Franklin & Prokopik (F&P) has been named one of The Daily Record Maryland’s 2025 Empowering Women award winners.

The Empowering Women Awards honor companies and organizations that demonstrate a strong commitment to supporting and advancing women in Maryland. Honorees are recognized for hiring and promoting women, elevating them to leadership positions, advocating for women both internally and externally, and cultivating the next generation of women professionals.

F&P is proud to receive this recognition as a reflection of our long-standing dedication to inclusion and advancement opportunities for women in the legal industry. From our founding, merit-based advancement has been a cornerstone of our culture, fostering an environment of fairness and opportunity.

When the firm was established in 1999, women comprised just 15% of partners nationally—yet 27% of F&P’s Founding Partners were women. Today, F&P is proud to be a majority women-owned firm, with women serving in a wide range of senior leadership roles.

Award winners will be celebrated at the Women’s Leadership Summit on October 30 at the University of Maryland and profiled in a special magazine insert in the October 31 issue of The Daily Record as well as online at https://thedailyrecord.com/event/empowering-women/ 

F&P looks forward to joining fellow honorees in celebrating this recognition and continuing to champion women’s leadership in the legal profession.

Franklin & Prokopik (F&P) is honored to be included in the recently published Virginia Lawyers Weekly’s 2025 Empowering Women section. This list features firms dedicated to providing women with support and advancement opportunities in the legal field.

Over the last 25+ years, F&P has always sought to foster excellence at every organizational level. Our commitment to fairness and opportunity has created remarkable outcomes in female leadership representation. As of 2025, we are proud to be a majority women-owned firm and will continue to prioritize gender fairness through a supportive internal culture and merit-based advancements.

F&P regularly ranks in the top 10 among mid-sized firms nationwide in Law360’s respected Glass Ceiling Report. The firm has also achieved Mansfield Certification Plus through the Diversity Lab. These outcomes reflect more than just good intentions – they demonstrate sustained, measurable results. We actively support community initiatives. Specifically, our Herdon, VA, office volunteers with “Women Giving Back,” a nonprofit that provides essential items to women and children in crisis. The firm also champions team members’ personal philanthropic endeavors, demonstrating a commitment to community engagement in both significant and everyday ways.

Thank you to Virginia Lawyers Weekly for this recognition. To learn more about their publication, visit Virginia Lawyers Weekly

Last week, F&P attorneys Ralph Arnsdorf, Scott Phillips, and Patrick Wachter obtained a favorable ruling in a case involving religious discrimination claims under Title VII related to COVID-19 vaccination requirements. Plaintiff Cara Dodson alleged religious discrimination after her employment was terminated for refusing the COVID-19 vaccination. Defendant Lutheran Village at Millers Grant Inc. had denied her request for religious accommodation based on safety concerns for vulnerable residents.

Ms. Dodson is a licensed occupational therapist who worked at Lutheran Village from March 2019 to February 2022, often in close contact with clients. Lutheran Village’s vaccination policy required annual vaccinations unless exempted for medical or religious reasons. Ms. Dodson initially received a religious exemption for the COVID-19 vaccine in January 2021 due to its emergency use status. In September 2021, she requested another exemption, citing concerns about the vaccine’s use of aborted fetal tissue. Lutheran Village denied her request in December 2021, citing increased risks to residents and staff.

The court set multiple deadlines for discovery and motions, with Ms. Dodson’s counsel entering the case in August 2023, and Lutheran Village filed a renewed motion for summary judgment after the close of discovery.

Title VII requires employers to accommodate religious practices unless it causes undue hardship. Lutheran Village argued that accommodating Ms. Dodson would increase the risk of COVID-19 spread among vulnerable populations. The court found that granting the accommodation would impose undue hardship due to health risks.

The court granted Lutheran Village’s motion for summary judgment, concluding that Ms. Dodson’s requested accommodation posed a threat to health and safety. Ms. Dodson’s motion to produce additional evidence was denied due to lack of diligence in pursuing discovery.

As of June 26, 2025, the Plaintiff has filed an appeal of the ruling to the United States Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit.