Martha B. Schneider
Martha B. ("Marty") Schneider is a former government attorney. She began her legal career in l974 as a trial attorney in the Antitrust Division of the United States Department of Justice. At Justice she worked on a number of cases in the federal courts in which the government alleged violations of the antitrust laws.
In l980 she moved to the newly formed Merit Systems Protection Board ("MSPB"), where she remained until her retirement in September 2006. She began as a team leader in the Office of the General Counsel and worked her way up over the years to Assistant General Counsel, Deputy General Counsel and, in 2003, General Counsel. As General Counsel she was a member of the federal government's Senior Executive Service. She was in charge of an office of 15 attorneys who provided legal representation to the Board in litigation cases in this important federal agency, which is charged with adjudicating employment appeals for the Federal workforce of approximately 2.7 million employees. Her name appeared on hundreds of briefs filed in the Federal Circuit on behalf of the MSPB during her tenure. As General Counsel, she served as principal advisor to the Board members, three presidential appointees, on legal policy issues, assisting them in the development of legal precedents of long-term impact on civil service law. Her expertise includes federal labor and employment law, administrative law, litigation, and legislative affairs.
While at MSPB Ms. Schneider was active in the Federal Circuit Bar Association, an organization of over 2600 attorneys, where she served as a member of the Board of Governors, Secretary, Treasurer, President-elect, and President. This association serves the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the court that hears appeals in cases decided by the Merit Systems Protection Board.
Ms. Schneider received her Juris Doctor degree from the University of Memphis School of Law in l974. She also has an M.A. degree in history and education from the University of Memphis, and a B.A. degree in international studies from Rhodes College of Memphis. She is a member of the District of Columbia Bar and is admitted to practice before the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and the United States Supreme Court.
Ms. Schneider lives in Washington, DC, with her husband, Charles A. Schneider. Before starting their law partnership, they spent two winters cruising from the Chesapeake Bay to the Bahamas and back in their sailboat. They have two sons who live in New York City.
Charles A. Schneider
Charles A. Schneider was born in New York City in 1945. His family moved to Washington, D.C., in 1949. Prior to forming Schneider & Schneider with his wife, Martha, Mr. Schneider was a partner in a small Washington, D.C., law firm that specialized in complex litigation. Among the cases upon which he worked were several significant nationwide class actions: Posey v. Dryvit Systems, Inc. (Cir. Ct. Jefferson County, Tenn.) (a suit alleging defective synthetic siding on residences); Chavers v. Fleet Bank (Supreme Ct. R.I.) (deceptive credit card practices by a national bank); Lubitz v. DaimlerChrysler Corp. (Sup. Ct. Bergen County, N.J.) (defective automobile brakes on Jeep Grand Cherokee vehicles). He was also extensively involved in Bruce v. County of Rensselaer (N.D.N.Y.) (a local class action over illegal strip searches of persons admitted to county jail on misdemeanor charges) and Twee Jonge Gezellen v. Owens-Illinois, Inc., (N.D. Ohio) (international litigation on behalf of a South African winery that claimed its wine was damaged because of negligent advice given to local bottle manufacturer by a U.S. glass company).
From 1994 to 2002, Mr. Schneider was a sole practitioner focusing on commercial law and litigation, including antitrust and administrative law, construction disputes, real estate brokerage claims, and matters relating to underground petroleum storage tanks. He was one of class counsel in nationwide class action litigation over defective polybutylene plumbing systems that resulted in a $950 million settlement. Cox v. Shell Oil Company (Cir. Ct. Obion County, Tenn.). He was also involved in other class actions including: In re: Silicone Gel Breast Implants Product Liability Litigation (MDL-929) (N.D. Ala.) (silicone implants case); Morris v. Osmose Wood Preserving, Inc. (Cir. Ct. Montgomery County, Md.)(defective plywood roof sheathing); Wagshal's v. Premark International (Sup. Ct. D.C.)(high pressure laminates antitrust litigation); and In Re Swanson Creek Oil Spill Litigation (S.D. Md.) (oil spill from PEPCO Chalk Point generating plant on the Patuxent River). He was co-counsel for a news producer in a highly publicized defamation suit against a major news network stemming from a report she produced on the use of nerve gas by U.S. forces during the Vietnam war. Singlaub v. Cable News Network, Inc. (Sup. Ct. D.C.).
Between 1987 and 1994, Mr. Schneider practiced with a small general practice firm where he concentrated on civil litigation in D.C. Superior Court. Matters included representation of the plaintiff in a multi-million dollar construction defects suit, defense of a $500,000 malpractice claim against a civil engineer, defense of a major corporation in a class-action suit over the sale of life insurance from its small loan offices (North Carolina and New Mexico), defense of a tenant in an infliction of mental distress suit by his landlord, defense of a major corporation in a contract dispute over the purchase of a subsidiary by the plaintiff, and other cases involving general commercial law.
Mr. Schneider served in the United States Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, from 1983 to 1987. During this time, he was lead counsel in complex civil litigation involving conditions in state mental health and penal institutions. His work included the successful negotiation of a consent decree requiring $23 million of improvements at South Carolina State Hospital, representation of the Department in continuing litigation over conditions in the Alabama prison system, and enforcement of the consent decree to monitor and end racial discrimination in the Texas prison system.
Before joining the Department of Justice, Mr. Schneider was an associate in the Washington office of a New York law firm, where he assisted in the defense of Lockheed Aircraft Corporation in major aviation litigation involving the crash of a U.S. Air Force C-5A transport plane near Saigon, Republic of South Vietnam, during the 1975 evacuation of war orphans to the United States. He also advised corporate clients, primarily ocean carriers and financial institutions, on matters arising under the shipping laws, international trade laws, the Interstate Commerce Act, various other federal regulatory programs, and the United States antitrust laws.
In 1977-1978, Mr. Schneider was the Assistant General Counsel of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, Washington, D.C., where he represented state regulatory agencies in federal district and appellate courts and before Congress in matters involving domestic transportation, gas and electricity, and communications and antitrust law. He began his legal career in 1974 with the Interstate Commerce Commission in Washington, D.C., where he worked on matters relating to trucking mergers, approval of financing arrangements, railroad abandonment applications, acquisition of railroad branch lines by short line operators, and adequacy of intercity rail passenger service.
Mr. Schneider received his B.A. from Vanderbilt University in 1968. He served on active duty as an officer in the U.S. Navy in Vietnam and Memphis, Tennessee, until 1971. He graduated from the University of Memphis School of Law in 1974 and is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia. Mr. Schneider is a member of the bars of the Supreme Court of the United States, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, and the United States District Court for the District of Maryland. He is AV rated by Martindale Hubbell Law Directory.
Martha B. ("Marty") Schneider is a former government attorney. She began her legal career in l974 as a trial attorney in the Antitrust Division of the United States Department of Justice. At Justice she worked on a number of cases in the federal courts in which the government alleged violations of the antitrust laws.
In l980 she moved to the newly formed Merit Systems Protection Board ("MSPB"), where she remained until her retirement in September 2006. She began as a team leader in the Office of the General Counsel and worked her way up over the years to Assistant General Counsel, Deputy General Counsel and, in 2003, General Counsel. As General Counsel she was a member of the federal government's Senior Executive Service. She was in charge of an office of 15 attorneys who provided legal representation to the Board in litigation cases in this important federal agency, which is charged with adjudicating employment appeals for the Federal workforce of approximately 2.7 million employees. Her name appeared on hundreds of briefs filed in the Federal Circuit on behalf of the MSPB during her tenure. As General Counsel, she served as principal advisor to the Board members, three presidential appointees, on legal policy issues, assisting them in the development of legal precedents of long-term impact on civil service law. Her expertise includes federal labor and employment law, administrative law, litigation, and legislative affairs.
While at MSPB Ms. Schneider was active in the Federal Circuit Bar Association, an organization of over 2600 attorneys, where she served as a member of the Board of Governors, Secretary, Treasurer, President-elect, and President. This association serves the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the court that hears appeals in cases decided by the Merit Systems Protection Board.
Ms. Schneider received her Juris Doctor degree from the University of Memphis School of Law in l974. She also has an M.A. degree in history and education from the University of Memphis, and a B.A. degree in international studies from Rhodes College of Memphis. She is a member of the District of Columbia Bar and is admitted to practice before the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and the United States Supreme Court.
Ms. Schneider lives in Washington, DC, with her husband, Charles A. Schneider. Before starting their law partnership, they spent two winters cruising from the Chesapeake Bay to the Bahamas and back in their sailboat. They have two sons who live in New York City.
Charles A. Schneider
Charles A. Schneider was born in New York City in 1945. His family moved to Washington, D.C., in 1949. Prior to forming Schneider & Schneider with his wife, Martha, Mr. Schneider was a partner in a small Washington, D.C., law firm that specialized in complex litigation. Among the cases upon which he worked were several significant nationwide class actions: Posey v. Dryvit Systems, Inc. (Cir. Ct. Jefferson County, Tenn.) (a suit alleging defective synthetic siding on residences); Chavers v. Fleet Bank (Supreme Ct. R.I.) (deceptive credit card practices by a national bank); Lubitz v. DaimlerChrysler Corp. (Sup. Ct. Bergen County, N.J.) (defective automobile brakes on Jeep Grand Cherokee vehicles). He was also extensively involved in Bruce v. County of Rensselaer (N.D.N.Y.) (a local class action over illegal strip searches of persons admitted to county jail on misdemeanor charges) and Twee Jonge Gezellen v. Owens-Illinois, Inc., (N.D. Ohio) (international litigation on behalf of a South African winery that claimed its wine was damaged because of negligent advice given to local bottle manufacturer by a U.S. glass company).
From 1994 to 2002, Mr. Schneider was a sole practitioner focusing on commercial law and litigation, including antitrust and administrative law, construction disputes, real estate brokerage claims, and matters relating to underground petroleum storage tanks. He was one of class counsel in nationwide class action litigation over defective polybutylene plumbing systems that resulted in a $950 million settlement. Cox v. Shell Oil Company (Cir. Ct. Obion County, Tenn.). He was also involved in other class actions including: In re: Silicone Gel Breast Implants Product Liability Litigation (MDL-929) (N.D. Ala.) (silicone implants case); Morris v. Osmose Wood Preserving, Inc. (Cir. Ct. Montgomery County, Md.)(defective plywood roof sheathing); Wagshal's v. Premark International (Sup. Ct. D.C.)(high pressure laminates antitrust litigation); and In Re Swanson Creek Oil Spill Litigation (S.D. Md.) (oil spill from PEPCO Chalk Point generating plant on the Patuxent River). He was co-counsel for a news producer in a highly publicized defamation suit against a major news network stemming from a report she produced on the use of nerve gas by U.S. forces during the Vietnam war. Singlaub v. Cable News Network, Inc. (Sup. Ct. D.C.).
Between 1987 and 1994, Mr. Schneider practiced with a small general practice firm where he concentrated on civil litigation in D.C. Superior Court. Matters included representation of the plaintiff in a multi-million dollar construction defects suit, defense of a $500,000 malpractice claim against a civil engineer, defense of a major corporation in a class-action suit over the sale of life insurance from its small loan offices (North Carolina and New Mexico), defense of a tenant in an infliction of mental distress suit by his landlord, defense of a major corporation in a contract dispute over the purchase of a subsidiary by the plaintiff, and other cases involving general commercial law.
Mr. Schneider served in the United States Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, from 1983 to 1987. During this time, he was lead counsel in complex civil litigation involving conditions in state mental health and penal institutions. His work included the successful negotiation of a consent decree requiring $23 million of improvements at South Carolina State Hospital, representation of the Department in continuing litigation over conditions in the Alabama prison system, and enforcement of the consent decree to monitor and end racial discrimination in the Texas prison system.
Before joining the Department of Justice, Mr. Schneider was an associate in the Washington office of a New York law firm, where he assisted in the defense of Lockheed Aircraft Corporation in major aviation litigation involving the crash of a U.S. Air Force C-5A transport plane near Saigon, Republic of South Vietnam, during the 1975 evacuation of war orphans to the United States. He also advised corporate clients, primarily ocean carriers and financial institutions, on matters arising under the shipping laws, international trade laws, the Interstate Commerce Act, various other federal regulatory programs, and the United States antitrust laws.
In 1977-1978, Mr. Schneider was the Assistant General Counsel of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, Washington, D.C., where he represented state regulatory agencies in federal district and appellate courts and before Congress in matters involving domestic transportation, gas and electricity, and communications and antitrust law. He began his legal career in 1974 with the Interstate Commerce Commission in Washington, D.C., where he worked on matters relating to trucking mergers, approval of financing arrangements, railroad abandonment applications, acquisition of railroad branch lines by short line operators, and adequacy of intercity rail passenger service.
Mr. Schneider received his B.A. from Vanderbilt University in 1968. He served on active duty as an officer in the U.S. Navy in Vietnam and Memphis, Tennessee, until 1971. He graduated from the University of Memphis School of Law in 1974 and is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia. Mr. Schneider is a member of the bars of the Supreme Court of the United States, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, and the United States District Court for the District of Maryland. He is AV rated by Martindale Hubbell Law Directory.