Our Values, Mission, and Story
Federal employees deserve a legal team that understands both the system and the person caught inside it.
Southworth PC is a national federal employment law firm founded in 2012 by attorney Shaun Southworth. Our More than 30 legal professionals, including 14 attorneys represent federal
employees in matters involving discrimination, retaliation, reasonable accommodations, disciplinary and performance actions, removals, Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) complaints, Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) appeals, and other federal workplace disputes.
We operate as a fully remote national team, with offices in Atlanta, Dallas, and Washington, D.C. Many of our attorneys are former federal employees who bring firsthand understanding of federal workplaces, agency procedures, and the human consequences of a career-threatening dispute.
Our Mission: Help 500 Federal Employees Resolve Their Employment Disputes
Our five-year mission is to help 500 federal employees resolve their employment disputes.
Our purpose can be stated simply:
We back the federal employees that back America.
We chose a specific, measurable goal because accountability matters. We do not simply want to handle more cases. We want to build a firm capable of helping more federal employees while maintaining the preparation, communication, judgment, and personal attention each case deserves.
Resolution does not mean the same thing to everyone. One employee may want reinstatement. Another may need a reasonable accommodation, a corrected personnel record, financial relief, accountability, or the freedom to move forward with dignity. Our first responsibility is to understand what a meaningful resolution looks like for the person we represent.
Helping one federal employee can protect a career, a family, and a lifetime of public service. Helping hundreds can also strengthen the merit-based civil service that Americans depend upon.
Built to Stand With the People Who Serve America
Shaun Southworth grew up in a double-wide trailer in rural Wyoming and became the first person in his family to attend college. Competitive debate opened doors that once seemed unavailable, eventually taking him from Sheridan College to Grinnell College, Teach For America in Las Vegas, and Duke University School of Law.
Those experiences gave Shaun a lasting belief in merit, opportunity, and public service.
While attending Duke Law, Shaun represented a barber whose professional license had been revoked because he was HIV-positive. The case was settled under the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the barber returned to work. It taught Shaun something that continues to shape Southworth PC: people can lose their livelihoods not because they did anything wrong, but because the systems meant to protect them are too difficult to navigate alone.
Shaun founded Southworth PC in 2012. The firm developed a particular commitment to federal employees—people who serve the public while working inside one of the country’s most
complicated employment systems.
That commitment became especially visible during the federal workforce upheaval that began in 2025. Federal employees were receiving unfamiliar directives, confronting sudden workforce changes, and struggling to find reliable explanations. Shaun began speaking publicly about what was happening, what it meant, and what employees could do next. Millions watched and shared those explanations.
The attention was unexpected. The responsibility was not.
Southworth PC grew to meet that responsibility. Today, the firm is larger than its founder. It is a national team of attorneys and legal professionals—including many former federal employees—united around the same mission and values.
What Our Values Mean for Our Clients
Values should be more than words on a website. They should shape how a case is evaluated, how a client is treated, and how every member of the firm approaches the work.
Client-Focused: Your Goals Shape the Strategy
We begin by listening.
Federal employment disputes affect careers, income, health, retirement, professional reputations, and families. Two employees facing similar legal problems may need very different outcomes. We take the time to understand what matters most to you before deciding what strategy makes sense.
Your case should not be forced into someone else’s definition of success.
Results-Driven: Every Step Should Serve a Purpose
Legal activity is not the same as progress. Filing more papers, creating more conflict, or prolonging a dispute does not automatically produce a better result.
We connect our work to a defined objective. Our attorneys are expected to take ownership of their matters, build the factual record, identify the evidence, anticipate the agency’s position, and make deliberate strategic decisions. We pursue the result—not the appearance of being busy.
Truth-Based: You Deserve Candid Advice
We tell clients the truth, including when the truth is difficult.
That means explaining what strengthens a case, what weakens it, what the process may cost, how long it may take, and where uncertainty remains. We do not believe in creating false hope or offering guarantees that no responsible attorney can make.
We also ask our clients to be candid with us. Good legal judgment depends upon accurate facts, honest communication, and a shared understanding of the risks and opportunities.
Compassion-Minded: We Never Lose Sight of the Person Inside the Case
A federal employee often contacts us during one of the worst months of their career. They may feel frightened, angry, isolated, or unsure whom they can trust. We take that experience seriously.
Compassion does not make advocacy weaker. It makes representation more complete.
Our mindfulness-based approach is not about accepting unfair treatment or giving up legal rights. It is about helping people slow down enough to see clearly, make deliberate decisions, and stand up for themselves without allowing panic to control every move.
Better Than Yesterday: We Keep Learning Because Our Clients Deserve Our Best
Federal employment law changes. Technology changes. The challenges facing federal employees change. A law firm must keep improving with them.
We invest in continuing education, weekly attorney training, stronger review systems, litigation support, and better ways to organize and develop evidence. We also use modern technology and artificial intelligence thoughtfully. Technology can help us work faster and understand more, but our attorneys remain responsible for accuracy, legal judgment, strategy, and the final work.
Our lawyers drive. Technology assists.
A National Team Built Around Federal Employees
Although our attorneys and legal professionals work remotely, they work as one team. Our remote structure allows us to bring together lawyers with federal-sector knowledge and experience from across the country while representing federal employees nationwide.
Every attorney is supported by legal professionals, training, and review systems designed to help the firm communicate clearly, protect deadlines, build stronger records, and give each matter the
attention it deserves.
Our clients should not feel that they hired an isolated lawyer. They should feel that they hired Southworth PC.
You Deserve a Team That Will Tell You the Truth and Stand With You
When you work with Southworth PC, our values should be visible in the experience. You should see them in the questions we ask, the advice we give, the preparation of your case, the strategy
we recommend, and the way our team treats you.
We cannot promise what an agency, judge, or opposing party will do. We can promise to approach the work with purpose, candor, compassion, and a continuing commitment to improve.