Schoolcraft v. The City Of New York et al

Filing 560

DECLARATION of Joshua P. Fitch (Master Declaration) in Support re: 559 MOTION for Attorney Fees , Costs and Disbursements.. Document filed by Adrian Schoolcraft. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit A - Declaration of Jon L. Norinsberg, Esq., # 2 Exhibit B - Declaration of Nathaniel Smith, Esq., # 3 Exhibit C - Declaration of Joshua P. Fitch, Esq., # 4 Exhibit D - Declaration of Gerald M. Cohen, Esq., # 5 Exhibit E - Declaration of John Lenoir, Esq., # 6 Exhibit F - Declaration of Howard A. Suckle, Esq., # 7 Exhibit G - Declaration of Magdalena Bauza, # 8 Exhibit H - Billing Entries and Costs for Jon L. Norinsberg, Esq., # 9 Exhibit I - Billing Entries and Costs for Nathaniel Smith, Esq., # 10 Exhibit J - Billing Entries for Joshua P. Fitch, Esq., # 11 Exhibit K - Billing Entries and Costs for Gerald M. Cohen, Esq., # 12 Exhibit L - Billing Entries for John Lenoir, Esq., # 13 Exhibit M - Billing Entries for Howard A. Suckle, Esq., # 14 Exhibit N - Billing Entries for Magdalena Bauza, # 15 Exhibit O - Declaration of Jonathan Abady, Esq. in support of the hourly rate of Jon L. Norinsberg, Esq., # 16 Exhibit P - Declaration of Christopher Galiardo, Esq. in support of the hourly rate of Jon L. Norinsberg, Esq., # 17 Exhibit Q - Declaration of Afsaan Saleem, Esq. in support of the hourly rate of Jon L. Norinsberg, Esq., # 18 Exhibit R - Declaration of Michael L. Spiegel, Esq. in support of the hourly rate of Nathaniel Smith, Esq., # 19 Exhibit S - Declaration of Zachary Margulis-Ohnuma, Esq. in support of the hourly rate of Joshua P. Fitch, Esq. and Gerald M. Cohen, Esq., partners of Cohen & Fitch LLP, # 20 Exhibit T - Declaration of Irving Cohen, Esq. in support of the hourly rate of Joshua P. Fitch, Esq. and Gerald M. Cohen, Esq., partners of Cohen & Fitch LLP, # 21 Exhibit U - Declaration of Katherine Smith, Esq. in support of the hourly rate of Joshua P. Fitch, Esq. and Gerald M. Cohen, Esq., partners of Cohen & Fitch LLP, # 22 Exhibit V - Declaration of Hugh M. Mo, Esq. in support of the hourly rate of John Lenoir, Esq., # 23 Exhibit W - Declaration of Jeffrey Schlanger, Esq. in support of the hourly rate of John Lenoir, Esq., # 24 Exhibit X - Declaration of David Finkler, Esq. in support of the hourly rate of Howard A. Suckle, Esq., # 25 Exhibit Y - Declaration of Mitchell Bloch, Esq. in support of the hourly rate of Howard A. Suckle, Esq., # 26 Exhibit Z - 2013-2014 National Law Journal Billing Survey of Large Firm Billing Rates, # 27 Exhibit AA - 2013-2014 New York City Law Department Year in Review for the Special Federal Litigation Division, # 28 Exhibit BB - New York City Law Department Special Federal Litigation Homepage, # 29 Exhibit CC - Verdict Search's Top Verdicts of 2013, # 30 Exhibit DD - Super Lawyers 2015 Annual List of Top Lawyers in the New York Metro Area, # 31 Exhibit EE - Order in Bernabe v. City of New York, 13 CV 5531 (LGS) relating to Mr. Norinsberg's hourly rate)(Fitch, Joshua)

EXHIBIT
“O”

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
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ADRIAN SCHOOLCRAFT,
PLAINTIFF,

-against-

DECLARATION OF
JONATHAN S. ABADY

10-CV-6005 (RWS)

CITY OF NEW YORK, ET AL,
DEFENDANT.
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JONATHAN S. ABADY, an attorney admitted to practice in the State of New York,
declares, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1746, under penalty of perjury, as follows:
1.

I am a partner at Emery Celli Brinckerhoff & Abady LLP. I submit this

Declaration in support of the attorneys’ fee application submitted in the above-captioned matter
by plaintiff’s counsel, Jon L. Norinsberg, an attorney whom I have known for several years.
2.

I graduated from New York University School of Law in 1990. I am admitted to

practice before the Supreme Court of the United States; the United States Court of Appeals,
Second Circuit; as well as the Southern, Eastern and Northern Districts of New York.
3.

I successfully litigated and argued Gasperini v. The Center for Humanities, 518

U.S. 415 (1996) in the United States Supreme Court, a seminal case in Seventh Amendment
jurisprudence, now featured in law school case books throughout the country.
4.

In 2008, I was named in The Best Lawyers in America as one of New York’s top

attorneys in the area of civil rights law. See www.bestlawyers.com.

5.

In the area of civil rights, I have represented numerous plaintiffs in wrongful

death actions, police misconduct cases, First Amendment litigation, and voting rights cases. In
2000, I was a member of the team of lawyers who litigated voting irregularities in Florida in the
Bush-Gore Presidential election.
6.

Mr. Norinsberg and I worked together for several years on a case entitled

Jovanovic v. The City of New York, 04-CV-8437 (PAC). During that time, Mr. Norinsberg
proved to be an extremely conscientious and highly-skilled litigator, and always demonstrated
the highest degree of professionalism. Accordingly, I fully support Mr. Norinsberg's requested
hourly rate of $600.00 as entirely reasonable, and in line with the prevailing rates for an attorney
of his caliber, experience and reputation in the Southern District ofNew York.
7.

Based upon my years of experience as a lawyer practicing in this field in federal

courts across the country and at every level, and based upon my observations and interactions
with Mr. Norinsberg over the years, I fully support Mr. Norinsberg's hourly rate of $600.00 for
his work in this matter. I think it is more than reasonable and in line with the prevailing market
rates for an attorney of his caliber, experience and reputation in the Southern District of New
York.
DATED:

New York, New York
December 8, 2015

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