Education
University of Virginia School of Law, J.D., 1987
University of Virginia, 1983
—High Honors
—Phi Beta Kappa
—Echols Scholar
Bar Admissions
State
District of Columbia (1994)
Virginia (2016)
Maryland (1987)
Federal
U.S. Supreme Court
U.S. Court of Appeals
— 3rd Circuit
— 4th Circuit
U.S. District Court
— Eastern District of Virginia
— Western District of Virginia
— District of the District of Columbia
— District of Maryland
Partner
Email: Epaltell@islerdare.com
Eric Paltell is a Partner at IslerDare PC.
Eric Paltell has practiced law since 1987, concentrating in the representation of private and public sector employers in all aspects of labor and employment law. He obtained his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Virginia.
Eric’s practice includes general advice and counseling in employment matters, NLRB proceedings, collective bargaining negotiations, and grievance arbitrations. as well as the defense of employment discrimination and sexual harassment suits, ADA and FMLA litigation, wrongful discharge suits, and wage and hour cases. He has particular expertise in public sector labor relations, representing local governments in Maryland and Virginia in collective bargaining negotiations and the drafting of enabling legislation.
Eric is a Fellow in the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers, and has been named Baltimore’s Management Labor/Employment “Lawyer of the Year” four times (2020, 2018, 2015, and 2014) by the Best Lawyers in America. Eric is also listed as one of the top labor attorneys in Virginia in the Chambers USA publication, “America’s Leading Business Lawyers,” and he is one of only five attorneys in Virginia to receive a “Band One” ranking from Chambers. He has been listed one of Maryland's "Top 100 Lawyers" by "Super Lawyers" and has obtained an “AV” peer review rating from Lexis-Nexis/Martindale Hubbell.
Eric also spends a substantial portion of his time mediating employment law disputes throughout Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. In addition to his private mediation practice, he has been mediating with the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for over 25 years, where he has the highest success rate of any pro bono mediator in the Commission’s Baltimore Office (click here for a reference letter from the EEOC concerning Eric’s mediation skills).
Eric is a guest lecturer at the University of Virginia School of Law, where he teaches classes on employment law and mediation. He is also on the faculty of the National Public Employers Labor Relations Association Labor Relations Academy, where he teaches programs on collective bargaining and grievance arbitration.
Eric is the Past President of the Industrial Relations Research Association, Maryland Chapter. He has also served on the Boards of the American Red Cross-Chesapeake Region, the Carver Center for Arts & Technology, the Stoneleigh Community Association, and Jewish Family Services of Maryland. Outside of work, Eric spends his free time driving his tractor, hiking and cycling, and is gradually chipping away at section hiking the 554-mile Virginia portion of the Appalachian Trail.