SDNY

Edwin Camacho

Danbury, CT

Attorney Edwin Camacho has over 32 years of legal experience, specializing in criminal defense, civil, and personal injury litigation. He began his career with the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund and served as a federal prosecutor for the U.S. Army. He is fluent in Spanish and is a member of several bar associations.

Patrice Coleman

Brewster, NY

Patrice Coleman graduated from Albany Law School and was admitted to the New York State bar in 1986. She follows two prior generations of lawyers representing injury victims in accident and medical malpractice cases. Over her more than thirty-five years of practice, she has collected tens of millions of dollars for her clients through settlements, mediations, arbitrations and trials and has handled injury cases resulting from automobile accidents, premises liability, police misconduct, medical and nursing malpractice, as well as construction site accidents that involve New York’s Labor Law. Patrice has also successfully argued numerous motions on behalf of her clients in New York’s Trial Courts as well as having argued many appeals before the New York Appellate Courts in the First and Second Departments. She is a member of the New York State Bar Association, The New York State Trial Lawyers Association, The New York State Academy of Trial Lawyers and the American Bar Association. She is also admitted to practice law in the Southern District of New York.

Christian Coppinger

New York, NY

Christian Coppinger is an attorney who aggressively prosecutes personal injury cases, including medical malpractice, construction accidents (Labor Law 240, 241c), motor vehicle accidents, premises liability, and cases against municipalities. He also has substantial experience representing firefighters and police officers in cases under General Municipal Law 205. With 25 years of experience, he has recovered tens of millions of dollars for clients. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree from St. John’s University (1997) and a Juris Doctor from Brooklyn Law School (2000). He is admitted to practice law in New York State and the Federal District Courts for the New York Southern and Eastern Districts.

Brian is an associate in the Labor Relations and Employment Law Group representing public and private sector unions. Brian provides advice and representation to the firm’s union clients on a wide variety of labor issues, including disciplinary matters, employee benefits, labor practices, and grievances. Prior to joining the firm, Brian worked for the Suffolk County Law Department for eighteen years defending the Suffolk County Police and Sheriff’s Departments in Federal Civil Rights lawsuits. He has extensive trial experience in both the Federal and New York State Court systems. Brian has also briefed and argued appeals before the New York State Appellate Division and the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Before working for the County Brian served as a Principal Legal Advisor to a Suffolk County Court Judge and was an Assistant Suffolk County District Attorney for ten years. Brian started his legal career as a Trial Preparation Assistant in the office Manhattan District Attorney Robert M. Morgenthau. Brian is admitted to practice in the state of New York, the Eastern and Southern Federal Districts of New York, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of the EDNY Chapter of the Federal Bar Association. Brian is active in his community and has served as the attorney advisor for the East Islip High School Mock Trial Program for the last twenty-two years. He is married with three adult children.

Eugene Khavinson

New York, NY

Eugene Khavinson is the president and founder of Khavinson & Mandronico, P.C., established in 2001. He began his career as an engineer, graduating from Moscow Institute of Electronic Machinery Construction in 1973. He later earned his Juris Doctor from Temple University School of Law in 1994. His legal practice has encompassed corporate law, real estate law, business transactions, immigration law, and civil litigation. He is admitted to practice law in New York State, Pennsylvania, and the Federal Courts for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and the Southern District of New York.

Katherine E. Smith

Brewster, NY

Katherine “Katie” Smith has successfully litigated hundreds of state and federal cases in both the Eastern and Southern Districts of New York and in New York State courts. Ms. Smith’s expertise focuses on civil rights litigation, specializing in federal litigation and trial practice. Prior to starting her own practice, Ms. Smith worked for the City of New York’s Office Corporation Counsel in the Special Federal Litigation Division defending civil rights actions against the City and its employees. In the private sector, Ms. Smith has litigated complex class actions, consumer fraud and corporate breach of contract cases, among other practice areas. Presently, Ms. Smith’s practice focuses on prosecuting civil rights actions against municipalities, police, and correction officers. Specifically, Ms. Smith represents clients who have been falsely arrested, maliciously prosecuted, and/or subjected to unreasonable use of force by police officers, as well as other types of law enforcement misconduct. In the corrections context, Ms. Smith prosecutes correction officers for abusing inmates and otherwise failing to protect inmates from abuse. Ms. Smith also represents individuals who are victims of sexual assault. Ms. Smith has secured clients millions of dollars in damages including victories in both the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York as a part of several trial teams. In addition to her legal practice, Ms. Smith is an adjunct professor at New York Law School, her alma-mater, where she co-developed and co-teaches “Policing the Police” a course concerning law enforcement accountability. Ms. Smith is also a visiting assistant professor at Pratt Institute, Graduate Architecture and Urban Design where she co-teaches a course focusing on critical discourses on space and the built environment with respect to race, gender, and sexuality. Ms. Smith is a regular contributor to Law & Crime where she offers her expert legal analysis on trials throughout the country.