David J. Lansner Lansner & Kubitschek 411 9Th Street Brooklyn

David J. Lansner Lansner & Kubitschek 411 9th Street Brooklyn, NY 11215 [email protected] (718) 788-4446 With more than 36 years of legal experience, David is a seasoned practitioner in the fields of matrimonial and family law, and civil rights law. In addition to representing clients in court, David has had extensive public policy experience, working for the New York State Legislature and for prestigious commissions. Legal Career As a law student, David worked as a summer associate for the firm of Rogers & Wells. After graduation with honors from New York University School of Law, he began his public interest work, representing indigent clients in storefront offices successively in Harlem, the Lower East Side of Manhattan, and the Bronx, under the auspices of the Office of Economic Opportunity legal services programs, subsequently the Legal Services Corporation. David also spent several years working for the Legal Aid Society’s Juvenile Rights Division, defending children who had been accused of crimes (juvenile delinquency) and children whose parents allegedly abused or neglected them. In 1979, David opened his own law office, handling divorce and custody cases, business litigation, and civil rights work. In January, 1991, with Carolyn Kubitschek, David started the firm of Lansner & Kubitschek. David continues to handle matrimonial and family law, general litigation, and civil rights cases. Matrimonial and Family Law David has represented clients in divorce, child custody, and child support cases since 1972. His clients have come from all walks of life, from the completely indigent to blue and pink collar workers to highly successful professionals. His philosophy is always the same – to treat every client with dignity and respect and to work on each case zealously, as if it were his only case. Although he believes that divorce cases are best resolved through negotiated settlements and is usually successful in negotiating fair settlements for his clients, he is fearless in court, always ready to go to trial and, if necessary, to appeal. David is particularly proud of the fact that one of his adversaries in a former case hired David to handle the adversary’s own divorce. David also handles the type of family cases that most matrimonial lawyers disdain – cases in which the City of New York’s Administration for Children’s Services has charged a parent with child abuse or child neglect. David is highly regarded for the depth of his knowledge in this special area of law. As in his divorce practice, David has represented clients from all backgrounds, from the poorest of the poor to the extremely well-to-do. He is so highly regarded in the Family Court that judges have called upon him to represent litigants in their courtrooms in especially difficult cases. Civil Rights Law David represents individuals and families whose constitutional rights have been violated by employees and officials of the child welfare system. His clients include: children who have been abused in foster care, the result of indifference and recklessness on the part of the very organization that was supposed to protect them from mistreatment; children who have been removed from their parents illegally; children who have languished too long in foster care; parents who have been unjustly accused of abusing or neglecting their children; parents whose children have been illegally removed from their care. He has won numerous landmark rulings from federal judges, expanding the legal protection for these most vulnerable children and parents. Public Policy Work David was a commissioner on the American Bar Association’s Commission on Domestic Violence from 2007-10. The Commission sets national policy for the American Bar Association on issues concerning domestic violence and provides resources for lawyers throughout our nation to provide access to justice to domestic violence victims. From 1987 to 2000, David was employed as Speaker’s Counsel to the New York State Assembly Committee on Children and Families. During his tenure, he served three speakers – Mel Miller, Saul Weprin, and Sheldon Silver. As Speaker’s Counsel, David was responsible for drafting legislation concerning child welfare, working with the chair of the Committee on Children and Families to pass the legislation in the Assembly, and negotiating with the Senate to enact the bills into law. David met regularly with child welfare experts, social workers, advocates, lobbyists and other stakeholders throughout the state, listening to their concerns and responding to those concerns. Since 2001, David has served as co-chair of the New York City Panel of the New York State Citizen Review Panels for Children Protection, which review and evaluate the child welfare policies and practices in New York, and make proposals for improving child welfare services both in New York City and throughout New York State. The Citizen Review Panels meet regularly with both the State Commissioner of Children and Family Services and the City Commissioner of the Administration for Children’s Services. David As Litigant Election reform has long been one of David’s passions. Consequently, he has been a plaintiff in two landmark cases involving election reform. In Lansner v. Board of Elections, 72 N.Y.2d 929, 532 N.Y.S.2d 840 (1988), David, represented by attorney Paul Asofsky, successfully challenged New York State’s antiquated system for getting candidates’ names on the ballot (and keeping them off). In Lopez-Torres v. New York State Board of Elections, 411 F.Supp.2d 212 (E.D.N.Y. 2006), aff’d 462 F.3d 161 (2d Cir. 2006), David was one of 10 individuals and organizations who challenged the constitutionality of the State of New York’s method of selecting candidates for judgeships. (In New York State, many judges are elected.) Although they won in the federal district court and the Second Circuit, the United States Supreme Court reversed, holding that New York’s system, in which the political parties, instead of the people, choose judicial candidates does not violate the United States Constitution. New York State Board of Elections v. Lopez-Torres, 128 S.Ct. 791 (2008). David believes that being a client has made him a better lawyer. He can better appreciate the strain that litigation puts on the client because he has been one. And he has gained a better understanding of the lawyer-client relationship by experiencing that relationship from the client’s side. Writing and Training David serves as co-editor of two treatises on family law, published by Matthew Bender Publishing Company. He has written numerous articles on family and matrimonial law. He is in great demand to provide training on family law. Education Juris Doctor, 1971 New York University School of Law New York, NY Bachelor of Arts in History, 1968 University of Rochester Rochester, NY Bar Admissions Federal Courts U.S. Supreme Court, 1987 U.S. Court of Appeals, 2nd Circuit, 1975 U.S. District Court, 1974 State Courts State of New York, 1972 Theodor S. Liebmann, Esq. Hofstra Law School 108 Hofstra University Hempstead, NY 11549-1080 [email protected] (516) 463-5934 Professor Liebmann teaches ethics, and has directed the Youth Advocacy Clinic at Hofstra Law School since its inception 18 years ago. In his capacity as Attorney-in-Charge of the Clinic, he works with law students to advocate on behalf of youth involved in the immigration and family court legal systems. Professor Liebmann and his students have represented hundreds of immigrant children in dependency and guardianship cases in family and appellate courts, as well as in deportation cases in federal immigration courts. Professor Liebmann currently serves as the co-chair of the New York State Advisory Council on Immigration Issues in Family Court with Judge Ruben Martino, Supervising Judge for Bronx County Family Court. The Council recently issued statewide guidance related to Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, a form of immigration relief for immigrant children who have been subjected to abuse, neglect, abandonment or similar family crises; U-Visas, a pathway to lawful status for victims of crimes who cooperate with courts and other government agencies; and Adverse Immigration Consequences to Family Court Adjudications. Professor Liebmann regularly conducts trainings on ethical issues and on the overlap of immigration matters and family court proceedings. He also serves as Director of the National Institute for Trial Advocacy’s Training the Lawyer to Represent the Whole Family program, a yearly week-long trial skills program for lawyers working in family courts. He is on the editorial board of the Family Court Review and serves as a Special Advisor to the American Bar Association Commission on Youth at Risk. Professor Liebmann has written law review articles and legal journal columns on the overlap between child welfare and immigration law, the impact of family law legal standards on the physical and emotional well-being of youth and children, and ethical problems in the representation of children. Prior to his current position at Hofstra, Professor Liebmann was a lawyer for children in dependency and juvenile delinquency cases at the Manhattan office of the Legal Aid Society’s Juvenile Rights Division, an investigator at the New York City Commission on Human Rights, and a Community Worker at the Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem. Joanne Macri NYS Office of Indigent Legal Services 80 S. Swan Street, Suite 1147 Albany, NY 12210 [email protected] (518) 408-2728 Joanne Macri currently serves as the Statewide Chief Implementation Attorney for the New York State Office of Indigent Legal Services (ILS) where she is currently engaged in the statewide implementation of criminal defense reforms as proposed in the Hurrell- Harring v. New York settlement agreement. She previously served as the ILS Director of Regional Initiatives where she developed and implemented a network of statewide Regional Immigration Assistance Centers.

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