Pamela J. Bethel (J.D., George Washington University, 1974), Litigation Partner, is a native of Miami, Florida. She is an honors graduate of both Lincoln University (Pennsylvania) and George Washington University School of Law and has engaged in the practice of law for more than twenty-five years. As a trial attorney with the Securities and Exchange Commission Division of Enforcement from 1975 through 1981, Ms. Bethel handled federal civil enforcement actions before joining the Fraud Section of the Department of Justice Criminal Division. There, she successfully prosecuted major insider trading suits and a variety of fraud cases in federal courts across the country. In 1992, the Department of Justice recognized Ms. Bethel for her leading role as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Operation Illwind defense procurement probe. Investigating and prosecuting more than 50 individuals and corporations for bribery, tax and public corruption offenses, she succeeded in bringing charges against two former top Pentagon officials and recovered $10.3 million in corporate judgments, plus contract concessions worth up to $15 million. Her seventeen year government career also included representing the Department of Housing and Urban Development in bid protests and contract disputes.

Since entering private practice, Ms. Bethel has continued her involvement in complex litigation that is often of a sensitive nature. She has regularly represented corporations as well as individuals, handling several cases that have received national notoriety. She represented a Washington, D.C. bookstore in opposing Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr’s grand jury subpoena to produce records identifying book purchases made by Monica Lewinsky. Ms. Bethel argued a First Amendment issue of first impression, defeating the Independent Counsel’s claims to unfettered access to information from the bookstore’s records of customer book purchases. In another high profile criminal matter, she defended the husband of then-Congresswoman Enid Waldholtz on charges of bank fraud and election law violations.

Ms. Bethel has made several appearances on national news programs such as CNN, MSNBC, CNBC and CNN Headline News where her experience as both a prosecutor and defense counsel allowed her to provide valuable insight on the trials of Martha Stewart, the Washington, D.C. snipers, Michael Jackson, as well as many other current cases and legal issues. Transcripts from two of Ms. Bethel's appearances on CNN may be viewed by clicking here and here.

Carol L. O’Riordan (J.D., Boston University School of Law, 1983), Founder and Managing Partner, has more than fifteen years experience in the fields of government contracts (federal, state and municipal), construction contracts and litigation, and complex litigation, including defense of civil actions brought under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act ("RICO"). Ms. O'Riordan has extensive experience in commercial construction and government contract related matters, having represented clients nationwide on government procurement issues from bid protests through claims preparation, pricing, negotiations and litigation. Ms. O’Riordan is a recognized authority and frequent lecturer on federal and state certification programs, including the U.S. Small Business Administration’s 8(a)BD and SDB programs and the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program. She is a trained arbitrator and a member of the American Arbitration Association Panel of Neutrals (Construction Panel and Government Contracts Panel).

Ms. O’Riordan has been active with numerous associations, including Associated Builders & Contractors, Inc., National Association of Women in Construction, Women Construction Owners & Executives, USA (National Board Member, Associate-at-Large, 1995-96), the ABA’s Public Contract Section, and Boston University School of Law Alumni Association (D.C. Chapter President, 1993-95).

Ms. O'Riordan is a member of the Connecticut, District of Columbia, Maryland and New York bars. She is admitted to practice before several U.S. District Courts (for the District of Connecticut, for the District of Columbia and for the District of Maryland), and U.S. Courts of Appeals (for the District of Columbia Circuit and the 4th Circuit), as well as the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. She regularly practices before federal and state boards of contract appeals, the U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Hearings and Appeals, the U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Civil Rights, and the Office of the Comptroller General, U.S. General Accounting Office.

Lisa A. Bell (J.D., Columbus School of Law, 1989), is Special Counsel to The O'Riordan Bethel Law Firm, which she recently joined after twelve years as an Assistant Attorney General for the District of Columbia, where she served as both a regulatory and trial attorney. For the DC Attorney General, she was responsible for providing legal advice and guidance to staff and agency officials; conducting legal research on regulatory matters; and drafting legal opinions, regulations, and policy directives on matters related to business licensing, safe housing and construction, and compliance with federal and local DC law.

Ms. Bell represented the District of Columbia before administrative law boards in disputes over building permits, zoning matters, licensing regulations, and other challenges to the agency's enforcement actions. She also assisted program staff with developing guidelines and policy initiatives to obtain and maintain compliance with legal standards. She developed and conducted training sessions for agency managers and staff on employment and personnel issues, ethics, and records management. Her efforts resulted in development of the agency's procedures for processing employment discrimination complaints for criminal prosecution and training for housing inspectors.

As a trial attorney, Ms. Bell represented the District of Columbia and senior level officials in major complex litigation before the U.S. District Court, Superior Court for the District of Columbia, and the DC Court of Appeals. She successfully resolved several complex equity cases, including a settlement of a class action suit challenging the District's compliance with federal discrimination statute governing the delivery of a $300 million dollar services delivery program; a post-judgment resolution of 300+ individual sexual harassment claims and remedial plans to monitor consent orders. She also served as legal counsel to the former Deputy Mayor of Planning and Economic Development, and advised other senior officials on policy initiatives related to risk management, preventive measures, and personnel initiatives.

Ms. Bell's substantive practice areas include constitutional torts, contracts, environmental law, employment, and labor law; She has supervised litigation teams as the Managing Attorney to the DC Attorney General's Environmental and Public Schools Litigation Group, where she served as manager and counsel to the District's public schools cases, Water and Sewer Authority matters, and Department of Health environmental case. At the Attorney General's office, she obtained favorable results in over 85% of her civil cases in federal and local courts. Prior to her government work, Ms. Bell worked in private practice with two local law firms focusing on government bid protests and insurance defense.

Copyright © 2007 The O'Riordan Bethel Law Firm, LLP - All Rights Reserved.

This web site is designed for general information only. The information presented at this site should not be construed to be formal legal advice nor the formation of a lawyer/client relationship. Persons accessing this site are encouraged to seek independent counsel for advice regarding their individual legal issues.