On June 21, 2013, Judge Alvin Hellerstein in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York granted defendants’ motion for summary judgment in its entirety in favor of Firm client the City University of New York (“CUNY”), Queens College, and various university officials.

The plaintiff, a current university employee, brought claims under Title VI and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act alleging that he was discriminated against because of his Italian-American national origin and a disability and that he was retaliated against for his alleged advocacy and affirmative action work on behalf of Italian-Americans at CUNY.

Beth Kaufman represented all defendants from the beginning of the case through the successful summary judgment motion that resulted in the dismissal of the case.

Norman L. Greene has been appointed to the Board of the American Bar Association’s Rule of Law Initiative. The ABA Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI) is an international development program that promotes the rule of law by working with in-country partners to build sustainable institutions and societies that deliver justice, foster economic opportunity and ensure respect for human dignity.
Today, ABA ROLI implements legal reform programs in roughly 60 countries in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Europe and Eurasia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Middle East and North Africa. ABA ROLI has roughly 700 professional staff working in the United States and abroad, including a cadre of short- and long-term expatriate volunteers who, since the program’s inception, have contributed more than $200 million in pro bono technical legal assistance.
Related Attorney: Norman L. Greene

In July, 2013, Norman L. Greene, past Chair of the NYC Bar Association’s Committee on Capital Punishment, presented Eleanor Jackson Piel with its Norman Redlich Capital Defense Lifetime Achievement Award, at an award ceremony held at the Bar Association in July 2013. James W. B. Benkard also was given the Committee’s Norman Redlich Capital Defense Pro Bono Award. The award was named after the former Dean of New York University School of Law who was a leading opponent of capital punishment. The ceremony also featured remarks by the award recipients, by Carey Dunne, president of the Bar Association, and by former New York Chief Judge Judith Kaye. A fuller account of the ceremony and the nature of the award appears at http://www.nycbar.org/44th-street-blog/2013/09/19/eleanor-jackson-piel-and-james-w-b-benkard-receive-city-bar%e2%80%99s-norman-redlich-capital-defense-awards/
Related Attorney: Norman L. Greene

The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit recently affirmed the dismissal of an employment discrimination case against Columbia University. The claims had been pursued for nearly 20 years. After a successful defense in a trial before the New York State Division of Human Rights, the claims were dismissed on the merits. A Right to Sue letter was issued and pursuit of the claims de novo in the Southern District resulted in a defense verdict after full discovery and a week long jury trial. A motion for a new trial was denied. The result in the district court was affirmed and the appeal dismissed on July 3, 2012. Charles B. Updike tried the case and briefed and argued it in the Court of Appeals.

Firm issues Press Release regarding New Name and Offices