Major Accomplishments
2010 – Adam Doe v. Deer Mtn. Day Camp. Won landmark case that day camp violated anti-discrimination laws by excluding a ten-year old boy with AIDS.
2009 – Helped pass first-in-nation law requiring NYS Department of Health oversight of HIV and Hepatitis C care provided to individuals incarcerated in state prisons.
2003-Present – Won settlements worth hundreds of thousands of dollars in over 20 cases challenging breach of HIV confidentiality rights.
1999 – Donovan v. Girl Scouts. Garnered international media attention with lawsuit charging Girl Scouts with discriminating against an HIV positive 9-yesr old. Caused Scouts to prohibit HIV discrimination by volunteers and launch a comprehensive HIV education program.
1988 – Helped draft and pass New York’s first-in-nation HIV confidentiality law.
Other Notable
2012 – Published the third edition of HIV/AIDS Testing, Confidentiality & Discrimination: What You Need to Know about New York Law. This book is the only comprehensive, easy-to-understand resource about New York’s HIV confidentiality and testing law.
2005 – Doe v. Children of the World. With pro bono support from Lowenstein Sandler PC, settled the first known case in the country challenging a private adoption agency’s refusal to provide services to a couple because one of them is HIV-positive. Secured a public apology in the Essex County Star Ledger, implementation of anti-discrimination policies and training, and monetary damages.
2000 – Began pro bono HIV confidentiality litigation project with first referral to Paul Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison. Paul Weiss and other prominent firms have since joined us in co-counseling privacy cases throughout New York. These efforts have resulted in major hospitals and government agencies improving their privacy practices and compensating HIV-positive New Yorkers harmed by privacy breaches.
1994 – Red Hook Civic Assoc. v. Halperin. Defeated a “not-in-my-backyard” challenge that sought to prevent an AIDS housing and services agency from opening a new site in Brooklyn. LAC co-counseled the case with New York Lawyers for the Public Interest.
1989 – Launched HIV Legal Services Project, through which LAC helped over 10,000 individuals living with HIV/AIDS. Have helped protect privacy rights, overcome discrimination, access health care and gain other essentials of life.