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Mr. Stern graduated with honors from the State University of New York at Binghamton in 1992 and obtained his J.D. from Brooklyn Law School in 1995. He is admitted to practice law before the New York State courts, the United States District Courts for the Southern, Eastern, and Northern Districts of New York, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court. Mr. Stern focuses in the areas of civil rights and employment law, having represented dozens of municipalities and school districts throughout Long Island, Westchester, Rockland, Orange, Putnam and Dutchess counties. He has had tremendous success defeating claims through successful motion practice and jury trials in both state and federal courts. After a few years in private practice, where he litigated a variety of general liability, employment, malpractice, and commercial disputes, Mr. Stern spent five years with the New York City Law Department’s Special Federal Litigation Division. As an Assistant Corporation Counsel, he handled some of the City’s most high profile Federal civil rights and employment cases. In his third year, Mr. Stern was given Senior Counsel status and promoted to supervisor. He oversaw a team of ten attorneys, each with a substantial caseload of federal civil rights cases, as well as a smaller team of attorneys defending a landmark class action lawsuit challenging the alleged pervasive use of excessive force at Riker’s Island. Mr. Stern was also one of the City’s Continuing Legal Education instructors, teaching courses on techniques for conducting effective depositions and the ethical issues pertaining to the representation of municipal officials and employees. Before founding Sokoloff Stern LLP, Mr. Stern was a partner at MSSSV LLP, where he concentrated in the areas of employment and civil rights defense. He tried and won several notable cases, including the highly-publicized Berrios v. Hampton Bays UFSD, in which a teacher claimed to have been terminated because she was perceived to be a “witch” and Caruso v. Massapequa UFSD, in which a teacher claimed to have been terminated because of her support of President Bush in the 2004 election. In the fall of 2008, he tried and won Lundgren v. Town of Cornwall, a police false arrest case in which the plaintiff had been arrested for shooting his neighbor’s pit bull, which he claimed had attacked him and his dog in his backyard. Mr. Stern lectures in the areas of civil rights law, and was a panelist during the Federal Bar Council’s 2007 Fall Retreat on the topic of student speech rights. Mr. Stern has argued many cases before the New York State and United States District Courts yielding the following positive cited decisions, among many others: Finke v. City of Glen Cove, N.Y.S.2d , 2008 WL 4682555 (2d Dept. Oct. 21, 2008): The Appellate Division upheld dismissal of plaintiff’s claim that City was not responsible for its destruction of plaintiff’s lobstering equipment left unauthorized on City property. Rush v. County of Nassau, 51 A.D.3d 762 (2d Dept. 2008): Police false arrest case dismissed on summary judgment and affirmed on appeal. Abramson v. Flaherty, 2008 WL 1767070 (E.D.N.Y. 2008): The Court granted a protective order shielding school personnel files from disclosure in a religious discrimination lawsuit brought by a school administrator. The case was subsequently withdrawn. Adam v. Glen Cove School, 2008 WL 508689 (E.D.N.Y. 2008): Summary judgment was granted to school district in Title VII race discrimination case brought by a terminated custodian. DeMasi v. Benefico, 2008 WL 288493 (S.D.N.Y. 2008): Summary judgment was granted to Village and officials for due process violations based on the termination of a police officer’s General Municipal Law § 207-c benefits. Urlaub v. Inc. Village of Bellport, 498 F.Supp.2d 614 (E.D.N.Y. 2007): Defeated motion for preliminary injunction brought by a citizen’s peace group alleging that Village’s insurance requirement for a parade permit violated its First Amendment rights. Intermor v. Inc. Village of Malverne, 2007 WL 2288065 (E.D.N.Y. 2007): Summary judgment was granted to Village and officials based upon allegations that termination of a police officer was a violation of his due process and equal protection rights. Chesney v. Valley Stream UFSD, 2006 WL 2713934 (E.D.N.Y. Sept. 22, 2006): Motion to dismiss was granted with respect to a host of allegations of disability discrimination and constitutional violations. DeLeon v. Putnam Valley Central School District, 2006 WL 236744 (S.D.N.Y. Jan. 26, 2006): Four plaintiffs alleged that the District had a policy of discrimination against African Americans in hiring and treatment. Summary judgment was granted with respect to three of the four plaintiffs in the case. A jury found for the District at trial with respect to the allegation of a racially hostile work environment by the remaining plaintiff. DeLeon v. Putnam Valley Central School District, 228 F.R.D. 213 (S.D.N.Y. 2005): Court granted a protective order to the District shielding identity of confidential reporters of suspected child abuse, a landmark decision that encourages school employees to report suspected abuse without fear of reprisal. Lynn v. Village of Pomona, 373 F.Supp.2d 418 (S.D.N.Y. 2005), aff’d 212 Fed.Appx. 38 (2d Cir. 2007): Summary judgment was granted to Village in complicated, $7 million land use case, challenging alleged selective enforcement of steep slope laws under the Fair Housing Act with respect to the development of an 80 parcel community. O’Bradovich v. Village of Tuckahoe, 325 F.Supp.2d 413 (S.D.N.Y. 2004): Motion to dismiss was granted in favor of Village regarding a host of civil rights allegations against municipality and its officials, including First Amendment, Equal Protection, Due Process claims and alleged FOIL violations. Cunningham v. Fisch, 2001 WL 1313518 (S.D.N.Y. Oct. 26, 2001): Summary judgment was granted in favor of Assistant District Attorney who had prosecuted the plaintiff on grounds of absolute prosecutorial immunity. Hall v. City of New York, 2001 WL 1029046 (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 5, 2001): Summary judgment was granted in favor of the City of New York against plaintiff who alleged that he was falsely arrested by New York City police officers. Reyes v. City of New York, 2001 WL 274129 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 20, 2001): Summary judgment was granted in favor of the City of New York against plaintiff who alleged that he was unlawfully detained and subjected to excessive force by New York City police officers.
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