Matthew D. Brinckerhoff is a founding partner of the firm. Mr. Brinckerhoff has a diverse general, commercial, and civil rights litigation practice, with a focus on representing individuals and not-for-profit corporations in First Amendment, police misconduct, discrimination, voting rights, and government contracting cases.

A native of Bismarck, North Dakota, Mr. Brinckerhoff began his legal career as a law clerk to Naomi Reice Buchwald in the federal district court for the Southern District of New York and as a litigator with the law firm of Dorsey & Whitney. From 1992 to 1995, Mr. Brinckerhoff worked for South Brooklyn Legal Services, prosecuting government reform class actions and providing direct client representation to persons unable to afford legal counsel. 

Mr. Brinckerhoff, along with Jonathan Abady, successfully litigated Gasperini v. The Center for Humanities, 518 U.S. 415 (1996), in the United States Supreme Court. Mr. Brinckerhoff also has substantial experience in class action and multi-party litigation, including Tyson v. City of New York, representing a class of 60,000 who were arrested for minor violations and strip-searched in violation of their Fourth Amendment rights, and which was ultimately settled for $50 million.

Some of the clients Mr. Brinckerhoff has represented over the years include Housing Works, a not-for-profit corporation that provides supportive services and advocacy for homeless people living with HIV and AIDS; the Marijuana Policy Project, a not-for-profit corportation; Louis Anemone, the former Deputy Executive Director for Security at the MTA and Chief of Department for the NYPD; Women's Interart Center, a not-for-profit corporation devoted to promoting women in the arts; Four Finger Art Factory, a producer of major media events; Sandra Marsh, the former NYPD Deputy Commissioner for Equal Employment Opportunity; the East Timor Action Network, a human rights organization; Element Holdings, an internet marketing and research firm; Martha Stewart; and countless individuals who have been victims of government abuse.

New York University School of Law, J.D., 1990; Center for International Studies Fellow; Articles Editor, Review of Law & Social Change; Urban Law Clinic

Hampshire College, B.A., 1985

U.S. Supreme Court; U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second and Ninth Circuits; U.S. District Court, Southern and Eastern Districts of New York; New York State courts
American Constitution Society; Association of the Bar of the City of New York; Police Abuse Lawyers Coalition Secured historic settlement requiring New York City to pay $4.8 million to Housing Works, a non-profit housing, advocacy and service organization for people with AIDS in lawsuit challenging the city's vindictive 1997 decision to terminate funding for Housing Works in response to the advocacy group's criticism of former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani. 

Obtained federal injunction requiring the State of Nevada to allow its citizens to vote on an initiative in 2006 which proposes the legalization of Marijuana use in certain circumstances and and order declaring that the State's refusal to place the Marijuana inititiave on the ballot to have been a violation of the due process, equal protection, and first amendment guarantees of the United States Consititution.

Obtained $50 million settlement for class of over 60,000 people who were arrested for minor violations and strip-searched in violation of their Fourth Amendment rights in Tyson v. City of New York.

Obtained injunction securing over $3 million in federal funds based on showing that the Giuliani Administration retaliated against Housing Works for its harsh criticism of the Administration's policies in violation of Housing Works’ First Amendment rights in Housing Works v. City of New York, 72 F.Supp.2d 402 (S.D.N.Y 1999), and Housing Works v. Giuliani, 179 F.Supp.2d 177 (S.D.N.Y. 2001), aff’d (2d Cir. 2003).

Obtained $1.2 million settlement for former NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Equal Employment Opportunity after she was terminated for exposing high-level misconduct and discrimination in Marsh v. Safir.

Obtained judgment declaring that City's refusal to grant plaintiff's application to temporarily rename the street in front of the Indonesian mission “Free East Timor” or “Santa Cruz Massacre” violated the First Amendment and constituted a prior restraint in East Timor Action Network v. City of New York, 71 F.Supp.2d 334 (S.D.N.Y. 1999).

Currently representing 52 anti-war protesters who were arrested without probable cause and in retaliation for exercising their First Amendment rights in Kunstler v. City of New York.

Currently representing putative class of all persons arrested and prosecuted for loitering for the purpose of begging in the State of New York, notwithstanding ruling by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit declaring the statute unconsitutional in 1993.