Don Livingston represents large employers in all aspects of civil rights and employment discrimination law, with an emphasis on complex employment litigation. Since joining Akin Gump in 1993, he has served as defense litigation counsel in numerous fair employment class actions, including
Gutierrez v. Hooters, Inc., which
The Washington Post termed EEOC's "biggest defeat."
Mr. Livingston is a former general counsel of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, where he was responsible for the federal government’s enforcement of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Equal Pay Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Mr. Livingston received his A.B. cum laude in 1974 and his J.D. in 1977 from the University of Georgia. He is a member of the Georgia and District of Columbia Bars, the Atlanta Bar Association and the American Bar Association, and serves on the ABA's EEO Committee. He was chairman of the Labor and Employment Law Section of the Georgia Bar in 1986, and served on the Section's executive board from 1983 to 1987. He served as regional liaison to the ABA from 1985 to 1987, and as a member of the Committee of Labor Arbitration and the Law of Collective Bargaining Agreements from 1979 to 1987. He is admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court; the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the 2nd, 4th, 5th, 6th and 11th Circuits; and the U.S. District Courts for Maryland, the District of Columbia, the Northern and Middle Districts of Georgia, the Northern District of California and the Northern District of New York.
Mr. Livingston is the author of
EEOC Litigation and Charge Resolution (BNA 2004) a treatise covering all aspects of attorney interactions with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. In addition, he has written numerous articles and spoken extensively on employment discrimination and labor arbitration. He is chapter chair for
Employment Discrimination Law (Lindemann & Grossman) and a contributor to
Sexual Harassment in Employment Law (Lindemann & Kadue).
In 2003 Mr. Livingston was elected to the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers. He is listed in
Who's Who in American Law,
Who's Who in America, The International Who's Who of Business Lawyers and
Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business. He was one of 26 management lawyers named to
The National Law Journal's most recent "Who's Who of Employment/Labor Lawyers" (July 28, 1997).