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June 15, 2023

Press Release

Stroock is pleased to announce that The Managing Partners’ Forum, in association with knowledge partners Harvard Business Review and the Financial Times, recognized the firm with the 2023 Community Theme Award at today’s International Management Excellence Awards for efforts resulting in a positive and measurable impact on the local community.

Stroock, along with the Legal Aid Society and civil rights firm Handley Farah & Anderson, brought an end to the NYPD practice of unreasonably prolonged stops, unrelated warrant checks, and searches of electronic databases.  The Stroock team included James Bernard, David Kahne, TaLona Holbert, Michael Mallon, and Christine Stygar. 

Special Counsel and Director of the firm’s Public Service Project, Kerry Cooperman, accepted the award on the firm’s behalf.  Cooperman stressed the importance of community awareness, and the need for law firms to join forces with public interest organizations. “The Legal Aid Society and Handley Farah & Anderson were very close partners of ours, and in a project like this, the only way to effectively challenge a systemic, municipality-wide problem is as a team.” 

In 2019, Stroock, the Legal Aid Society, and Handley Farah & Anderson, brought a putative class action lawsuit against the City of New York alleging that “digital stop-and-frisk” policing of prolonged stops and unjustified warrant checks were a violation of the Fourth Amendment prohibition on illegal detention and unlawful search and seizure, disproportionately impacting communities of color.  Amended complaints were filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on January 3, 2020, and again on November 6, 2020.

After years of discovery, a settlement agreement was filed on December 16, 2022, ending the NYPD’s “digital stop-and-frisk” practice of extended detentions to conduct warrant searches without reasonable suspicion.  Ultimately, by holding the NYPD accountable, this case will have a lasting impact on future New Yorkers whose Fourth Amendment rights are protected and respected by the City’s law enforcement.

The Stroock team “specifically sought remedies that would result in system-wide change in how policing is performed and conducted in the City,” Cooperman said of the landmark agreement.

This is Stroock’s second recognition from the Managing Partners’ Forum.  The firm’s Small Business Legal Relief Alliance was awarded the same honor in 2022. 

Learn more here.

About Stroock

Stroock provides strategic transactional, regulatory, and litigation advice to advance the business objectives of leading financial institutions, multinational corporations, and entrepreneurial businesses in the U.S. and globally. With a rich history dating back 145+ years, the firm has offices in New York, Los Angeles, Miami, and Washington, D.C. For more, visit www.stroock.com.

About the Stroock Public Service Project

Stroock’s Public Service Project continues the firm’s longtime commitment to serving the public interest. With the primary focus on providing legal assistance to underserved and under-resourced communities, the PSP practice offers a multidisciplinary approach to delivering comprehensive legal services. To learn more about Stroock’s award-winning Public Service Project, please click here.

About the Managing Partners’ Forum International Management Excellence Awards

Now in its 21st year, the awards honor firms that demonstrate superior business practices, client support, or community improvement efforts.  Honorees are selected after a rigorous independent evaluation of initiatives from over 200 firms based in the UK, Ireland, Continental Europe, Middle East, North America, and Asia Pacific.

June 15, 2023

Press Release

Stroock is pleased to announce that The Managing Partners’ Forum, in association with knowledge partners Harvard Business Review and the Financial Times, recognized the firm with the 2023 Community Theme Award at today’s International Management Excellence Awards for efforts resulting in a positive and measurable impact on the local community.

Stroock, along with the Legal Aid Society and civil rights firm Handley Farah & Anderson, brought an end to the NYPD practice of unreasonably prolonged stops, unrelated warrant checks, and searches of electronic databases.  The Stroock team included James Bernard, David Kahne, TaLona Holbert, Michael Mallon, and Christine Stygar. 

Special Counsel and Director of the firm’s Public Service Project, Kerry Cooperman, accepted the award on the firm’s behalf.  Cooperman stressed the importance of community awareness, and the need for law firms to join forces with public interest organizations. “The Legal Aid Society and Handley Farah & Anderson were very close partners of ours, and in a project like this, the only way to effectively challenge a systemic, municipality-wide problem is as a team.” 

In 2019, Stroock, the Legal Aid Society, and Handley Farah & Anderson, brought a putative class action lawsuit against the City of New York alleging that “digital stop-and-frisk” policing of prolonged stops and unjustified warrant checks were a violation of the Fourth Amendment prohibition on illegal detention and unlawful search and seizure, disproportionately impacting communities of color.  Amended complaints were filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on January 3, 2020, and again on November 6, 2020.

After years of discovery, a settlement agreement was filed on December 16, 2022, ending the NYPD’s “digital stop-and-frisk” practice of extended detentions to conduct warrant searches without reasonable suspicion.  Ultimately, by holding the NYPD accountable, this case will have a lasting impact on future New Yorkers whose Fourth Amendment rights are protected and respected by the City’s law enforcement.

The Stroock team “specifically sought remedies that would result in system-wide change in how policing is performed and conducted in the City,” Cooperman said of the landmark agreement.

This is Stroock’s second recognition from the Managing Partners’ Forum.  The firm’s Small Business Legal Relief Alliance was awarded the same honor in 2022. 

Learn more here.

About Stroock

Stroock provides strategic transactional, regulatory, and litigation advice to advance the business objectives of leading financial institutions, multinational corporations, and entrepreneurial businesses in the U.S. and globally. With a rich history dating back 145+ years, the firm has offices in New York, Los Angeles, Miami, and Washington, D.C. For more, visit www.stroock.com.

About the Stroock Public Service Project

Stroock’s Public Service Project continues the firm’s longtime commitment to serving the public interest. With the primary focus on providing legal assistance to underserved and under-resourced communities, the PSP practice offers a multidisciplinary approach to delivering comprehensive legal services. To learn more about Stroock’s award-winning Public Service Project, please click here.

About the Managing Partners’ Forum International Management Excellence Awards

Now in its 21st year, the awards honor firms that demonstrate superior business practices, client support, or community improvement efforts.  Honorees are selected after a rigorous independent evaluation of initiatives from over 200 firms based in the UK, Ireland, Continental Europe, Middle East, North America, and Asia Pacific.

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