Shulman & Hill is proud to announce that our firm was recently featured on the front page of the New York Law Journal! In an interview with the Journal, founding attorney Alex Shulman talked about his goals and vision for Shulman & Hill’s civil rights division. Our civil rights division has helped many wrongfully arrested and maliciously prosecuted New Yorkers since its inception in November 2021.
Since then, our firm has added several attorneys to our civil rights team, led by partner Cary London, who has years of experience in defending individuals against the New York Police Department. We are proud of the growth of our civil rights division and remain steadfast in our goal of keeping our legal representation accessible to people from all walks of life.
The Vision Behind Our Civil Rights Division
In this front-page article, London emphasized our firm’s priority of serving the community and defending New York’s most vulnerable populations, including young adults, kids, people of color, and transgender people. The people who are most affected by unscrupulous policing may not be able to afford the most expensive attorneys in New York, so Shulman & Hill is dedicated to protecting their access to representation. Shulman & Hill finds it extremely important to make sure low-income individuals can afford our legal services and continue to make that possible while growing our practice.
Highlighting the Work of Shulman & Hill’s Civil Rights Division
In just six months since its inception, our civil rights division has worked on and continues to work on several notable cases in our fight to protect lives and defend civil rights.
Setting New Precedents in the U.S. Supreme Court
There was a legal precedent in place that required wrongfully arrested individuals to prove that their criminal prosecution ended “favorably” to earn the right to sue law enforcement for damages. Thanks to our civil rights division, the United States Supreme Court heard its first case against the NYPD in over 40 years and ruled that a lack of conviction constitutes a favorable outcome for the accused. This civil rights victory in the highest court of the land gives many individuals who were previously ineligible to sue law enforcement for wrongful arrests the ability to do so on the basis that their criminal prosecution ended without conviction.
Sent to Rikers Island on False Murder Charges
Our clients Barry Hall and Pharaoh Ferguson spent three years on Rikers Island for a murder they did not commit. They were eventually exonerated after evidence of geolocation data on their cellphones showed that they were not at the scene of the 2018 murder. Our Civil Rights Partner Cary London is helping them sue the NYPD for the wrongful arrest and imprisonment that took place despite this evidence being available to law enforcement at the time.
Deaths on Rikers Island
There have been four inmate deaths on Rikers Island this year. Our Civil Rights Partner Cary London and Attorney David Kline are helping the family of the most recently deceased Rikers Island inmate, Dashawn Carter, pursue justice for their lost loved one. Our firm intends to hold this jail accountable for failing to keep its inmates safe. We have also set up a GoFundMe to assist them with funeral expenses.
Facing Civil Rights Violations? Call Shulman & Hill
If you or a loved one experienced civil rights violations such as a wrongful arrest or malicious prosecution, know that you have options for pursuing justice. Shulman & Hill’s Civil Rights Division is made accessible to all through strategic funding and contingency fee-based services. Let our attorneys help protect your rights and, thereby, protect the community’s rights.
