Amanda A. Farahany

Through both her cases and her legislative efforts, Amanda advocates on behalf of individuals and strives to enact legal change for all employees who face similar hardships.

Because Georgia does not have laws to protect employees, Amanda has been working for years to pass legislation, both in the state of Georgia and in Congress. Recently, she has introduced three bills that will bring protection to Georgia workers and is working to pass them in the 2024 Georgia legislative session. Under the Pregnancy Protection Act, Georgia workers will be able to care for their children – both during and after pregnancy. The Workplace Harassment act that will provide workplace protection for the disabled, for women, from age discrimination and for religious and other protected characteristics.

At the national level, Amanda has been working to eliminate the government’s ability to take verdicts away from jurors in discrimination cases. Most people do not know that federal discrimination laws puts caps on damages – and that even if a jury enters a verdict for a wronged worker for full compensation or to send a message to other companies that deters discriminatory conduct – that a judge is forced to reduce that verdict. Amanda is working on the Equal Remedies Act of 2023 in Congress to ensure that all juries – in all states – have the ability to hold corporations accountable, that juror’s verdicts are not taken away, and that the 7th Amendment right to a jury trial is preserved.

Amanda also recognized that Georgia workers do not get their fair day in court – fighting an uphill battle to get to a jury.  In 2013, Amanda published a study analyzing and exposing how the courts handle employment discrimination that deny plaintiffs the right to have their cases heard by a jury. The study generated national interest and dialogue, from Huffington Post articles by retired federal judges to local television coverage of the debate between Amanda and a defense attorney about the role of the jury and judge in employment cases. The study is now featured in several scholarly articles and books. Since the original study, Barrett & Farahany has been working with academics to provide an online database demonstrating how sexual harassment and discrimination cases are handled by the federal judiciary, in order to allow more wronged workers the ability to have a jury – not a judge – decide their cases.

In addition to her law practice, Amanda has served as the President of various law organizations: the Atlanta Bar Association’s Labor & Employment section, the National Employment Lawyers Association in Georgia, and the Atlanta Council for Younger Lawyers. Additionally, among others she has served in these roles:

• Executive Board of National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA)
• Co-chair of the American Association of Justice Wage and Hour Litigation Group
• Executive Board Member of the Atlanta Bar Association
• Chair of the Inadequate Security Litigation Group for the American Association of Justice
• Member of the Executive Committee to the Atlanta Bar Association
• Member of the Advisory Council to the National Crime Victim Bar Association
• Board member of the Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation, Crime Victim Advocacy Council, State Bar of Georgia Younger Lawyers Division, Public Affairs and Press Advisory Board to the American Association of Justice, and several domestic violence and women’s rights organizations
• Founding member of Water-Life-Hope, a non-profit organization that works to bring running water to the impoverished in Haiti
• Elected to the Board of Directors of Stand Up for Workers (SU4W)

A sought-after speaker and commentator, Amanda has been featured as a legal “thought leader” in publications and news segments. Human resource professionals and employment defense attorneys regularly seek her out as a presenter. Amanda has spoken and been published extensively regarding employment law cases related to sexual harassment, overtime and employment, civil justice for crime victims and sexual assault, and more. She has been published by the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, the American Association for Justice, the National Crime Victim Bar Association, the American Bar Association, the State Bar of Georgia’s Institute for Continuing Legal Education, the National Employment Lawyers Association, and many others.

Amanda has been an invited faculty member for the Emory School of Law Trial Advocacy Program and for the National Employment Lawyers’ Association Trial Boot Camp. She was one of a selected few employment lawyers asked to serve on the Eleventh Circuit Committee to revise the Pattern Jury Instructions on employment-related issues. An experienced trial lawyer, Amanda has been awarded status as a Fellow of the National College of Advocacy by the American Association of Justice. This designation signifies her commitment to the effective representation of her clients and her dedication to achieving a high level of competence. Additionally, Amanda is a Fellow of the Lawyer’s Foundation of Georgia. Membership in the Fellows Program is an honor that recognizes lawyers whose public and private careers demonstrate outstanding legal abilities and devotion to their communities. In addition to these memberships and programs, Amanda was a recent competitor in the World Putting League (WPL) Pro-Am.