Education

J.D., Stanford Law School

B.S., Cornell University

Clerkship

Hon. James K. Singleton, Alaska Court of Appeals

Admissions

District of Columbia

New York

U.S. District Court: District of Columbia, District of Maryland

U.S. Court of Appeals: District of Columbia Circuit, Third Circuit, Fourth Circuit, Fifth Circuit, Sixth Circuit, Eleventh Circuit

U.S. Supreme Court

Kathleen L. Millian

Partner

Kathleen L. Millian is an experienced federal litigator with over 35 years’ experience representing citizen groups in environmental cases and plaintiffs in civil rights class actions at the trial court and appellate levels.

Some of Ms. Millian’s representative environmental cases include Interfaith Community Organization v. Honeywell International, Inc., 263 F.Supp.2d 796 (D.N.J. 2003), affirmed, 399 F.3d 248 (3d Cir. 2005), certiorari denied, 545 U.S. 1129 (2005), in which the Third Circuit affirmed the district court’s order to excavate and remove 1.5 million tons of hexavalent chromium waste in Jersey City, New Jersey, and remedy the contaminated groundwater and Hackensack River sediments; Michigan v. EPA, 213 F.3d 663 (D.C. Cir. 2000), in which the court of appeals upheld EPA’s Clean Air Act rule requiring midwestern states to control emissions of nitrogen oxides which harm air quality in downwind states; Friends of the Earth v. Gaston Copper Recycling Corp., 204 F.3d 149 (4th Cir. 2000)(en banc), in which the court of appeals found that the plaintiff environmental groups had standing to proceed with their suit under the Clean Water Act; Public Interest Research Group of New Jersey v. Powell Duffryn Terminals Inc., 720 F. Supp. 1158 (D.N.J. 1989), in which the court granted a permanent injunction and imposed civil penalties of $3.2 million under the Clean Water Act on a polluter, affirmed in part and reversed in part, and penalty increased to $4.085 million, 913 F.2d 64 (3d Cir. 1990); Public Interest Research Group of New Jersey v. Ferro Merchandising Equipment Corp., 680 F. Supp. 692 (D.N.J. 1987), in which the court imposed contempt penalties for a polluter’s failure to comply with an injunction to comply with the Clean Water Act.

Ms. Millian has represented the plaintiff class in the Salazar v. District of Columbia class action brought by Medicaid recipients against the District of Columbia since the case was filed in 1993. After a trial at which the plaintiff class prevailed (954 F. Supp. 278 (D.D.C. 1996)), the case settled while an appeal was pending. Ms. Millian has litigated and argued several appeals related to Salazar while the consent decree has been in effect and continues to monitor and enforce the District’s compliance with a comprehensive injunctive consent order.  

Ms. Millian represents the plaintiff class asserting their rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Rehabilitation Act to live and receive the services for their disabilities outside of the institutional setting of nursing facilities in Brown v. District of Columbia. The case was tried via Zoom in 2021 and a decision remains pending.  Ms. Millian also represents the plaintiffs in two cases brought under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). DL v. District of Columbia concerns children aged 3-5 years who must be provided with special education services. Charles H. v. District of Columbia concerns young adult students at the DC Jail who were denied their education during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ms. Millian has also handled cases under the public accommodations and fair housing laws and attorneys’ fees litigation.

Kathleen L. Millian joined the firm in 1987 after a clerkship with the Honorable James K. Singleton of the Alaska Court of Appeals and became a partner in 1992. She earned her J.D. from Stanford Law School in 1985 and her B.S. from Cornell University in 1982.