May 13 - Law Enforcement

Defending Law Enforcement: Qualified Immunity

One of the best defenses for a local government or official is qualified immunity. This presentation will explore how the qualified immunity doctrine works, where it applies, and discuss litigation strategies revolving around qualified immunity in the context of defending law enforcement. Additional topics may be presented.

Speaker: Patricia Miller

Patricia Miller is the Chief of the Special Federal Litigation Division of the New York City Law Department. Special Fed is responsible for defense of NYC law enforcement personnel in Federal Civil Rights actions in the Eastern and Southern Districts of New York. Prior to her appointment as Chief, Ms. Miller served as the Deputy Chief of Trials for the Special Fed Division. Ms. Miller was also a trial supervisor and senior trial attorney for the Labor and Employment Division of the Law Department. She has tried to verdict more than 60 cases in federal court and supervised dozens more. Ms. Miller was named Top Women in Law 2016 by the New York Law Journal and is a 2017 recipient of the New York State Bar Association Shira Scheindlin Award for Excellence in the Courtroom. Before joining the Law Department, Ms. Miller clerked for William M. Acker, former U.S. District Judge for Northern District of Alabama, and was an associate at Cahill Gordon & Reindel. She is also an adjunct professor at Fordham University School of Law and has served on the faculty of Cardozo Law School’s Intensive Trial Advocacy Program and the Law Department’s NITA program. Ms. Miller completed her undergraduate work at Fordham University and obtained her law degree from William and Mary in Virginia where she was a member of the Law Review Executive Staff. She has served as chair of the Law Department’s Committee on Diversity Recruitment and Retention, the first member of the LGBT Community to hold that position and is the 2013 recipient of the James M. Bolin Diversity in Leadership Award. Ms. Miller is also the co-Chair of the Federal Bar Council Diversity Committee; a member of the Federal Bar Council Second Circuit Committee; and a member of the FBC Board of Trustees.