As a both a New York criminal lawyer representing the accused and serving as an advocate for complainants as well as a Title IX attorney representing alleged perpetrators and victims of Dating Violence and Gender Based Discrimination on college and university campuses, it is sometimes a heavy lift and difficult task to secure the justice a client wants, needs and deserves. While justice may manifest itself in different forms to different people, exoneration of the innocent is the pinnacle achievement and best outcome irrespective of the allegation.
With the above in mind, my words cannot accurately reflect the emotions – from anxiety and fear to joy and relief – that wash over the vindicated when the battles commence and rage until the almost literal war is over. It is the target of the wrongful, hurtful and traumatic claim that lives through these emotions who can best articulate them. The following is one such client’s review that makes me proud of my efforts and of my client’s strength while providing me with immeasurable satisfaction and relief that I delivered her the justice she unequivocally deserved.
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The best choice I could have made
I’m a woman and a victim of sexual assault at my university institution. As I broke up with my abusive partner who had previously assaulted me, she decided to preemptively make a false (and enormously violent) accusation against me to our university in the form of a Title IX/Gender-Based Misconduct and Dating Violence complaint. The university, in response, suspended me and upended my entire life before I could explain. The police were notified. I had to grapple with being assaulted, and now being accused of the same violation that had really happened to me.
I don’t have the language express how grateful I am that Jeremy was there every step of the way – proactively, professionally, and compassionately. He scheduled a meeting with NYPD, who immediately closed their investigation due to our presentation of evidence that contradicted my abuser’s false allegations and placed her at a different location entirely during that time.
He helped me file my own complaint against my abuser at my school and worked tirelessly against prejudiced and amorphous university standards for a whopping 5 months while I continued to be banned from my dorm. He navigated complex issues related to DACA and HIPAA that the university was simply incompetent to address, as my abuser wound herself around new and increasingly-impossible allegations. When finally presented with both of our cases, the university adjudicator determined my total innocence, and my abuser’s degree has been suspended for two years upon the determination that she was responsible for assaulting me.
I have graduated, and my life can start in earnest thanks to Jeremy. He sincerely cares about the truth, and was incredibly nonjudgmental in my seeking his help as an LGBT woman. The shame and shock of this experience was traumatic, but it would have been insurmountable had I not had Jeremy. He is a brilliant thinker (there were more than 500 pages of moving parts to this case by its conclusion) and he was able to take my honest narrative and turn it into a compelling and sincere case. It’s no small thing that he has a sharp sense of humor as well and managed to even bring out my own, which is now something I believe was priceless. I cannot recommend him enough.
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Founded by former Manhattan prosecutors, Saland Law PC is a law practice dedicated to representing clients as defendants and complainants in criminal cases as well as those involved in Title IX investigations, Student Misconduct matters and Codes of Conduct violations at colleges and universities.