When those of unequal power are in conflict, the law can be a great leveler. Our clients come from all walks of life, but they are united in finding themselves at odds with a business or government entity that possesses far more resources than they do. Many of our laws are designed to protect individuals from the power of governments, institutions and over-reaching professionals.
We are always willing to “speak truth to power,” and savor the opportunity to assure that our clients receive the protections the law demands. We like to think we’re in law enforcement.
Case samples
- In a landmark case, we successfully defended the privacy rights of a young woman who had been filmed for the HBO reality show “Family Bonds” without her consent. We sued HBO on her behalf and defeated HBO’s motion to dismiss our claim. The trial court’s decision created stronger privacy laws in New York and was upheld on appeal. Read more →
- We defended a physician of Middle Eastern descent who had been fired from his hospital position largely because he had a strong accent. We succeeded in having his position reinstated and his personnel file cleared.
- We defended the civil rights of a young boy with special educational needs who had been expelled from his private school because the school did not want to provide the assistance he needed. We filed a federal civil rights lawsuit on his behalf and successfully forced the school to pay damages to the boy for the violation of his rights.
- We intervened on behalf of a nursing student with a learning disability who had been dismissed from her program. We successfully insisted that she be provided with the accommodations she needed to deal with her disability. She was re-admitted to her program, graduated, and is now practicing.
- We defended the employment rights of a senior executive at a major investment and financial services firm who had been fired “for cause” after he pointed out security deficiencies to an internal audit team. We negotiated a superior severance package which well exceeded the firm’s contractual obligations under even the best circumstances and cleared his personnel record so that he was unencumbered while seeking new employment.
- We defended the civil rights of a 13-year-old boy who was arrested and charged with assault over an accident during a baseball game. The criminal charges against the boy were quickly dismissed, but in the short period of time that he was in custody, he was put in a cell with older, more violent detainees who serially raped him. We filed suit against the government agency responsible for maintaining the safety of the holding facility and, after a period of negotiation, the matter was settled for $1,200,000. Ultimately, we worked with the city to re-write the law relating to the manner in which young children would be held in jail while awaiting a court date.
