Eric J. Conn is a Partner in the Washington, D.C. office of McDermott Will & Emery LLP. As a member of the Firm’s OSHA Practice Group and Trial Department, he has focused his practice on Occupational Safety and Health law and complex commercial litigation.
Eric’s practice includes representing clients in all aspects of OSHA, CSB, NTSB, and MSHA inspections, investigations, enforcement actions, and litigation. Eric has extensive experience in responding to catastrophic industrial, construction, and airline accidents, including explosions, chemical releases, and accidents involving manufacturing, construction and airline equipment, as well as scaffolds and trenches. Routinely working with technical experts, Eric manages internal and agency investigations, including investigations by OSHA, the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB), the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), MSHA, and the EPA, as well as by state and local regulatory and law enforcement agencies. Eric handles the full range of OSHA and MSHA litigation, including appeals of citations and negotiating settlement agreements with an eye towards minimizing the impact of agency actions on wrongful death and personal injury civil cases. He also counsels attorneys representing clients in civil litigation arising out of workplace or airline accidents.
Eric also is experienced in complex and constitutional litigation matters, including mediations and arbitrations. He has represented clients in major contract disputes and constitutional class-action matters. His practice includes developing and implementing litigation strategy, discovery, witness preparation, hearings, and trials.
In addition, Eric represents the interests of indigent tenants in pro bono matters before the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, Landlord/Tenant Division.
Representative Experience
- Multi-agency investigation of a nitrogen asphyxiation incident at an east coast petroleum refinery
- State-plan OSHA inspection of a catastrophic explosion at a feed mill/grain elevator in North Carolina
- NTSB investigation of a commercial airline accident in Lexington, Kentucky
- Multi-agency investigation of a catastrophic reactor explosion at a specialty chemical plant in North Carolina
- State-plan OSHA inspection of a drowning in a sewer system by an employee installing flow meters in Tennessee
- Informal settlement of state-plan OSHA citations arising out of a construction forklift accident in Michigan
- Litigation regarding multi-billion dollar contract, including temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction hearings, as well as mediation
- Wall-to-wall OSHA process safety management program quality verification (PQV) inspection of a petroleum refinery in Delaware
- OSHA investigation and Coroner’s Inquest of fatal trench collapse in Wheaton, Illinois
- Multi-agency investigation of a catastrophic acid tank explosion at a petroleum refinery in Delaware City, Delaware
- OSHA high-rise construction inspection in Chicago, Illinois
- Chemical exposure and release incidents at a petroleum refinery in Delaware
- Nationwide class-action litigation involving civil conspiracy and fraud issues
- MSHA investigation of double fatality at a surface mine in Ruth, Nevada
- OSHA investigation of double fatality at manufacturing plant in Sherman, Texas
- OSHA investigation of fatal construction accident at Baltimore-Washington International Airport
- Class-action litigation challenging constitutionality of a state law
- OSHA investigation of fatal construction accident at SW Florida International Airport
- Multi-agency investigation of an explosion at a medical device component manufacturing plant in North Carolina
- OSHA inspection of a fatal confined-space explosion at an offshore equipment construction facility in Corpus Christi, Texas
- OSHA inspection of saw blade injury during the post 9-11 Pentagon reconstruction
Eric authored a chapter on OSHA inspections in the OSH Law Handbook treatise, and is a contributing editor to Occupational Hazards Magazine. He has also co-authored articles about OSHA’s HAZWOPER standard and medical kit regulations.
During law school, Eric was a member of the editorial board of the Virginia Law Review. He had his note about employment discrimination settlements entitled, “Hanging in the Balance: Post-Judgment Settlements and Confidentiality Agreements in Employment Discrimination Cases,” published in the Virginia Law Review.
Eric is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia and in the federal and state courts of Massachusetts.Education
- University of Virginia School of Law, J.D., 2000
- University of Virginia, B.A., 1997
