims Act); Knab v. Republic of Georgia et al, D.D.C. (1998 Lexis 8820)(involving diplomatic immunity of diplomat that killed teenager in drunk driving accident).

Quoted in the Washington Post, appeared on CNN's "Burden of Proof," and featured in various local D.C.-area news reporting from time to time.

Elaine M. Darroch

Elaine graduated magna cum laude from American University Law School (J.D. 1994) and received her B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1983. Elaine previously worked as an attorney at the Securities and Exchange Commission, where she focused primarily on changes to the securities markets brought on by the internet and the development of computer-based trading systems. While in law school, Elaine was an articles editor for the American University Law Review and won an award for her article, "Mertens v. Hewitt Associates: the Supreme Court's Dismantling of Civil Enforcement under ERISA." Her article was later cited in Gerbec v. United States, 154 F.3d 1015 (6th Cir. 1999). Elaine also worked and studied abroad in Australia and Singapore, where she focused on the Association of South East Asian Nations and interned for the Wall Street-based law firm White and Case. Elaine first became interested in a legal career while working as a journalist with the Tampa Tribune after she covered a famous surrogate parenting case. Elaine is admitted to practice in Virginia and is of counsel with the Doumar Law Group.

Joseph Hartman

Joseph Hartman joined the Doumar Law Group as of counsel in the spring of 2008 after spending eight years with the Washington, D.C., office of a large international law firm. During his legal career, Mr. Hartman has represented corporate and individual clients in a variety of civil litigation matters in federal and state court, both in the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of Virginia, as well as before federal administrative agencies.

Mr. Hartman has developed significant experience in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, handling standard commercial litigation, trademark disputes, labor and employment matters, and oil and gas litigation. Mr. Hartman regularly practices in the Virginia state courts as well. He has participated in federal administrative enforcement actions, conducted internal investigations of large national corporations, and represented clients in a variety of industries, including entertainment, telecommunications, banking, health care, food service, air travel, energy and the pharmaceutical industry. He also regularly counsels firm clients on compliance with federal and state consumer protection and product promotion regulations. Mr. Hartman also completed a six-month term as a Special Assistant Attorney General with the District of Columbia Office of the Attorney General (OAG) in 2005. While with the OAG, Mr. Hartman represented the District of Columbia in a variety of matters, including a federal jury trial involving allegations of police brutality and civil rights claims under the United States Constitution, and representing the District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia in high profile hearings in a case involving First Amendment and Constitutional claims.

Mr. Hartman graduated from the University of Virginia in 1996 with a bachelor's degree in American Government and obtained his J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School in 1999. He is licensed to practice law in Virginia and the District of Columbia and before the United States District Courts for the Eastern and Western Districts of Virginia, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, and the United States Courts of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and District of Columbia Circuit.

James Harpold

James R. Harpold received his law degree from the University of Oregon School of Law (J.D. 2007) and is a graduate of Virginia Tech (B.S. 2001). During his final two years of law school, James served as a law clerk for the Oregon Department of Justice where he helped the assistant attorneys general prepare and try termination of parental rights cases. James was also actively involved in the law school's Oregon Innocence Project, and served as treasurer for Family Law In Practice during his 3L year. Upon graduation, James was awarded the University of Oregon School of Law's certificate of public service, which is bestowed upon those students giving at least 40 hours of pro bono legal aid to the surrounding community. James is admitted to practice in Virginia and is an associate with the Doumar Law Group.

 
  • Republican candidate for the 53rd District seat in the Virginia House of Delegates in 1995;

  • Fairfax County Republican Party Treasurer from 1995 to 1997;

  • Fairfax County Community Action Advisory Board, 1997-2000;

  • Member of the Leadership Fairfax Class of 1997;

  • Active on his Church Council since 1996;

  • Boys' soccer coach in McLean since 2001;

  • Board of Directors, Montessori School of McLean, 2005-present.