Position: Member

TEL: 212-763-5070

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Admitted: New York, 1986

Law School: New York University School of Law, J.D., 1985

College: Rutgers University, B.A., 1982

Birth Date and Place: 

Practice Areas: Criminal Defense

Additional Information: 

One of New York�s preeminent and most successful trial lawyers, Earl S. Ward has thirty years of experience as a criminal defense and civil rights attorney. Before joining Emery Celli Brinckerhoff and Abady, Mr. Ward had his own firm where he handled serious felony matters including numerous homicide, death penalty, and federal civil rights cases. Mr. Ward�s clients have spanned a broad spectrum, from indigent criminal defendants to high profile figures and corporate executives. Mr. Ward has lectured extensively on trial practice, including as guest lecturer at New York University School of Law, Cardozo Law School, and the United States District Court for the Southern District, Pro Se Trial Advocacy Program.

Mr. Ward is a former Commissioner on the Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB), an independent oversight agency established in New York City in 1993 to investigate allegations of police misconduct. He served as a member of the Board of Directors for the New York State Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NYSACDL) from 2007-2010. Currently, he is the Chairperson of the Board of Directors for the Bronx Defenders, a leading and innovative indigent defender organization in New York. He is also Chair of the Board of Housing Works, an organization committed to helping homeless men and women with HIV/AIDS; and Chair of the Board of Esperanza, an alternative to incarceration program for at risk adolescents.

Mr. Ward began his career with the criminal defense division of the Legal Aid Society. Thereafter, he worked as a staff attorney with the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU), where he handled police abuse and First Amendment litigation. Prior to entering private practice in 1996, he was a supervising attorney at the Neighborhood Defender Services of Harlem.

Firm Members: Vivake Prasad