Dennis M. Race serves as the firm’s hiring partner and is responsible for the recruitment, training and professional development of new lawyers. He is also the chairman of the associate and counsel compensation committee. In addition, Mr. Race is a member of the practice management committee for the Washington office.
Mr. Race's practice focuses on product liability, environmental, and health and safety-related litigation. Mr. Race counsels clients in the chemical, mineral and railroad industries and litigates on behalf of industry and insurance carriers in state and federal courts throughout the United States. Much of his practice involves asbestos litigation. He has worked closely with a number of experts in this area, including toxicologists, mineralogists, pulmonologists and radiologists. He is national coordinating counsel for a mineral and chemical producer involved in numerous of lawsuits involving asbestos-related diseases.
Mr. Race also concentrates on administrative and regulatory work before federal agencies such as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, the Consumer Product Safety and Health Administration, the Federal Railroad Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency. He has participated in several rulemakings and other administrative hearings before these agencies.
Mr. Race received his B.A. in 1970 from Cleveland State University and his J.D. in 1973 from Case Western Reserve University, where he was articles editor of the Case Western Reserve Law Review. He began his legal career in the Appellate Division of the Solicitor's Office in Washington before moving to private practice at Akin Gump in 1975.
Mr. Race is a member of the Bars of the District of Columbia and Ohio and is admitted to practice before several courts of appeals and district courts throughout the country.