Mr. Emery is a founding partner of the firm. His practice focuses on civil rights, election law, commercial litigation, intellectual property, and entertainment. Mr. Emery enjoys a national reputation as a litigator, trying cases at all levels, from the U.S. Supreme Court to federal and state appellate and trial courts in New York, Washington, D.C., California, Washington state, and others.

Prior to forming Emery Celli Brinckerhoff & Abady, Mr. Emery had his own firm and was a partner at Lankenau Kovner & Pickford, where he successfully challenged the structure of the New York City Board of Estimate under the one-person, one-vote doctrine, resulting in the U.S. Supreme Court's unanimous invalidation of the Board on constitutional grounds. Before then, he was a staff attorney at the New York Civil Liberties Union and director of the Institutional Legal Services Project in Washington state, which represented persons held in juvenile, prison, and mental health facilities. He was also a law clerk for the Honorable Gus J. Solomon of the U.S. District Court for the district of Washington. Mr. Emery was a member of Governor Cuomo's Commission on Integrity in Government, sat on Governor Eliot Spitzer's Transition Committee for Government Reform Issues and was appointed to the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct. He has also taught at the New York University and University of Washington schools of law.

Columbia Law School, J.D., cum laude, 1970, Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar

Brown University, B.A., 1967

U.S. Supreme Court; U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second, Ninth, and Federal Circuits; U.S. District Court, Southern, Eastern and Northern Districts of New York; U.S. District Court, Eastern and Western Districts of Washington; New York; Washington New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct; Board of Children's Rights; National Police Accountability Project Advisory Board; Municipal Art Society Law Committee; Association of the Bar of the City of New York; Committees on Election Law; Criminal Justice Operations; and Criminal Courts New York Super Lawyer 2006 & 2007, The Top Attorneys in Manhattan; Common Cause, I Love an Ethical New York Award, October 2000; New York Magazine, Best Lawyers in New York, 1995; Park River Democrats Public Service Award, 1989; New York State Bar Association, David S. Michaels Memorial Award for Courageous Efforts in Promoting Integrity in the Criminal Justice System, 1987 Successfully represented the Public Advocate of New York to gain access to police records in Green v. Safir.

Represented John McCain in his bid to gain access to the 2000 New York Republican presidential primary ballot in Molinari v. Powers.

Preserved New York City candidates’ four-to-one public financing matching funds in New York City v. The Campaign Finance Board.

Represented the New York City Council in litigation to guarantee its approval of cable franchise renewals in City Council v. The Public Service Commission.

Obtained injunction to keep polling stations in nursing homes in Smith v. New York City Board of Elections.

Represented a class of more than 60,000 misdemeanor detainees in a successful challenge to New York City's strip search policy in Tyson v. City of New York.

Prevailed in a challenge allowing Steve Forbes to gain a place on the ballot for the New York State presidential primary in Rockefeller v. Powers.

Successfully represented corporate officers in a securities fraud class action (jury trial to verdict) in ICN v. Securities and Exchange Commission.

“Why Civil Rights Lawsuits Do Not Deter Police Misconduct: The Conundrum of Indemnification and a Proposed Solution,” 28 Fordham Urban Law Journal (2000) (with Ilann M. Maazel)

“Five Cases Follow Traditional Course,” New York Law Journal, October 2, 2000 (with Nina Morrison)

“The Verdict: Poor Training and Supervision,” New York Times, February 26, 2000

“Dazzling Crime Statistics Come at a Price,” New York Times, February 19, 1999

“Disorderly Conduct Statute and the First Amendment,” New York Law Journal, October 20, 1997 (with Andrew G. Celli, Jr.)

“Four Ways to Clean Up the Police,” New York Times, August 26, 1997

“Frank Askin, Defending Rights: A Life in Law and Politics,” New York Law Journal, June 13, 1997

“Adversary System: Cameras in the Courtroom after O.J.?” New York Times, October 18, 1995

“Weighted Voting,” 159 Touro Law Review (1989)

“In New York City, Power to the People,” New York Times, May 6, 1989

“The Even Sadder New York Police Saga,” New York Times, December 12, 1987

“End New York City's One-Party System,” New York Times, September 19, 1987

“Giuliani's Unfair Tactics,” New York Times, October 31, 1985

“Curbing New York's Police,” New York Times, May 7, 1985

“Pointless Grand Jury Secrecy,” New York Times, February 11, 1985

“Recast New York's Board of Estimate,” New York Times, September 15, 1984

“Courts Can't Do It All,” New York Times, July 16, 1983

The Rights of Mental Patients: An ACLU Handbook (New York: Avon Books, 1978) (with Bruce J. Ennis)