Hecker Fink LLP

On this week’s episode of podcast “For the Defense with David Oscar Markus,” Hecker Fink LLP Partner Sean Hecker discussed obtaining a rare Rule 29 acquittal for client Robert Bogucki in United States v. Robert Bogucki. At the time, Judge Charles Breyer, who presided over the case, remarked that he had never granted such an acquittal in his twenty years on the bench. Listen to “Sean Hecker for Robert Bogucki,” here: https://lnkd.in/eGmq9kx9

Hecker Fink LLP has been shortlisted for three 2024 New York Law Journal Professional Excellence Awards in the following categories: • Litigation Departments of the Year, General Litigation • Innovation Awards: Firm • Diversity Initiative The awards honor "those attorneys and judges who have made a remarkable difference in the legal profession in New York – whether in shaping the law, achieving outsized results for their clients, being an outstanding jurist or assisting those in need of legal services." Winners will be announced at an awards ceremony on September 5th in New York City. View the complete list of honorees, here: https://lnkd.in/g6_-DvGd

Last week, Hecker Fink LLP filed an amicus brief in the New York Court of Appeals on behalf of a group of legal scholars in support of the State of New York’s defense of its Early Mail Voter Act, a 2023 law which makes absentee voting available to all registered voters in New York. The brief urges the NY Court of Appeals to affirm the decisions of the trial and intermediate appellate courts upholding the constitutionality of the Act. The brief’s analysis seeks to bolster New York’s defense of the Act with an argument raised by neither party: namely, that the New York Constitution evinces a structural commitment to democracy—which Amici call the “democracy principle”—that requires interpreting the Constitution with a presumption in favor of democracy-expanding legislation. Properly applied here, the democracy principle requires finding the Act fully consistent with the text, history, and structure of the Constitution. The Hecker Fink team includes Joshua Matz, Joseph Posimato, and Anna Collins Peterson. The filing reflects the firm’s commitment to upholding the rule of law and protecting fundamental tenets of our democracy. https://lnkd.in/eQd9fe3b

The American Law Institute (ALI) has elected Hecker Fink LLP Partner Joshua Matz as a new member. ALI membership consists of "eminent judges, lawyers, and law professors from all areas of the United States and from many foreign countries, selected on the basis of professional achievement and demonstrated interest in improving the law." Please join us in congratulating Joshua! https://lnkd.in/eDDJNrjg

Hecker Fink LLP is pleased to announce that Partner John Quinn has been named to Crain's New York Business’ 2024 “Notable LGBTQIA+ Leaders” list. John was a leading member of the legal team that reached the historic settlement that resolved the firm’s challenge to Florida’s controversial “Don’t Say Gay” law. He was also on the team that secured the dismissal of a lawsuit brought by X Corp. against Center for Countering Digital Hate, advancing protections against lawsuits intended to punish the exercise of free speech. John serves on the boards of The Ali Forney Center, the nation’s largest LGBTQ+ youth homeless shelter and community center, and of the Broome Street Academy Charter High School, a tuition-free public school for at-risk youth. Each year, Crain’s honors the leading LGBTQIA+ business leaders in the New York metropolitan area who excel in their respective fields and demonstrate a commitment to fostering inclusive and equitable workplaces. Click here to view Crain’s 2024 Notable LGBTQIA+ Leaders list: https://lnkd.in/ekHyzbrR

Please join us in congratulating Andrew Chesley, Matthew Craig, Shawn Crowley, Max Feldman, David Gopstein, Reed Keefe, Joshua Matz, John Quinn, Mahrah Taufique, Brandon Trice, Mark Weiner, and Anne Yearwood on being named to Lawdragon’s second annual “500 X – The Next Generation” guide. The guide highlights “rising stars in the legal profession who are anticipated to shape the future of law.” View the complete list here: https://lnkd.in/eizfxyh7

Yesterday, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit upheld a federal jury’s multimillion-dollar verdict in the landmark civil rights litigation against the white supremacist and neo-Nazi individuals and organizations who planned and orchestrated the “Unite the Right” violence in Charlottesville in August 2017. The Fourth Circuit also held that the district court erred in capping the jury’s total award of punitive damages at $350,000, holding instead (as a matter of first impression) that the court should have applied Virginia’s punitive damages cap to each of the numerous plaintiffs in the case. Yesterday’s decision will restore millions of dollars in damages from the jury’s verdict, ensuring that the “Unite the Right” defendants are held accountable for their racist and antisemitic violence. Moreover, the decision sets a precedent that allows federal plaintiffs who sue jointly in Virginia to recover more in punitive damages for egregious misconduct. Read the decision here: https://lnkd.in/ephiuY8H The legal team included Roberta Kaplan, Gabrielle Tenzer, Ray Tolentino, Yotam B., Amit Jain, Jacqueline Sahlberg, Ally Daniels, and Peter Walker Kaplan.

Last Thursday, Kaplan Hecker & Fink LLP was honored with two recognitions at Legal Benchmarking Group’s inaugural Social Impact Awards ceremony in New York City. KHF was named “LGBTQ+ Advocacy Firm of the Year” and received the “Social Impact Case of the Year” award for the historic settlement reached in the Firm’s challenge to Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law. View 2024 honorees here: https://lnkd.in/gBMEiehg

Last week, Kaplan Hecker & Fink LLP hosted Stephen Vladeck, one of the country’s most influential U.S. Supreme Court analysts, for a discussion moderated by Joshua Matz, on his seminal book, The Shadow Docket: How the Supreme Court Uses Stealth Rulings to Amass Power and Undermine the Republic.

As part of the firm’s ongoing D&I programming, and in honor of Juneteenth, Kaplan Hecker & Fink LLP hosted former Director of the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia (PDSDC), Avis E. Buchanan for an engaging discussion on the critical role PDSDC has played in protecting civil rights. PDSDC was one of the first indigent defense programs in the nation to protect clients facing criminal prosecution from the collateral civil consequences of their involvement in the criminal justice system by providing them counsel in related civil proceedings. A special thank you to William W. Nesbitt and the KHF DEI Committee for organizing the event. #juneteenth #DEI