Office of the General Counsel Biographies

 Headquarters

General Counsel, Julia Akins Clark

General Counsel, Julia Akins ClarkMs. Clark was nominated by President Obama on June 4, 2009 and unanimously confirmed by the Senate on August 7, 2009.  Ms. Clark served on the Presidential Transition Project FLRA Agency Review Team with former FLRA General Counsel Joseph Swerdzewski and FLRA Chair Phyllis Segal.  Before coming to the FLRA, Ms. Clark was the General Counsel of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, AFL-CIO.  General Counsel Clark started her legal career as an Honors Program trial attorney in the United States Department of Justice, Antitrust Division.  For the past 20 years she has practiced labor and employment law before federal courts and agencies, including the FLRA, the NLRB, the NMB and the Personnel Appeals Board of the GAO.  She received her J.D. from the American University, Washington College of Law, and her B.A. from Oklahoma Baptist University. 

 

Acting Deputy General Counsel, Peter Sutton

Mr. Sutton previously served as Acting Deputy General Counsel in 2009.  Mr. Sutton started his career with the FLRA as an attorney in the Washington Regional Office in 1979.  He became a Supervisory Attorney in 1983 and became Regional Attorney of the Chicago Regional Office in 1991.  Since 2004, he has served as the Regional Director of the Chicago Regional Office.  While serving as Acting Deputy General Counsel, Mr. Sutton will continue serving as the Chicago Regional Director.

Assistant General Counsel for Appeals, Richard Zorn

Richard Zorn has held this position since March 2001 and has worked in the Office of the General Counsel since 1998.  He is also OGC's Freedom of Information Act Officer and the manager of OGC's portion of the FLRA's web site.  Mr. Zorn has worked for the FLRA since 1990, first as a staff attorney in the Solicitor’s Office and then on a Member’s staff.  Previously, he worked for the Department of Labor as an attorney in the Solicitor's Office.  He has a B.A. degree from Hobart College, in Geneva, N.Y., a M.S. in Health Services Administration from Ohio State University, in Columbus, Ohio, and a J.D. degree from University of Dayton, in Dayton, Ohio, where he was a member of the University of Dayton Law Review.

Assistant to the General Counsel for Representation Cases, Jean Perata

In addition to serving as the Regional Director of the San Francisco Regional Office, the OGC also relies upon Jean's acknowledged expertise concerning representation matters.   She has been with the FLRA since its inception in 1979, working as an Authority Agent and then as a Supervisory Authority Agent.  Prior to joining the FLRA Jean was a Compliance Officer for the U.S. Department of Labor, Labor-Management Services Administration, administering the provisions of Executive Order 11491, as amended.  Jean obtained her B.A. degree from the University of California at Berkeley.

  

Atlanta Regional Office

Regional Director, Richard Jones

Richard S. Jones was appointed Regional Director for the Atlanta Region in January 2012 after serving as the Acting Regional Director since January 2009.  Before that he was the Regional Attorney in Atlanta since October 2002.  He began his career in the Federal service in 1984 as a Field Attorney with the Atlanta Regional Office.  He then served as the Atlanta Region’s Litigation Specialist from 1989 until becoming the Regional Attorney in 2002.  Mr. Jones received his undergraduate degree from DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana and his Juris Doctor Degree from the University of Toledo in Toledo, Ohio.

Regional Attorney, Brent Hudspeth

Brent S. Hudspeth was appointed Regional Attorney in the Atlanta Regional Office in June 2012.  He joined the Atlanta Region in 1991 and has served as Senior Attorney since 2001.  Previously, Mr. Hudspeth practiced labor and employment law in Tennessee.  Mr. Hudspeth earned a Bachelor of Business Administration, a Bachelor of Science in Journalism, a Master of Business Administration, and a Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Mississippi.

 

Boston Regional Office

Regional Director, Philip Roberts

Philip T. Roberts was appointed Regional Director for the Boston Region in August 2011 after being designated Acting Regional Director in January 2008.  Before that, Mr. Roberts served as the Regional Attorney for the Boston Region beginning in March 2003.  He began his career in the Federal service in 1986 as Field Attorney with the FLRA's Atlanta Regional Office.  Mr. Roberts transferred to the FLRA's Chicago Regional Office in 1991, where he served as a Field Attorney and later as the Region's Dispute Resolution Specialist.  In 1997, Mr. Roberts served as the FLRA's Acting Director of the FLRA's Collaboration and Alternative Dispute Resolution (CADR) program in Washington, D.C.  He received a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illiniois and a Juris Doctor degree from George Washington University in Washington, D.C.     

Regional Attorney, William Kirsner

William (Bill) Kirsner was appointed Regional Attorney for the Boston Region in August 2012.  He graduated from Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, with a degree in History (High Honors), and from the Ohio State University, College of Law, with a Jurisdoctorate (Honors).  Bill started work as a General Attorney in the Dallas Region in 1995, and has served as the Senior Dispute Resolution Specialist in this Office since 1999.  He has been actively involved in OGC nationwide training initiatives. 


Chicago Regional Office

Regional Director, Peter Sutton

Peter Sutton was appointed Regional Director for the Chicago Region in April 2005.  In 2010, the ABA Labor and Employment Section honored Mr. Sutton by naming him as the Federal Labor and Employment Lawyer of the year.  While serving as the Chicago Regional Director, Mr. Sutton also served as the Acting Regional Director of the Washington Region for a period of five months in early 2010.  Before his appointment as the Acting Regional Director of the Washington Region, Peter served as the Acting Deputy General Counsel for the last five months of 2009.  Before his appointment as the Chicago Regional Director, he served as the Acting Regional Director for the Chicago Region, and from 1991-2004 he was the Regional Attorney for the Chicago Region.  From 1979-1991, he was an attorney in the Washington Regional Office, serving first as a Staff Attorney and then a Supervisory Attorney.  Mr. Sutton graduated from Holy Cross College in Worcester, Mass., and then obtained a J.D. degree from the New England School of Law in Boston, Mass.

Regional Attorney, Sandra LeBold

Sandra LeBold was appointed Regional Attorney for the Chicago Regional Office in June 2012.  She has worked for the FLRA for 21 years (1979-1988 and 2000-2012) serving in various positions including Staff Attorney, Supervisory Attorney, and Dispute Resolution Specialist.  Ms. LeBold also worked as an Administrative Law Judge for the Illinois Human Rights Commission (1997-2000).  She received a B.A. from Indiana University, M.A. from Purdue University, and J.D. from DePaul University School of Law.

 

Dallas Regional Office

Regional Director, James Petrucci

James (Jim) E. Petrucci was appointed Regional Director for the Dallas Region in January 1991.  He had previously served as the Regional Director of the New York Region of the FLRA from September 1983 to January 1991, and as Regional Attorney of that Region beginning in June 1979.  Mr. Petrucci worked as an attorney with the Newark Region of the National Labor Relations Board from 1973 until leaving to join the FLRA in 1979.  He received a B.A. degree from La Salle University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and a J.D. degree from Seton Hall University School of Law in Newark, New Jersey.

Regional Attorney, Charlotte Dye

Charlotte A. Dye has held the position of Regional Attorney with the Dallas Regional Office since 1998.   Prior to becoming the Regional Attorney, Ms. Dye served as the Dispute Resolution Specialist and Staff Attorney for the Dallas Region.  Ms. Dye received a Doctor of Jurisprudence from Texas Tech University School of Law and a Master of Public Administration from Texas Tech University Center for Public Service.

 

Denver Regional Office

Regional Director, Matt Jarvinen

Matt Jarvinen was appointed Regional Director for the Denver Region in April 2005 after being designated Acting Regional Director in August 2004.  Before that, Mr. Jarvinen served as the Regional Attorney for the Denver Region beginning in May 2003.  He worked in the Denver Region as a Staff Attorney and served as the Region's Litigation Specialist starting in 1989.  Mr. Jarvinen began working for the Office of General Counsel in Washington in 1984.  He received a B.A. from Wesleyan University and a J.D. from George Washington University.  In addition, Mr. Jarvinen received training in conflict resolution from the Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations and received training at Harvard Law School in both negotiation and mediation.  Mr. Jarvinen serves as a volunteer mediator in Jefferson County, Colorado working primarily with domestic relations and non-Federal employment disputes.

Regional Attorney, Timothy Sullivan

Timothy Sullivan was appointed Regional Attorney for the Denver Regional Office in June 2012.  He received a B.A. in Marketing from the University of Oklahoma and a J.D. with distinction, from the University of Oklahoma College of Law. Mr. Sullivan began his career with the FLRA in 1987, and has since worked in a variety of roles the the Denver Regional Office, including Dispute Resolution Specialist when he was responsible for the oversight of all training activities sponsored by the Region in the areas of labor-management cooperation, and interest-based negotiations.  Mr. Sullivan has served as a Senior Attorney in the Denver Regional Office since 2003.

 

San Francisco Regional Office

Regional Director, Jean Perata

Jean M. Perata became the Regional Director in May 2012 after serving as Acting Regional Director since January 2012.  Previously she held the position of Deputy Regional Director of the San Francisco Regional Office since 1996.  She has been with the FLRA since its inception in 1979, working as an Authority Agent and then as a Supervisory Authority Agent.  Prior to joining the FLRA Jean was a Compliance Officer for the U.S. Department of Labor, Labor-Management Services Administration, administering the provisions of Executive Order 11491, as amended.  Jean obtained her B.A. degree from the University of California at Berkeley.

Regional Attorney, John R. Pannozzo, Jr.

John R. Pannozzo, Jr. was appointed Regional Attorney for the San Francisco Region in August 2012.  Mr. Pannozzo began his career with the FLRA at the Boston Regional Office in 1984, and transferred to the Los Angeles Region in early 1985.  He moved to a private sector firm in Oakland, California in 1988, and returned to the FLRA as an attorney in the San Francisco Region in 1992.  He served as a Senior Attorney from March 2001 through July 2012.  He earned a Bachelor's Degree from the Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, a J.D. from New England Law in Boston, Massachusetts, and a Master's Degree in Labor Law from Georgetown University Law Center.

 

Washington Regional Office

Regional Director, Barbara Kraft

Barbara Kraft has practiced labor, employment and employee benefits law as a principal in a private law firm representing Federal employees and unions, as in-house union counsel and as a government attorney. After graduating from law school, she worked first for the Michigan Employment Relations Commission, then relocated to Washington to begin work at the National Labor Relations Board as an attorney in the Division of Enforcement Litigation, Appellate Court Branch. She left the NLRB to work for the American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees (AFSCME), AFL-CIO, and thereafter entered private practice. Ms. Kraft holds bachelor’s, master’s and law degrees from Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan, and a LL.M. in Taxation from Georgetown University Law Center.

Regional Attorney, Jessica Bartlett

Jessica Bartlett was appointed the Regional Attorney for the Washington Regional Office in December 2010.  Prior to this appointment, she served as Acting Regional Attorney and was a Senior Attorney in this Office.  Jessica began her career at the Washington Regional Office for four years and then transferred to the Federal Aviation Administration where she was responsible for many facets of labor litigation before returning to the FLRA in the fall of 2009.  She graduated from Mary Washington College, and then obtained a J.