David Lebowitz is a seasoned attorney with experience representing a diverse mix of individuals and organizations in civil rights cases, class actions, and commercial disputes at the trial and appellate levels in both state and federal courts. In his civil rights practice, he has successfully represented wrongfully convicted exonerees, victims of law enforcement brutality and misconduct, people facing housing and employment discrimination, victims of sexual assault and harassment, and children and people with disabilities subjected to abuse and mistreatment. A member of New York City’s LGBTQ+ community, David frequently represents children and adults who have been bullied and harassed at school or work, denied housing opportunities, or otherwise discriminated against because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. David has also represented employees and consumers in complex class actions against businesses and non-profit institutions, as well as plaintiffs and defendants in commercial matters involving breach of contract and business torts. 

David’s experience includes securing the largest settlement ever recovered against the New York State Office for People with Developmental Disabilities for abuse and neglect of group home residents, obtaining tens of millions of dollars in settlements in cases of wrongful prosecution and conviction, and helping to recover approximately $150 million in a class action settlement for New Yorkers who were unlawfully held in jail when they were eligible for release on bail. He has been named by Super Lawyers to its “Rising Stars” list in civil rights for 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023.

Before helping to found KLLF, David handled civil rights and commercial cases at a premiere New York boutique litigation firm. He previously clerked for the Honorable Kim McLane Wardlaw of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and worked with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and the ACLU National Prison Project. David received his law degree from Yale Law School, where he represented prisoners in solitary confinement and received the Michael Egger Prize for best student Note or Comment on current social problems for his work on prosecutorial misconduct.

Outside the courtroom, David enjoys international travel, eating his way across New York City, and attempting to provide the excellent standard of service demanded by his rescue cocker spaniel.

Representative cases

David’s work includes:

• Representing exoneree Ralph Birch in his civil rights lawsuit alleging that police misconduct caused his false murder conviction and resulting 30 years of wrongful incarceration. KLLF settled Mr. Birch’s claims against certain defendants for $12.6 million after a resounding summary judgment victory, and is continuing to pursue claims against the remaining parties. Birch v. Town of New Milford, 2023 WL 4684720 (D. Conn. July 21, 2023) (denying defendants’ motions for summary judgment and granting plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment); Birch v. Town of New Milford, 2021 WL 4932405 (D. Conn. Sept. 24, 2021) (denying defendants’ motions to dismiss).

• Litigating a class action on behalf of tens of thousands of people illegally detained by the New York City Department of Correction despite being entitled to release on bail, resulting in one of the largest civil rights settlements in New York City history. Jones v. City of New York, 2022 WL 17404237 (S.D.N.Y. Dec. 1, 2022) (approving class action settlement); Lynch v. City of New York, 335 F. Supp. 3d 645 (S.D.N.Y. 2018) (denying motion to dismiss).

• Securing a favorable settlement against the New York City Department of Education on behalf of a Queens middle schooler after school officials failed to protect him from unrelenting bullying and harassment he faced on account of his sexual orientation and gender identity. Cianciotto ex rel. D.S. v. N.Y.C. Department of Education, 600 F. Supp. 3d 434 (S.D.N.Y. 2022) (denying defendants’ motion to dismiss).

• Winning an appeal on behalf of an Egyptian-born Muslim former police officer who alleged that his firing from the NYPD was infected by discrimination on account of religion, ancestry, and national origin, resulting in reinstatement of the lawsuit and a favorable settlement of all claims. Abdelal v. Kelly, 857 F. App'x 30 (2d Cir. 2021) [oral argument recording].

• Representing a Manhattan couple who alleged that their application to purchase a co-op apartment was denied because of unlawful racial discrimination. Xia v. 65 W. 87th St. Housing Development Fund Corp., 2023 WL 2752450 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 31, 2023) (denying defendants’ motion for summary judgment); Xia v. 65 W. 87th St. Housing Development Fund Corp., 2020 WL 7230961 (S.D.N.Y. Dec. 8, 2020) (denying defendants’ motion to dismiss).

• Winning an injunction to prevent arbitrary disenfranchisement of New Jersey voters whose ballots risked rejection due to alleged signature discrepancies. League of Women Voters of New Jersey v. Way, No. 20 Civ. 5990 (D.N.J. 2020).

• Successfully representing four men who were brutally assaulted by the NYPD while peacefully protesting against police violence in downtown Brooklyn after George Floyd’s murder. Gelbard v. City of New York, No. 20 Civ. 3163 (E.D.N.Y. 2020).

• Recovering millions of dollars on behalf of individuals with developmental disabilities who were abused and neglected in residential care settings, in both litigation and confidential alternative dispute resolution contexts.

Publications:
The Justice System’s Tunnel Vision: How Cops and Prosecutors, Worried They’ll Have to Turn Over Brady Material, Don’t Even Look for It, N.Y. Daily News, Oct. 17, 2016.

“Proper Subjects for Medical Treatment?" Addiction, Prison-Based Drug Treatment, and the Eighth Amendment, 14 DePaul J. Health Care L. 271 (2012).

The Myth of Prosecutorial Accountability After Connick v. Thompson: Why Existing Professional Responsibility Measures Cannot Protect Against Prosecutorial Misconduct, 121 Yale L.J. Online 203 (2011) (with David Keenan, Tamar Lerer, and Jane Cooper).