Debra Soltis is an experienced litigator with over three decades of experience in civil and criminal cases. Her primary areas of practice are civil rights/employment discrimination, student-related matters and criminal defense. In her civil rights/employment practice, Debra’s clients have included victims of discrimination on the basis of gender, race, age, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, religion or personal appearance. Much of Debra’s civil rights practice focuses on empowering women in the workplace to combat sexual harassment, sexual assault, pregnancy discrimination and gender stereotypes. Debra also frequently represents students and their families who are in crisis, including in matters involving sexual assault, bullying and suicide. Debra’s criminal defense practice has included representing clients at trial and on appeal on charges ranging from misdemeanors to first degree murder, including extensive court-appointed work representing defendants from DC’s under-resourced communities. Debra has been repeatedly recognized by peer-based industry awards, including Washingtonian Magazine and SuperLawyers, as one of the best attorneys in Washington, D.C.
Debra is also the Executive Director of GirlsUP, Inc, a DC nonprofit that inspires adolescent girls to figure out who they are before the world tells them who they should be. She is a sought-out commentator on issues related to civil rights, criminal justice and the societal challenges faced by adolescent girls and has appeared on CBS Evening News, NPR, ESPN and numerous other media outlets. For over twenty years, she was on the adjunct faculty of Georgetown Law School, co-teaching a course of her own design on critical film theory with her law partner/husband Paul Kiyonaga. Debra has also served as a long-term consultant to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops on domestic justice issues and the National Advisory Board of the Catholic Mobilizing Network which seeks to end the death penalty. Debra is a magna cum laude graduate of Georgetown Law and began her legal career as an associate at Williams & Connolly. Debra is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia and Maryland and is often brought in as co-counsel in cases pending in other jurisdictions.
