Area of Practice: Civil Rights Law

The Firm’s civil rights practice includes representation of both plaintiffs and defendants in employment discrimination, police accountability, racial profiling and public accommodation matters. 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 employees and customers. During this same year, he successfully represented an African-American in a false arrest claim against the Morristown Police Department and its officers.  More recently, Mr. Bhalla represented a gas station manager in an age discrimination claim against Amerada Hess Corporation.  The Firm currently represents plaintiffs in a civil rights litigation against a number of public and private entities.

In the post-9/11 context, Mr. Bhalla brought a racial profiling lawsuit against Delta Airlines that resulted in a satisfactory settlement between the parties. Most recently, Mr. Bhalla successfully represented a Sikh officer of the New York City Police Department who was terminated from his employment because of his religious practices.

Mr. Bhalla also represents public entities sued for violations of civil rights under state and federal law.   He has successfully defended municipalities, politicians, heads of police and fire departments, and individual police officers and other public officials that have been the target of litigation involving allegations of civil rights violations and employment discrimination.