Douglas Sparks epitomizes the tough, relentless D.C. trial attorney.  He approaches cases with unflinching determination and passion, regardless of a client’s social or economic standing.  Many clients report finding success with Sparks even after insurance companies or other lawyers have rejected their claims. Frequently these cases result in memorable victories. Tragedies evolve into life-changing opportunities and offer new hope to those who had nearly given up.

For more than 30 years, Sparks has handled wrongful death, personal injury, civil rights, and criminal cases, ranging from high-profile, multiparty litigation to routine automobile accidents. He is renowned for taking on the government and big insurance companies.

Sparks filed the only successful lawsuit in the Washington metro area for police failure to protect a young mother from domestic violence. She was brutally murdered by an ex-boyfriend despite having obtained a civil protection order. Sparks exposed the police department’s policy of minimizing domestic violence warning signs and won the first settlement of its kind. As a result, the murder victim's small children have a brighter future.

Sparks represented the families of more than one thousand pretrial detainees and prisoners who were assaulted or killed in jail. In the case of one inmate death, Sparks won an $850,000 jury award, the largest reported verdict against the D.C. government for an inmate’s stabbing death.

Sparks successfully sued the D.C. Public School System on behalf of teenage girls sexually molested by a basketball coach who'd been hired despite being a convicted sex offender. Suits filed against the government for failing to supervise ambulance crews that sexually molested women during transport to the hospital also resulted in hard fought victories. For more on Douglas Sparks' "Cases in the News" Click Here.

Sparks & Associates, PLLC |5335 Wisconsin Ave., N.W. Ste 440| Washington, DC 20015

Tel. 202-797-8200 | Fax 202-315-3777

Honors & Presentations • Presenter: 2004 Public Service Award (Kathy Patterson, DC Council) • Presenter: 2005 Public Service Award (Colbert King, Washington Post Deputy Editorial Page Editor and Pulitizer Prize Winner) • Faculty: Auto and Premises Liability: 100 Key Tips for Winning From Top Practitioners (sponsored by TLA-DC and DC Bar Sections on Torts and Litigation). October 2004 • Moderator: Suing the Government: Municipal Liability Panel Discussion (sponsored by TLA-DC). April 2005 • Moderator: Advanced Deposition Techniques (sponsored by TLA-DC). April 2006 • Speaker: Litigating Against Local Governments (sponsored by TLA-DC). November 2008 • WASHINGTON SUPERLAWYERS (2007): The Top Attorneys in Washington (Personal Injury, Civil Rights, Governmental Liability) • BEST OF D.C. (2008): BEST LEGAL WATCHDOGS. Washington City Paper. • TOP 100 TRIAL LAWYERS (2009). The American Trial Lawyers Association • Presenter: 2010 Community Service Award . (Hope House DC)

Professional Activities & Memberships • Board of Governors, District of Columbia Metropolitan Area Trial Lawyers Association ; Past Chair: Membership Committee; Committee Member: Lawyers’ Education, Foundation Outreach, Leaders’ Club • Board of Directors, Past Chair, Legal Affairs Committee, DC Prisoners’ Legal Services Project (merged with Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs) • The American Association for Justice , Member: Civil Rights, Motor Vehicle Collision, Highway and Premises Liability Sections; Member: Child Sex Abuse and Inadequate Security Litigation Groups • District of Columbia Bar Association, Member: Tort Law Section • The National Crime Victim Bar Association, Member