JOSEPH V. KAPLAN, a founding principal in the firm, received his undergraduate degree from the Pennsylvania State University in 1975, and his Juris Doctor in 1978 from Gonzaga University. In 1979, Mr. Kaplan received a Master of Laws, LL.M. from the George Washington University National Law Center, specializing in Labor and Employment Law.

Mr. Kaplan's first position was with the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), where he was involved in labor litigation and negotiations. In 1986, Mr. Kaplan entered the private practice of law, concentrating in labor and employment law, as an associate with the firm of Passman & Broida. In January 1989, Mr. Kaplan opened his own legal practice under the name of Joseph V. Kaplan, P.C. By the end of that year, Messrs. Passman and Kaplan agreed to merge their firms under the name of Passman & Kaplan, P.C.

Mr. Kaplan continues to concentrate his practice in the areas of employment, labor, and discrimination law. While primarily representing Federal and D.C. Government employees and labor unions of the Federal and District of Columbia Governments, he also represents private sector employees. Mr. Kaplan's practice involves litigation in  the U.S. Courts of Appeals, the U.S. District Courts, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, the D.C. Court of Appeals and the D.C. Superior Court, and such administrative agencies as the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB), the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA), the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the Defense Office of Hearings and Appeals (DOHA), the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS), the Federal Service Impasses Panel (FSIP), the D.C. Human Rights Commission (DCHRC), the D.C. Office of Employee Appeals (OEA), and numerous arbitrators. In 2005, Mr. Kaplan obtained a jury verdict of $3M for a P&K client in a disability rights law suit against the U.S. Department of Commerce.

In addition to practicing law, Mr. Kaplan is a frequent lecturer at professional seminars concerning various labor and employment law topics.

Mr. Kaplan also served on the faculty of Central Michigan University, where he taught a graduate economics course on Collective Bargaining and Labor Law. He was twice elected as the National President of the Society of Federal Labor and Employee Relations Professionals (SFLERP) and is active in various professional organizations, such as the National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA) and the Washington Metropolitan Employment Lawyers Association (MWELA). Mr. Kaplan has written a number of published articles concerning federal labor relations, and for six years was the author of the Federal Merit Systems Year Book, a leading reference book on the Merit Systems Protection Board, published by the Labor Relations Press. Moreover, Mr. Kaplan is the lead editor and co-author of the Federal Employees Legal Survival Guide, and is co-author of Litigating Federal Sector Employee and Labor Disputes: A Practitioner's Handbook by Dewey Publications. Mr. Kaplan has also served as a court-certified expert witness on MSPB procedures in U.S. District Court.  In 2008 he was selected to be a Fellow of The College of Labor and Employment Lawyers, Inc.

Mr. Kaplan is an active member of the bars of the District of Columbia and the State of Maryland.