THE VFA PIONEER HISTORIES PROJECT

Debra Millenson

July 24, 1947 – May 12, 2020

“I am what I am today – a civil rights lawyer – because of Robert Kennedy.  Bobby Kennedy said every individual can care and everyone can make a difference. When I get discouraged, I think that if I haven’t changed the world, at least I’ve changed a little piece of it. ”  – Debra Millenson, June 7, 1988 

Senior trial attorney at the U.S. Department of Labor. Oversaw significant employment discrimination cases for the Office of Federal Contract Compliance, winning $14 million from Harris Trust & Savings Bank. At Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, litigated complex discrimination cases nationwide. In 1972, sued a local hotel for its “men only” grill. A Fellow Emeritus of the College of Labor & Employment Lawyers and longtime National Institute for Trial Advocacy faculty member. After retiring from the Department of Labor, was senior counsel at a prominent Washington, DC firm and established her own practice. BA from Michigan State University; JD from University of Michigan Law School. 

Photo. Debra Millenson, August 1972