Office of the General Counsel Biographies
Headquarters
General Counsel, Julia Akins Clark
Before coming to the FLRA, Julie Clark was the General Counsel of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, AFL-CIO. She received her J.D. from the American University, Washington College of Law, and her B.A. from Oklahoma Baptist University. 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 theFLRA, the NLRB, the NMB and the Personnel Appeals Board of the Government Accountability Office.
Deputy General Counsel, Dennis P. Walsh
Dennis P. Walsh was appointed Deputy General Counsel in December 2009. Previously, he served as a Member of the NLRB on three occasions from 2000 to 2007. He also served in many other positions at the NLRB. Most recently he was a Special Assistant in the Division of Enforcement at the NLRB and a Deputy Assistant General Counsel in the NLRB General Counsel’s Division of Operations. On two occasions in the 1990s Mr. Walsh was a Chief Counsel to two Members of the NLRB. He began his legal career at the NLRB in 1984 as an attorney in the Office of Representation Appeals and continued to work for various NLRB offices. Mr. Walsh also practiced law in the private sector from 1989 to 1994. He has been an Adjunct Professor of Labor Law at Howard University School of Law for several years. He graduated cum laude from Cornell Law School, and received his undergraduate degree, summa cum laude, from Hamilton College.
Assistant General Counsel for Appeals, Richard Zorn
Richard Zorn has held this position since March 2001. He is also OGC's Freedom of Information Act Officer. 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. 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.
Assistant to the General Counsel for Representation Cases, Jean Perata
In addition to serving as the Deputy Regional Director of the San Francisco Regional Office since 1996, 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
Atlanta Regional Office
Acting Regional Director, Richard Jones
Richard S. Jones was appointed Acting Regional Director of the Atlanta Region in January 2009. He has held the position of 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.
Boston Regional Office
Acting Regional Director, Phil Roberts
Philip T. Roberts was named Acting Regional Director of the Boston Region in January 2008. He has held the position of Regional Attorney in Boston since March 2003. He began his career in the federal service in 1986 as a Field Attorney with the FLRA’s Atlanta Regional Office. Mr. Roberts transferred to the FLRA’s Chicago Regional Office in 1991, where he served first as a Field Attorney and later as the Region’s Dispute Resolution Specialist. In 1997, Mr. Roberts served as Acting Director of the FLRA’s Collaboration and Alternative Dispute Resolution (CADR) program in Washington, D.C. Mr. Roberts received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois and a Juris Doctor degree from George Washington University in Washington, D.C.
Chicago Regional Office
Regional Director
Peter Sutton was appointed Regional Director for the Chicago Region in April 2005. Concurrently, Mr. Sutton was also appointed the Acting Regional Director of the Washington Region effective January 2010. Immediately before his appointment as the Acting Regional Director of the Washington Region, Peter served as the Acting Deputy General Counsel from August 2009 through December 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, Massachusetts, and then obtained a J.D. degree from the New England School of Law in Boston, Massachusetts.
Dallas Regional Office
Regional Director
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
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
San Francisco Regional Office
Regional Director, Jerry Cole
Gerald (Jerry) M. Cole was appointed Regional Director for the San Francisco Region in 1996. Previously, since 1979, he served as the Regional Attorney for the Los Angeles Region. Prior to that, he was an Attorney for the Los Angeles Office of the National Labor Relations Board, serving as Supervisory Attorney from 1975-1979. He has served on many task forces with the Authority, including a task force on litigation of ULPs, which was a recipient of the Hammer Award. Mr. Cole received an undergraduate degree in political science from UCLA and a J.D. degree from the UCLA School of Law.
Deputy Regional Director, Jean Perata
Jean M. Perata has 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
Washington Regional Office
Acting Regional Director, Peter Sutton
Peter Sutton was appointed Acting Regional Director for the Washington Region effective January 2010. Most recently, Mr. Sutton served as Acting Deputy General Counsel from August 2009 through December 2009. Concurrently, he also serves as the Regional Director for the Chicago Region, which he has done since April 2005. Previously, since January 2004, 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. He graduated from Holy Cross College in Worcester, Massachusetts, and then obtained a J.D. degree from the New England School of Law in Boston, Massachusetts.