Paul Sprenger

PAUL SPRENGER, of Washington, DC, Died suddenly December 29, 2014 while snorkeling off a beach in Curacao with his beloved wife and law partner, Jane Lang. He was 74. As a litigator in federal and state courts for 50 years, Paul initiated, pursued and settled precedent-setting cases in the field of employment discrimination, winning millions of dollars of back pay and compensation for his clients, and sweeping workplace improvements for women, African-Americans, migrants and older workers. He is credited with opening the doors to women for tenure track positions at the University of Minnesota, stimulating change throughout higher education. He received the Trail Blazer's Award from the National Organization for Women and Families in 2007 for his groundbreaking success in the case against Eveleth Mines in Northern Minnesota. This case, for the first time, enabled women to pursue claims of sexual harassment as a class. It became widely known through the publication of Class Action: The Landmark Case that Changed the Law of Sexual Harassment, published by Doubleday, and the Warner Brothers movie North Country. Among other achievements, he led the plaintiffs' team that reached a $40 million settlement with PEPCO in Washington DC in 1993, in a case that spurred the power company to revamp its workplace practices. He stretched the scope of age discrimination laws in several record-breaking cases against Control Data and First Union, and prevailed on the entire television industry to settle with older TV writers for $70 million in 2011. The latter settlement included the innovative creation of the TV Writers Fund for the Future, which continues to provide training and networking opportunities for older writers. He was a mentor and cheerleader for young lawyers he worked with, reminding them that "a case is only as good as the work you put into it." Persistence, fearlessness and optimism, mixed with kindness and generosity, characterized his life and his law practice. Paul was born in Stillwater, Minnesota in 1940 to Carl and Dorothy Sprenger. He grew up on various naval bases, and graduated from Grosse Ile High School in Michigan, where he acquired life-long friends. He held both undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Michigan. Paul had three children, each of whom he loved fiercely, from his first marriage to Judith Sprenger; Steven Sprenger (Lara), Heidi Stokes (Sean) and Sara Sprenger-Otto (Gunars). With his marriage to Jane in 1990, Paul became stepfather to Jessica Lang and Benjamin Alamar (Amy), and opened his heart to them as well. He was the amazed grandfather of 14 beautiful children, Jordan, Cameron, Grace, Julia, Gabrielle, Grayson, Thomas, Alexander, Maya, Erin, Maitlynne, Annabelle, Theodore, and Evelyn, and one great-granddaughter, Harper. Paul's younger brother, Dick, predeceased him, leaving three children, Jessica Sprenger Grassie, Mandy Sprenger and John Sprenger. Paul's love extended to them and many others - father-in-law, Eugene Lang and his wife Theresa (deceased); brothers-in-law, Stephen (Tina) and David Lang; 11 nieces and nephews; Nicholas Barr, whom he lovingly mentored for 17 years; and his high school and fly fishing "buddies." Although he suffered from recurrent prostate cancer and Parkinson's Disease, he led a full and uncomplaining life, enjoying fly fishing around the world, Wizards games, theatre and travels with Jane and his grandchildren. After his many successes in law, Paul took up an opportunity to expand a retail and condominium development in Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, where he and Jane spent happy years in their vacation home and farm, and formed many lasting friendships. He also turned to philanthropy and, with Jane, founded the Atlas Performing Arts Center on H Street NE, which sparked the revitalization of "the Atlas District." They jointly received the Washington Post Award for Innovative Leadership in the Theatre Community" from the Helen Hayes Theatre Awards Society, and numerous other tributes. Paul was a trustee and Treasurer of the Atlas and the Tregaron Conservancy, a 13 acre DC woodlands garden, which, like the Atlas, is on the National Register of Historic Places. In both projects, he played important roles in the restoration of long-neglected historic places. He also served as trustee of the Eugene M. Lang Foundation and Sprenger Lang Foundation. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions to the Atlas Performing Arts Center (Atlasarts.org) or Tregaron Conservancy (Tregaronconservancy.org) in his memory. Friends are invited to attend a memorial service and reception at 5 p.m. on January 11, 2015 at the Atlas Performing Arts Center, 1333 H Street NE, Washington DC.

Published in The Washington Post from Jan. 3 to Jan. 7, 2015