Daniel, A.L. Butler

Shauna Friedman is a senior associate in the firm's Litigation/Controversy Department, and a member of the Business Trial Group. She joined the firm in 2006.

Practice

Ms. Friedman has a general litigation practice with a focus on complex commercial litigation and securities litigation. She has represented major investment banks, financial institutions, and large corporations in state and federal court litigations. She aided in the pro bono representation of a client before the United States Supreme Court in Gonzales v. Duenas-Alvarez, a case involving immigration law and criminal law.

Recent Highlights

Pro bono representation of Dewey R. Bozella, resulting in Mr. Bozella’s release after serving 26 years in New York state prison for a 1977 murder in Poughkeepsie, New York, a crime for which he was wrongfully convicted. Ms. Friedman took a leading role in the firm’s two-year investigation that uncovered four pieces of exculpatory evidence, all more than 30 years old, that was never disclosed by the prosecution. On October 14, 2009, state Supreme Court Justice James T. Rooney ruled that Mr. Bozella was wrongfully convicted due to the Dutchess County District Attorney’s violation of Mr. Bozella’s constitutional rights. People v. Bozella, 2009 WL 3364575 (N.Y. Co. Ct. Oct. 14, 2009); NYLJ, Oct. 22, 2009, at 1. On October 28, 2009, Mr. Bozella was released from state custody. New York Times, Oct. 29, 2009, at A-21.

Pro bono representation of Eunice Fulton in a successful appeal to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. On December 23, 2009, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals found that Ms. Fulton had standing to sue under the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act on the grounds that New York’s Department of Correctional Services denied her “reasonable accommodations” to visit her incarcerated husband.

Honors and Awards

Recipient of the New York State Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers’ 2010 Gideon Champion of Justice Award for the pro bono representation of Dewey Bozella, which resulted in Mr. Bozella’s release after serving 26 years in prison for a murder for which he was wrongfully convicted.

In 2010, Ms. Friedman was selected for WilmerHale’s Pickering Fellowship, which was established in honor of John H. Pickering. She will spend six months practicing at the Urban Justice Center in New York.