What we do for a person the police wronged
Four things, in order, and the first one starts the day you call: protect the shortest deadline, get the record before it disappears, bring every claim the facts support against everyone who is answerable for them, and take the case as far as it has to go. Where a criminal charge is open from the same arrest, the firm's criminal defense practice sits in the same office, and the two cases are handled together from the first conversation.
Most people reach us at one of three moments: within days of an arrest or a use of force, with a criminal charge still open; after the charge is dismissed, when the malicious prosecution clock has just started; or from inside a jail, or on behalf of someone who is. The four services below match those moments. The deadline tool is the fastest way to see how much time there is, and the free case review is where every engagement starts.
One first step, then the service that fits the moment
Protect the deadline
Before anything is decided, the notice of claim goes in: within 90 days in New York and New Jersey, to the right office, for every claim and every agency that might have employed the officers.
- The notice of claim to the Comptroller for the City of New York, or the designated officer for another municipality, or the Court of Claims for the State (N.Y. Gen. Mun. Law § 50-e; Court of Claims Act § 10).
- The Tort Claims Act notice in New Jersey (N.J.S.A. 59:8-8); the pre-suit notice to the agency and the Department of Financial Services in Florida (Fla. Stat. § 768.28(6)); the administrative claim to a federal agency (28 U.S.C. § 2401(b)).
- The 50-h examination, prepared for and, where a charge is open, adjourned until both lawyers agree.
- Where the 90 days have passed: the application for leave to serve a late notice, before the limitation period runs (§ 50-e(5)).
Get the record before it disappears
A police abuse case is decided on a few minutes of footage and a few pages of paperwork. Most of it exists only if someone asks for it early.
- Body-worn camera footage, requested by FOIL and by preservation letter in the first week; 911 and radio records; surveillance video from the block.
- Medical records and photographs of injuries while they are visible.
- The officers' disciplinary histories, available since the repeal of Civil Rights Law 50-a in 2020, and their CCRB records.
- Witnesses found and interviewed while they remember.
The lawsuit, federal and state claims together
Against the officers under Section 1983, against their employer under state law and, for the NYPD, under the City's 2021 law, and against the municipality under Monell where the facts support it.
- False arrest, excessive force, unlawful search, malicious prosecution, fabricated evidence, failure to intervene, jail and prison claims, wrongful death.
- Filed in the federal court in Brooklyn or Manhattan, in the District of New Jersey, or in the Florida federal courts, or in state court where that is the better forum.
- Discovery, the officers' depositions, and the summary judgment motion where qualified immunity is decided.
- Settlement when the number is right, trial when it is not. We publish no results and we make no predictions.
The criminal case, handled with the civil case in view
A plea that ends the criminal case can end the civil one. The firm's criminal defense practice and its civil rights practice work from one file.
- Where we handle the charge: the disposition is negotiated with Heck v. Humphrey and the favorable termination rule in view.
- Where you have a defense lawyer: we coordinate with them, take no statement without them, and adjourn the 50-h examination until the charge resolves.
- For a noncitizen: the plea is read against the immigration statute as well, through the firm's practice at myimmigrationplea.com.
The same three steps, whichever service you need
The free case review
A conversation with an attorney in your language. We identify the agency, the date, the claims the facts support, and what has to happen this week. If the case is not one we can take, we say so and tell you where to go.
The retainer and the notice
A written contingency retainer that says what we are handling, what the fee is, and who advances expenses. Then the notice of claim and the preservation letters go out, before the investigation is finished, because the clock does not wait for it.
The case
Investigation, the criminal case, the complaint, discovery, the immunity motion, and settlement or trial. You are told what the weaknesses are at every stage, including when the honest advice is to stop.
Said plainly
No results advertising
The payout figures on this site are public statistics about other people's cases, cited to their source. We do not publish our own settlements and we do not estimate yours.
No case without the criminal case in view
If a charge is pending, we will not take a statement from you without your defense lawyer, and we will not file anything that adds to the criminal file.
No promises
We will tell you what the law requires, what the defenses are, and what the evidence shows. We will not predict what a judge, a jury or the City will do.
Our other practice sites
The full firm: criminal defense, civil and commercial litigation, immigration, employment, family and consumer matters.
Go to usherlegal.com →
icebail.comFinding someone in ICE custody, bond hearings, and habeas when the court will not act.
Go to icebail.com →
myimmigrationplea.comWhat a criminal plea does to immigration status, read before the plea is taken.
Go to myimmigrationplea.com →
immigrationtrial.comDeportation defense in immigration court, when an arrest leads to proceedings.
Go to immigrationtrial.com →
Read next: the deadline tool, every claim, how a case works, or the firm.
Common questions
Do you handle the criminal case too?
The firm does, in the courts where our attorneys are admitted, and where you already have a defense lawyer we coordinate with them rather than replace them. Either way, nothing about the arrest is said or signed in the civil case without both lawyers having decided how. The criminal case and civil case page explains why that matters.
What does it cost?
The case review is free. If we take the matter, we work on a contingency fee: our legal fee is a percentage of what is recovered, confirmed in a written retainer before we begin, and if nothing is recovered there is no legal fee. Court filing fees and case expenses are separate, and the retainer says who advances them and how they are repaid. Where the court awards attorney's fees against the defendants under Section 1988, the retainer explains how that award is treated.
Do you take cases outside New York?
In New Jersey and Florida, yes: Mikhail Usher is admitted in all three states and Florida matters run through our Aventura office. For a case in another state we associate with local counsel or refer the matter, and we say which at the first conversation.
Will you take a case that is not worth much money?
Sometimes, and we will tell you plainly which kind it is. A case with a clear violation and a small injury may be worth bringing for nominal damages and fees, or it may not be worth what it will cost you in time and testimony. We say so rather than taking a retainer, and we publish no results either way.
Tell us what happened.
One conversation with an attorney, in your language. We tell you which claims the facts support, which deadline runs first for the agency involved, what evidence to preserve this week, and whether a pending criminal case changes the timing. If it is not a case we can take, we say so and tell you where to go.
(718) 484-7510If a criminal charge is still open, talk to your defense lawyer before you describe the arrest to anyone, including us. English, Russian and Spanish in-house; an interpreter for any other language. Contingency fee, confirmed in writing before we begin.