The New York City-based law firm of Emery Celli Brinckerhoff & Abady has added two named partners: Earl S. Ward and Ilann M. Maazel. The firm will be known as Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel LLP (“ECBAWM”).

Earl Ward has litigated cases with the firm since 1998 and joined the firm as a partner in 2012.  Mr. Ward specializes in criminal defense and civil rights matters. He has tried over a hundred cases to verdict and has been involved in many high-profile cases. He has represented numerous victims of police violence including the family of twelve-year-old Tamir Rice who was shot and killed by Cleveland police officers, and the family of John Collado who was shot and killed by a New York City police officer. His cases have been featured on 20/20, Dateline, Snapped, and the HBO documentary Who Killed Garrett Phillips? Mr. Ward has been involved in numerous wrongful conviction cases and helped to secure the largest settlement for a wrongful conviction case in New York City.

Mr. Ward is the Chair of the Board of Housing Works, Bronx Defenders, and Esperanza. He also serves on the board of the Center for Appellate Litigation and is a member of the Mayor’s Advisory Committee on the Judiciary. Mr. Ward served as a member of the New York State Advisory Committee to the United States Commission on Civil Rights from 2013 to 2020 and from 1997 to 2003 he served as a Commissioner on the NYC Civilian Complaint Review Board.

Mr. Ward was recently honored by the New York University School of Law with its Public Interest Pro Bono Award and he has been recognized numerous times by New York Metro Super Lawyers for his criminal defense work.

Ilann M. Maazel joined the firm in 1998 and became a partner in 2004. Mr. Maazel is nationally recognized for helping the most vulnerable: children, people with disabilities, disenfranchised voters, and victims of sexual abuse and harassment, police abuse, prison abuse, wrongful convictions, and all forms of discrimination. Mr. Maazel helped save the High Line, led the 2016 presidential recount effort in Pennsylvania, and has brought class actions to end the tampon tax, end delays in Bronx Criminal Court, provide services to disabled preschool children, reduce violence in New York City prisons, and defend millions of Americans surveilled by the National Security Agency. As a commercial litigator, Mr. Maazel defeated Donald Trump and has represented Martha Stewart, the Apollo Theater, Everytown for Gun Safety, the NAACP, Newegg, the Children’s Aid Society, The New York Foundling, and the New York City Council.

Mr. Maazel is a nine-time “Super Lawyer,” Legal Services Pro Bono Leader, Legal Aid Society Pro Bono Publico award winner, Coro Leadership fellow, Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America, and recipient of an Echoing Green Public Service Fellowship.

Mr. Maazel blogs for www.law.com, writes the civil rights litigation column for the New York Law Journal, and has been published in USA TODAY, the Chicago Tribune, the Washington Post, and the National Law Journal.

ECBAWM, U.S. News & World Report’s 2013 Civil Rights “Law Firm of the Year,” is one of the leading boutique litigation firms in the country. Founded in 1996, ECBAWM has litigated many of the most important cases of the last two decades, helping to save the High Line, end Rikers Island, put Senator John McCain on the presidential ballot, lead the sex abuse lawsuit against The Ohio State University, wipe out over $1 billion in fraudulent consumer debt, get some justice for the family of Tamir Rice, and pursue nationwide fraud claims against Donald J. Trump and members of his family. ECBAWM is a leader in the fight against employment and housing discrimination, police and prison brutality, disability abuse, school bullying, voter suppression, consumer fraud, wrongful convictions, and sexual harassment and abuse.

ECBAWM also has a substantial criminal defense and attorney ethics practice, and is a leading commercial litigation firm, successfully conducting mediations, arbitrations, trials, and appeals in federal and state courts, involving a wide array of substantial disputes ranging from breach of contract to defamation, fraud to copyright infringement, and business torts to restrictive covenants.

“Earl Ward and Ilann Maazel are exceptional lawyers and exceptional human beings. Individually and together, they represent decades of accomplishment and a relentless commitment to justice. Their spirit is part of our firm’s DNA. It is a privilege, and a thrill, to add their names to the firm’s,” said Andrew G. Celli, Jr., a founding partner of the firm.

“This is a truly special recognition and one that would have made my immigrant Jamaican parents extremely proud,” said Mr. Ward.

“Our firm has extraordinary talent, passion, and a commitment to justice,” said Mr. Maazel. “It is an honor and a privilege to be a name partner in this special firm.”