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Burt Neuborne (born January 1, 1941) is the Norman Dorsen Professor of Civil Liberties at
New York University School of Law New York University School of Law (NYU Law) is the law school of New York University, a private research university in New York City. Established in 1835, it is the oldest law school in New York City and the oldest surviving law school in New ...
and the founding legal director of the
Brennan Center for Justice The Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law (NYU Law) is a nonprofit law and public policy institute. The organization is named after Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan Jr. Generally considered liberal, the Brennan C ...
.Debating 'Citizens United'
''
The Nation ''The Nation'' is an American liberal biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper th ...
'' (2011-01-13)


Career

Neuborne graduated from
Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teac ...
in 1961 and
Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class i ...
in 1964. He served as National Legal Director of the
American Civil Liberties Union The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". ...
from 1981-1986, Special Counsel to the
NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund Legal Momentum, founded in 1970, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and the nation's first and longest-serving legal advocacy group for women in the United States. Betty Friedan and Muriel Fox were its co-founders and Muriel Fox is an ongoing leader of the ...
from 1990-1996, and as a member of the New York City Human Rights Commission from 1988-1992. From 1995 to 2007, he directed the legal program of the
Brennan Center for Justice The Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law (NYU Law) is a nonprofit law and public policy institute. The organization is named after Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan Jr. Generally considered liberal, the Brennan C ...
. Neuborne has been called a defender of lost causes.Getting His Due
Joel Siegel, New York Magazine, October 9, 2006.
He defended Air Force pilots who refused to bomb
Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand ...
in the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam and ...
, the
Socialist Labor Party The Socialist Labor Party (SLP)"The name of this organization shall be Socialist Labor Party". Art. I, Sec. 1 of thadopted at the Eleventh National Convention (New York, July 1904; amended at the National Conventions 1908, 1912, 1916, 1920, 1924 ...
's effort to be on the ballot, and legal-aid lawyers suing the government.


Holocaust survivors

In 1998 Neuborne won a $1.25 billion settlement for Jewish Holocaust survivors in a lawsuit against Swiss banks who helped the
Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Naz ...
steal money from Jewish victims.Holocaust Survivors Angry Over NYU Law Professor Burt Neuborne’s Fees
Peter Lattman,
The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
Law blog, February 27, 2006
After undertaking the initial litigation
pro bono ( en, 'for the public good'), usually shortened to , is a Latin phrase for professional work undertaken voluntarily and without payment. In the United States, the term typically refers to provision of legal services by legal professionals for pe ...
, Neuborne gave notice that he intended to be paid for his work on the settlement. He applied for $4.1 million in fees for "8,000 hours over the past seven years" of work he did in the settlement against the banks. Some Holocaust survivor organizations in the United States filed an objection to Neuborne's claim. The editorial board of ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' admonished Neuborne, stating, "The dollar amounts are troubling and so are the slipshod hourly records that Mr. Neuborne submitted," and criticizing his $700 hourly rate as "unseemly" and more suited to corporate clients.Billing Holocaust Victims
''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', June 29, 2006.
The ''Times'' also criticized the survivors for expecting "arduous, complicated legal work without pay." When asked about the controversy, Neuborne said, "At the end of my career, to have to listen to people say, 'You lied to us, you cheated, you did this to us!'...it hurts, especially since they are survivors." Neuborne was acquitted by professional review boards and judges involved in the case itself. According to Neuborne, he never intended to donate the time he spent administering the case settlement and, indeed, pursuant to his other responsibilities, could not have.Burt Neuborne, Class Discussion, "Procedure," Fall 2006, NYU School of Law (L09.2001.003.FA06).


Publications

Books * ''When at Times the Mob Is Swayed: A Citizen’s Guide to Defending Our Republic'' (The New Press, 2019) * ''Madison's Music: On Reading the First Amendment'' (The New Press, 2015) * ''Building a Better Democracy: Reflections on Money, Politics and Free Speech-A Collection of Writings by Burt Neuborne'' (Brennan Center for Justice, 2002) * ''The Values of Campaign Finance Reform'' (Brennan Center for Justice, 1997) * ''Political and Civil Rights in the United States - Volume II'' (1979) (with Paul Bender, Norman Dorsen and Sylvia Law) * ''Political and Civil Rights in the United States - Volume I'' (1976) (ed. with Paul Bender and Norman Dorsen) * ''The Rights of Candidates and Voters: The Basic ACLU Guide for Voters and Candidates'' (Avon Books, 1976) (with Arthur Eisenberg) Articles * "Limiting the Right to Buy Silence: A Hearer-Centered Approach," 90 ''U. Colo. L. Rev.'' 411 (2019) * "A Tale of Two Hands: One Clapping; One Not," 50 ''Ariz. St. L.J.'' 831 (2018) * "The Status of the Hearer in Mr. Madison’s Neighborhood," 25 ''Wm. & Mary Bill Rts. J.'' 897 (2017) * "Achieving Results—Lessons from Civil Rights Movements: Transcript," 19 ''N.Y.U. J. Legis. & Pub. Pol'y'' 509 (2016) (with Bebe Anderson, Peggy Cooper Davis and Richard Blum) * "Where's the Fire?," 25 ''J.L. & Pol'y'' 131 (2016) * "Ending ''Lochner'' Lite," 50 ''Harv. C.R.-C.L. L. Rev.'' 183 (2015) * "One-State/Two-Votes: Do Supermajority Senate Voting Rules Violate the Article V Guaranty of Equal State Suffrage?," 10 ''Stan. J. C.R & C.L'' 27 (2014)    * "The Bond Between Left and Right Libertarians," 8 ''N.Y.U. J. L. & Liberty'' 1040 (2014) * "A Plague on Both Their Houses: A Modest Proposal for Ending the Ecuadorian Rainforest Wars," 1 ''Stan. J. Complex Litig.'' 509 (2013)    * "General Jurisdiction, Corporate Separateness and the Rule of Law," 66 ''Vand. L. Rev. En Banc'' 95 (2013) * "Review, Taking Hearers Seriously," 91 ''Tex. L. Rev.'' 1425 (2013)    * "Of 'Singles' Without Baseball: Corporations as Frozen Relational Moments," 64 ''Rutgers U. L. Rev.'' 769 (2012)    * "Felix Frankfurter's Revenge: An Accidental Democracy Built by Judges," 35 ''N.Y.U. Rev. L. & Soc. Change'' 602 (2011)    * "First Amendment Freedom of Speech and Religion–October 2009 Term," 27 ''Touro L. Rev.'' 63 (2011) (with Michael Dorf)    * "Serving the Syllogism Machine: Reflections on Whether ''Brandenburg'' Is Now (or Ever Was) Good Law," 44 ''Tex. Tech L. Rev.'' 1 (2011)    * "Gravitational Pull of Race on the Warren Court," 2010 ''Sup. Ct. Rev.'' 59    * "The October 2008 Term: First Amendment and Then Some," 26 ''Touro L. Rev.'' 465 (2010)   * "Voting Rights and Freedom of Speech Decisions from the October 2007 Term," 25 ''Touro L. Rev.'' 553 (2009) * "Campaign Finance and Political Gerrymandering Decisions in the October 2005 Term," 22 ''Touro L. Rev.'' 939 (2007) * "Hommage à Louis Favoreu," 5 ''Int'l J. Const. L.'' 17 (2007)    * "Spheres of Justice: Who Decides?," 74 ''Geo. Wash. L. Rev.'' 1090 (2006) * "Of Pragmatism and Principle: A Second Look at the Expulsion of Elizabeth Gurley Flynn From the ACLU's Board of Directors," 41 ''Tulsa L. Rev.'' 799 (2005) * "The Role of Courts in Time of War," 29 ''N.Y.U. Rev. L. & Soc. Change'' 555 (2005) * "Senate Proposal on Drug Importation Treads on Constitutional Rights," 1 ''Andrews Pat. Litig. Rep.'' 14 (2004) * "The House Was Quiet and the World Was Calm the Reader Became the Book," 57 ''Vand. L. Rev.''2007 (2004) * "Holocaust Reparations Litigation: Lessons for the Slavery Reparations Movement," 58 ''N.Y.U. Ann. Surv. Am. L.'' 615 (2003) * "Is There a Theory in this Class?," 35 ''Conn. L. Rev.'' 1519 (2003) * "Preliminary Reflections on Aspects of Holocaust-era Litigation in American Courts," 80 ''Wash. U. L. Q.'' 795 (2002)    * "Is Money Different?," 77 ''Tex. L. Rev.'' 7 (1999) * "Making the Law Safe for Democracy: A Review of the Law of Democracy," 97 ''Mich. L. Rev.''1578 (1999) * "Toward a Democracy-Centered Reading of the First Amendment," 73 ''Nw. U. L. Rev.'' 4 (1999) * "The Supreme Court and Free Speech: Love and a Question," 42 ''St. Louis U. L.J.'' 3 (1998) * "''Buckley'' 's Analytical Flaws," 6 ''J.L. & Pol'y'' 111 (1997) * "One Dollar-One Vote: A Preface to Debating Campaign Finance Reform," 37 ''Washburn L.J.'' 1 (1997) * "Judicial Review and Separation of Powers in France and the United States," 57 ''N.Y.U. L. Rev.''363 (1982) * "The Myth of Parity," 90 ''Harv. L. Rev.'' 1105 (1977)


References


External links


NYU School of Law Faculty Profile
*
"Creative Counsel", NYU School of Law magazine, Autumn 2004. (PDF)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Neuborne, Burt 1941 births Living people People from the Bronx New York University faculty New York (state) lawyers Harvard Law School alumni 20th-century American Jews New York University School of Law faculty 21st-century American Jews