Ravinder S. Bhalla, Esq.

Ravinder S. Bhalla has developed a reputation as a thorough, skilled and experienced advocate in criminal defense and civil litigation.  He has extensive courtroom experience representing clients in federal, state and municipal court.  In 2005, Mr. Bhalla went before a jury and successfully represented a corporate executive at the University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey in a two week complex environmental criminal matter brought under New Jersey’s Water Pollution Control Act.  The jury acquitted Mr. Bhalla’s client of one of the charges and the other charge was dismissed by the State after the jury deadlocked as to the remaining charge.  Mr. Bhalla has also tried cases in federal court, state and municipal court to verdict involving a variety of matters, ranging from federal civil rights actions against public officials and local governments, to defending individuals charged with criminal offenses in municipal and state courts.

In 2002, Mr. Bhalla gained nationwide recognition for his legal advocacy arising from a jail visit to a client in a criminal defendant that ironically resulted in a violation of his own constitutional and civil rights.  The incident motivated Mr. Bhalla to lead a campaign that resulted in a nationwide change in the federal government’s visitation policies at correctional facilities and national recognition in the New York Times.

Mr. Bhalla has also gained national recognition for his advocacy in civil rights matters on behalf of the Sikh American community in the United States.  He was lead counsel on behalf of the first Sikh officer of the New York City Policy Department (NYPD) in a successful federal lawsuit challenging the NYPD policies that restricted his client’s religious practice.  In 2003, Mr. Bhalla successfully represented a Sikh American businessman in a post-9/11 racial profiling lawsuit against Delta Airlines, where a flight attendant, where passenger had been unfairly profiled and humiliated by a flight attendant who told the other passengers that he might cause "trouble" and would need to be "subdued".  In 2000, Mr. Bhalla brought a successful discrimination lawsuit against Fleet National Bank, resulting in a both a monetary settlement and non-monetary commitment to recognize and respect the religious rights of Sikh American employees and customers.

Mr. Bhalla has also developed a practice in local government law and election law in the State of New Jersey.  In 2003, Mr. Bhalla successfully represented the Corporation Counsel of a large New Jersey municipality involving a dispute between the mayor, city council and city attorney.  In 2004, Mr. Bhalla represented a police chief and mayoral candidate in a challenge to his eligibility to run for office under New Jersey’s durational residency requirement.  In 2005, Mr. Bhalla successfully represented a mayoral candidate and two councilpersons in a lawsuit involving the shutdown of local government services arising from a budget crisis in the municipality. 

Mr. Bhalla also represents municipalities and local boards in a variety of matters, ranging from defense of elected officials, police officers and other public officials in employment matters, to representation of local boards involving litigation of local rent control laws.  Mr. Bhalla also regularly represents local businesses and organizations in matters ranging from alleged ABC liquor license violations to zoning issues before local boards. 

Mr. Bhalla is also a member of the Bar of the Court of Federal Claims in Washington, D.C., where he practices in the areas of vaccine injury litigation, representing clients suffering from injuries arising from vaccinations that are eligible for compensation under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program.

Mr. Bhalla completed his undergraduate studies at the University of California at Berkeley with a Bachelor of Science in Political Psychology.  He also attended the London School of Economics (L.S.E.) in the United Kingdom and completed a Master of Science degree in Public Administration and Public Policy. At the L.S.E., he completed a dissertation on the topic of consociational political development in post-apartheid South Africa.  Mr. Bhalla earned a Juris Doctor Degree from Tulane Law School in New Orleans, Louisiana. As a law student, he was a member of the Criminal Law Clinic and earned distinction in the area of Legal Jurisprudence.

Mr. Bhalla is admitted to the bars of the State of New Jersey and State of New York, and is admitted to practice in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York and the United States Court of Federal Claims in Washington , D.C.