Emery Celli Brinckerhoff & Abady LLP

What Emery Celli Brinckerhoff & Abady LLP does

Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel LLP (ECBAWM) is a New York-based litigation boutique founded in 1998 and registered as a limited liability partnership under New York law. The firm operates from a single headquarters at 1 Rockefeller Plaza, 8th Floor, with approximately 51 personnel including 16 partners, ~14 associates, 4 paralegals, and administrative staff. ECBAWM represents individuals, businesses, and institutions in four core practice areas: Civil Rights Litigation (wrongful convictions, sexual harassment, police and prison misconduct, housing and disability rights, election law, discrimination, and class actions); Commercial Litigation (complex disputes, partnership matters, real estate and land use, antitrust, intellectual property, art law, and internal investigations); Criminal Defense (federal and state representation including white-collar and post-conviction matters); and Attorney Ethics (disciplinary defense, disqualification motions, and professional responsibility counsel). Nearly every attorney works across all four practice areas, enabling cross-disciplinary staffing of matters.

The firm's revenue model is professional-services-based, with fees determined case-by-case through engagement agreements and supplemented by contingency and class-action fee awards on high-value matters. Its go-to-market is sales-led and reputation-driven, relying on direct outreach, referrals, and earned media from landmark cases rather than paid marketing. ECBAWM's technology footprint is minimal — there is no proprietary platform, mobile app, or disclosed AI tooling; core "technology" is the legal expertise of its litigators and its precedent library from cases including Board of Estimate v. Morris (1989 U.S. Supreme Court), In re Visa Check/MasterMoney Antitrust Litigation ($3B settlement), Hagerman v. Libya ($2.7B Pan Am 103 settlement), Tyson v. City of New York ($50M strip-search settlement), and a $92.5M immigration detention class settlement. Distribution is direct, with no resellers; co-counsel relationships with the Legal Aid Society, Brennan Center, NYCLU/ACLU, Public Justice, and Sullivan & Cromwell support resource-intensive class actions and public-interest matters.

ECBAWM is partner-owned with no external capital, parent company, or institutional investors. Its operating geographies are concentrated in the Northeast US, primarily the New York City metropolitan area and Tri-State region. Customer segments span individuals (civil rights plaintiffs, criminal defendants), businesses and institutions (commercial litigation clients, including trade associations such as the National Retail Federation and Retail Industry Leaders Association), and attorneys/law firms (ethics and disciplinary defense). Awards include founding partner Richard Emery's 2018 National Trial Lawyers Top 100 membership. The firm is actively operating as of 2026 with a continuous pipeline of new filings and settlements across all four practice areas.

Name

Emery Celli Brinckerhoff & Abady LLP

Legal name

Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel LLP

Website

https://ecbawm.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

ECBAWM is a New York litigation boutique with ~51 staff representing individuals, businesses, and institutions in civil rights, commercial, criminal defense, and attorney ethics matters. The firm is known for landmark precedents including a U.S. Supreme Court win and billion-dollar class action settlements.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Legal Services — Litigation Boutique

NAICS

Offices of Lawyers (541110), Offices of Lawyers (54111)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

Employment & Labor Law (BPAHAAAD)

Keywords

• Civil rights litigation
• Commercial litigation
• Criminal defense
• Attorney ethics
• Class action lawsuits

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Legal Services - Civil Rights Litigation: The firm represents individuals, businesses, and institutions in civil rights matters including wrongful convictions, sexual harassment, police misconduct, housing rights, election law, discrimination, and class actions. Revenue is generated through legal fees for litigation and pre-litigation dispute resolution.
2. Commercial Litigation: The firm handles complex commercial disputes, partnership disputes, real estate and land use matters, investigations, ethics and discipline, and appeals. Fees are charged for full-scope litigation representation.
3. Criminal Defense: The firm represents defendants in federal and state court across a range of felony charges, white-collar cases, and post-conviction matters. Revenue is generated through legal fees.
4. Attorney Ethics: The firm defends lawyers and law firms in disciplinary matters, provides legal ethics advice, and handles professional responsibility matters.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

ECBAWM is a nationally recognized litigation boutique providing legal representation in four core practice areas: Civil Rights Litigation (wrongful convictions, sexual harassment, police/prison misconduct, housing discrimination, election law, class actions), Commercial Litigation (complex contract disputes, partnership disputes, real estate, antitrust, investigations), Criminal Defense (federal and state felony matters, white-collar defense, post-conviction proceedings), and Attorney Ethics (disciplinary defense, ethics counseling). The firm represents individuals, businesses, and institutions at all court levels including the U.S. Supreme Court.

Product overview

Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel LLP is a nationally-recognized litigation boutique offering four core legal service practice areas: Civil Rights Litigation, Commercial Litigation, Criminal Defense, and Attorney Ethics. The firm represents individuals, businesses, and institutions in all aspects of litigation and pre-litigation dispute resolution, from negotiation and mediation through trials and appeals. Civil Rights Litigation encompasses wrongful convictions, sexual harassment, police misconduct, housing discrimination, disability rights, election law, and class actions. Commercial Litigation covers contract disputes, partnership matters, real estate, art law, antitrust, and intellectual property. Criminal Defense handles all felony and misdemeanor matters including white-collar cases. Attorney Ethics provides disciplinary defense and professional responsibility counsel.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Civil Rights Litigation Comprehensive civil rights legal representation including wrongful convictions, sexual harassment and assault, police and prison misconduct, housing discrimination, disability rights, election law, children's rights, employment discrimination, and class actions, for individuals, classes, and advocacy organizations.
• Commercial Litigation Complex commercial dispute resolution including contract litigation, partnership disputes, real estate and land use, art law, competition/antitrust matters, intellectual property, internal investigations, and appeals, for businesses, trade associations, and institutions.
• Criminal Defense Criminal defense representation at all levels in federal and state courts, from misdemeanors to first-degree murder, including white-collar criminal defense and post-conviction proceedings, for individuals and entities facing criminal prosecution.
• Attorney Ethics Legal ethics representation including attorney disciplinary defense, civil and criminal disqualification motions, contempt and sanctions proceedings, fee disputes, and professional responsibility counseling, for lawyers and law firms.

Quantifiable outcome

• Obtained $50 million settlement for 62,000 person class challenging unconstitutional strip searches (Tyson v. City of New York)
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Legal Aid Society Prisoners' Rights ProjectcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerECBAWM has partnered extensively with the Legal Aid Society's Prisoners' Rights Project on multiple landmark cases including the Nunez v. City of New York Rikers Island jail brutality class action (reaching a historic agreement in 2015), Ingles v. Toro (excessive force class action), and representation of Rikers inmates in damages actions.
• Sullivan and CromwellmajorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerPartnered with Sullivan and Cromwell as co-counsel in the Ingles v. Toro class action against the NYC Department of Corrections on behalf of Rikers Island inmates alleging excessive force and inadequate training.
• Neufeld, Scheck & BrustinmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-counsel in multiple wrongful conviction cases including Mann v. Walder (NJ Park Police shooting, $2.4 million jury verdict) and representation of Duke lacrosse players in Evans v. City of Durham.
• Brennan Center for JusticemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with the Brennan Center on cases including closing the LLC Loophole in New York campaign finance and representing insurgent Republican presidential candidates Steve Forbes and John McCain in ballot access challenges.
• Peters BrovnermajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-counsel with Peters Brovner in filing a class action on behalf of former FBI agents alleging unconstitutional firings.
• Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia and Voter ActionmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with Public Interest Law Center and Voter Action to obtain a landmark injunction requiring Pennsylvania to provide emergency paper ballots during the 2008 Presidential election when voting machines failed (NAACP v. Cortez).
• Caicedo & Queliz LLCmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerECBAWM partnered with Caicedo & Queliz LLC to file a federal civil rights lawsuit on behalf of former public defender Bernardo Caceres who was wrongfully arrested following a Rikers Island visit.
• NYCLU and ACLUmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with the New York Civil Liberties Union and American Civil Liberties Union in African Communities Together and The Door v. Todd Lyons, challenging ICE courthouse arrest policies.
• Make the Road New YorkmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-counsel with Make the Road New York in litigation challenging ICE courthouse arrests in New York City immigration courts.
• Public Justice and Scott SmithmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-counsel in the Ohio State University sex abuse case alongside Public Justice and Scott Smith, representing approximately 100 survivors of Dr. Richard Strauss.
• Vladeck Raskin Clark P.C.majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-counsel with Vladeck Raskin Clark P.C. in the UPS class action lawsuit challenging discriminatory delivery practices at Park Hill and Fox Hill affordable housing complexes in Staten Island.
• Robes & GraymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with Robes & Gray alongside the Legal Aid Society Prisoners' Rights Project in Nunez v. City of New York, the historic Rikers Island jail brutality class action.
• The Bronx DefendersmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerServes as class counsel alongside The Bronx Defenders on behalf of more than 20,000 New Yorkers in an action against the City of New York and NYPD regarding enforcement of void loitering laws (Casale v. Kelly and Brown v. Kelly).

Scale indicators14 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Selendy & Gay PLLC: NYC-based elite litigation boutique founded by former Quinn Emanuel and Boies Schiller partners. Handles complex commercial, securities, and antitrust litigation with a comparable boutique scale and high-profile courtroom reputation.
• Hecker Fink LLP: NYC litigation boutique with a similar profile of high-stakes commercial, civil rights, and constitutional matters. Comparable in size, prestige, and the kind of precedent-setting wins ECBAWM pursues.
• Susman Godfrey LLP: Elite national trial boutique renowned for bet-the-company commercial litigation. Comparable in being a litigation-only boutique handling complex, high-value disputes for sophisticated clients.
• Boies Schiller Flexner LLP: Major litigation boutique founded by David Boies with a similarly high-profile docket spanning commercial, antitrust, and constitutional matters; direct competitor for top-tier litigation mandates.
• Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein LLP: Nationally recognized plaintiffs' litigation boutique focused on class actions and mass torts. Comparable in pursuing large, precedent-setting aggregate matters and civil-justice oriented work.
• Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC: Washington-based litigation boutique with a strong civil rights, human rights, and public interest practice alongside commercial litigation. Closest peer on the civil-rights / impact-litigation dimension.
• Constantine Cannon LLP: Specialized litigation boutique with deep antitrust and whistleblower practice. Comparable as a focused boutique competing in high-stakes commercial and antitrust class actions.
• Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP: Leading plaintiffs' securities and class action boutique. Comparable in handling mega-settlements and precedent-setting aggregate litigation similar to the Visa/MasterMoney matter.

Broad incumbents

• Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP: The largest litigation-only global firm, with broad commercial and antitrust capabilities. Functions as a broader incumbent competitor for high-stakes litigation mandates.
• Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP: Full-service NYC-based law firm with a strong litigation practice, including commercial disputes and investigations. Acts as a broader incumbent alternative for institutional clients.

Market position

Strengths1 record

Weaknesses1 record

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/ecbawm
• Facebookfacebook.com/ecbawm
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/emery-celli-brinckerhoff-abady-ward-maazel
• Instagraminstagram.com/ecbawm

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles16 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Emery Celli Brinckerhoff & Abady LLP