EXPERIENCE COUNTS
Susan Chana Lask’s bio is unmatched. There are hundreds of media articles and interviews about her extraordinary work. She’s changed laws in state and federal courts, drafted laws for legislators and is a United States Supreme Court litigator who changed civil rights law in our nation’s highest court-an extremely rare honor.
Susan is a high profile, sophisticated litigator with over 30 years experience in State and Federal courts, including appeals, civil rights, divorce, child custody, legal malpractice and criminal defense.
She is also an author, lecturer and continuing education instructor for attorneys and law students nationwide.
PRIVATE EDUCATION
An overachiever who graduated college in three years rather than the usual four, Susan achieved a BA with a double major in Psychology/Sociology. Then she obtained a Masters of Arts in Humanities, concentrating in Russian and British literature, in one year when it was a two year program.
To hone her legal skills, she obtained a Litigation Management Certification from the prestigious Philadelphia School for paralegal studies that makes her a more efficient lawyer.
She attended Temple University Law School, including studying abroad in London, Rome and at Tel Aviv University School of Law.
LEGAL CAREER
In 1985, while still in law school, Susan’s legal career started as a law clerk for the Supreme Court of California’s ethics department. She prepared disciplinary prosecutions against unethical attorneys.
New York’s prestigious national law firms of Rivkin Radler Dunne & Bayh and Kramer Levin Nessen Kamin & Frankel hired Susan because of her reputation as an excellent legal writer, and those firms sponsored her law school education.
She handled multimillion dollar complex hazardous waste cases and environmental litigation, including the Agent Orange and Morton Thiokol oil spill Class Actions nationwide.
Lloyd’s of London hired her to investigate and prosecute complex international maritime thefts in multi-million to billion dollar cases.
Susan’s interest in social justice include her becoming legal counsel to New York’s Police Benevolent Society to represent officers in civil rights and criminal cases.
There she learned everything about police procedure and training, and that experience with the prison system and police helped her successfully litigate high-profile civil rights cases right up to the United States Supreme Court.
SUSAN ON YOUR SIDE
Susan’s dedication to social justice and changing laws and people’s lives led to her opening her own New York law firm thirty years ago.
She achieved the ultimate honor in 2010 when the United States Supreme Court accepted her civil rights case to protect civilians from unlawful arrests. She litigated before SCOTUS, and won a very important decision in 2012.
She also convinced New York’s Second Circuit to reverse its legal precedent after arguing that Title VII must protect all employees from workplace harassment, including sexual orientation cases.
Susan also fought Big Pharma by sounding the alarm on Ambien dangers, and won when the FDA agreed with her to put the exact warnings she demanded on all sleep medications.
SOME OF HER HIGH PROFILE CASES
· Christiansen v Omnicom, et. al. #16-748 ( 2d Circuit, 2016): Her Title VII employment case gained unprecedented amici support from 128 members of Congress and the EEOC after she convinced a Federal Court that all employees need protection from workplace harassment.
. Florence v Bd. of Chosen Freeholders,132 S.Ct. 1510 (2012): She secured supporting amici from 5 former Attorneys General and a former NJ Supreme Court Justice, an unprecedented statement of support for her case that set national precedent for inmates’ strip search rights.
· Campbell v Baum, 2011: First private action against a Foreclosure Mill where she won a substantial settlement and the NY Attorney General and USDOJ requested her help to shut it down. Her work shut down foreclosure mills nationwide.
· Makinen v Sanofi-Aventis (EDNY 2006): Class action suit revealed Ambien dangers, where she won the FDA’s mandate to change the labels on all sleep medications exactly as her case demanded.
· Puppy Mill cases nationwide (2007-to date): Susan’s campaigns saved millions of dogs nationwide. In February, 2016, she was instrumental in New York’s first locality banning Puppy Mill sales.
