Ezra Rosenberg to Join Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law

 
October 28, 2014

Global specialist law firm Dechert LLP announced today that Ezra Rosenberg will be retiring from the partnership effective October 31 and will join the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, where he will assume the role of Special Senior Counsel for the Lawyers’ Committee's Legal Mobilization Project. In his new position, Rosenberg will work on voting rights litigation, help organize election protection and voting mobilization efforts and coordinate professional development for the Lawyers' Committee's attorneys and other professionals.

"This transition is the very definition of 'bittersweet,'" said Rosenberg. "I'm leaving close friends and a great firm which gave me the opportunity to litigate cases of significance to both its private and pro bono clients. At the same time, I have the opportunity now, day in and day out, to help the Lawyers' Committee fulfill its mission of ensuring that all eligible voters, particularly those traditionally disenfranchised, have free and unfettered access to the ballot box."

Rosenberg, age 64, joined Dechert as a partner in 1995 and has held various positions of leadership. He served several terms on the firm’s Policy Committee, in addition to serving as a Deputy Chair of the firm, and co-chair of the firm's mass torts and product liability practice group. While with Dechert, Rosenberg concentrated his practice in complex civil litigation, including class action, consumer fraud, and mass tort defense. Rosenberg has been consistently ranked among the top product liability litigators both in New Jersey and nationwide by numerous publications, including Chambers, Legal 500 (United States), and Benchmark Litigation. Recently, Lawdragon named him as one of the top 500 lawyers in the United States.

"Ezra has made significant contributions to Dechert, most recently in our award winning pro bono efforts," said Dechert chief executive officer Daniel O’Donnell. "He will greatly be missed by us, but the Lawyers' Committee will benefit tremendously from his counsel and legal skills."

In recent years, Rosenberg has handled numerous high profile pro bono cases. He has been one of the lead counsel challenging Texas's photo ID voting law, serving as co-lead trial and lead coordinating counsel in cases tried under Section 2 and Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act (tried in 2014 and 2012 respectively); serving as co-lead trial counsel in a school desegregation case tried in Pitt County, North Carolina in 2013; and supervising the advantageous settlements of a minority profiling case in New Jersey and of a prison conditions case in Passaic County, New Jersey. In 2014, Rosenberg successfully argued an appeal on behalf of the NJ-ACLU before the New Jersey Supreme Court, dealing with the admissibility of a defendant's rap lyrics in his attempted murder trial, helping to persuade the court to adopt stringent standards before admitting such evidence. In 2014, Rosenberg was named to The National Law Journal's "Pro Bono Hot List" for his role in significant public interest cases of national importance.

"Ezra is a tremendous addition to our staff," stated Jon Greenbaum, chief counsel and senior deputy director for the Lawyers' Committee, which is headquartered in Washington, D.C. "His combination of legal talent, leadership, interpersonal skills, calmness, and vigor is rare."

Prior to joining Dechert, Rosenberg served as a senior trial attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) where he litigated matters as diverse as one-House veto cases and Fifth Amendment takings cases arising out of the Bikini Atoll nuclear testing, earning the DOJ Award for Meritorious Service.

Rosenberg received the American Jewish Committee Judge Learned Hand Award in 2011, given annually to an outstanding leader in the legal profession who exemplifies the "high principles and noble tradition associated" with Judge Hand, one of America’s most influential judges. He is a past president of the Mercer County Bar Foundation and Mercer County Bar Association, which will award him on November 19 its highest honor, the Michael J. Nizolek Award for Service to the Bar. In 1997, the New Jersey Commission on Professionalism in the Law presented Rosenberg with its "Professional Lawyer of the Year" award.

Rosenberg is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and New York University School of Law, where he received the Order of the Coif and the Founder’s Day Award. Rosenberg lives in New Jersey, with his wife Betsy Doverman.

Subscribe to Dechert Updates