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
“R”

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

10-cv-6005 (RWS)
Plaintiff,

-againstCITY OF NEW YORK, et al
Defendants.
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DECLARATION OF MICHAEL L. SPIEGEL PURSUANT TO 28
U.S.C. § 1746 UNDER THE PENALTY OF PERJURY
1.

As an attorney who is admitted to practice law in this State and

before this Court, I am submitting this declaration in support of the plaintiff’s
application for attorney’s fees in the above-referenced action.
2.

My educational background and legal experience is briefly set forth

below.
3.

I am a solo practitioner with offices at 11 Park Place, New York,

New York 10007.
4.

I am a member of the New York and California state bars; I am also

a member of the bar of the United States District Courts for the Southern and
Eastern Districts of New York, and the Northern and Eastern Districts of
California, the United States Courts of Appeals for the Second and

Ninth Circuits, and the United States Supreme Court.
5.

I attended Harvard College and City University of New York, and

received my Juris Doctor degree from New York University School of Law. I was
a Root Tilden Scholar at New York University School of Law, and I clerked for
the Honorable Whitman Knapp during law school.
6.

Since 1995 I have maintained a solo practice in New York City,

focusing on police misconduct, first amendment, and death penalty constitutional
litigation.
7.

Since 2000, the overwhelming majority of my cases have involved

constitutional claims of false arrest, malicious prosecution and/or excessive force
by police officers. I have litigated approximately 250 civil rights cases in the
Southern District of New York.
8.

As a result of my experience and reputation, I am regularly

consulted by practitioners in New York and other states for advice on how to
handle police misconduct Section 1983 cases.
9.

I have lectured at many Continuing Legal Education programs on

Section 1983 law and litigation.

10.

I am personally familiar with the hourly rates charged by my

colleagues who primarily litigate civil rights claims. For experienced
practitioners with 25 or more years of experience, their rates range from $500 to
$675 per hour, with most clustering around $625 to $650 per hour.
11.

I am personally acquainted with Nathaniel B. Smith as an

attorney with whom I have worked in the past. For about five years, Mr. Smith
and I worked out of the same law office suite at 111 Broadway, New York,
New York, and we regularly shared insights and thoughts about our respective
matters over that five-year period.
12.

I am also more formally familiar with Mr. Smith’s work as an

employment and civil rights lawyer, having worked with him on a First
Amendment retaliation case brought under Section 1983 by a former Fire
Marshal against the City of New York. In my opinion, Mr. Smith’s request for
fees at the rate of $575 an hour is a fair and reasonable rate in the City of New
York for an individual with his level of knowledge and experience in the area
employment and civil rights.
13.

I declare that the foregoing is true and correct.

Dated: November 17, 2015
_______s/_______________
Michael L. Spiegel