Emma is an experienced appellate and trial advocate who has litigated various civil-rights, commercial, and class-action matters in federal and state court. She has dedicated her legal practice to eradicating corporate and government misconduct and discrimination, with a particular focus on fighting sexual abuse and assault; remedying discrimination against and mistreatment of persons with disabilities; combating misconduct and excessive force by police and correctional officers; preventing housing and employment discrimination; vindicating children’s and students’ rights; and litigating other constitutional questions.  Emma has substantial expertise across an array of issue areas ranging from Sarbanes-Oxley whistleblower protections, religious free exercise, and the Establishment Clause to civil RICO, the Rehabilitation Act, and the IDEA. 

Before co-founding Pace Freeman, Emma litigated federal and state appeals with Apollo Law LLC, an appellate boutique that focuses on employee and consumer rights. Emma was previously a trial litigator with Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel LLP, a nationally recognized civil-rights boutique law firm in Manhattan. While there, Emma achieved a number of groundbreaking results, including reforming the New York Police Department’s and Yonkers Police Department’s discriminatory policies requiring arrestees to remove religious head coverings for mug shots and enabling a woman-led sexual wellness company to advertise on New York City subways. 

In addition to her work with Pace Freeman, Emma has co-directed the Civil Rights Appellate Clinic at the University of Minnesota Law School since 2024.

Emma grew up in the Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts and currently lives in Brooklyn. Outside the courtroom, Emma is likely enjoying a crossword puzzle or word game, reading fiction, or exploring local playgrounds with her family.

Emma’s representative matters include:

Federal Appeals:

• Aprileo v. Clapprood (1st Cir.): Emma represents the Appellee in a certified appeal as to whether Heck v. Humphrey bars the Section 1983 excessive force claim of a plaintiff whose criminal charges were dismissed after she successfully completed a Massachusetts pretrial probation program.

• Kean v. Brinker International, Inc. (6th Cir.): Emma represented the plaintiff in an appeal from the grant of summary judgment to Chili’s Restaurant in an age discrimination case under the ADEA. A unanimous panel reversed the district court’s judgment and remanded the case for trial.  

• Wright v. Talamantes, et al. (9th Cir.): Emma represented Professor Alexander Reinert as amicus curiae in a brief advocating for the wholesale abolition of qualified immunity and the reversal of a grant of qualified immunity to a doctor who performed an invasive strip search and medical examination on a minor child without parental notification or consent.

• Sanchez v. El Milagro, Inc., No. 24-3250 (7th Cir.): Emma represents an employee subject to sexual harassment in the workplace in violation of Title VII in her appeal from the district court’s grant of summary judgment to her employer.

• Pumphrey v. Triad Life Sciences, Inc., No. 24-60028 (5th Cir.): Emma represented an employee alleging retaliatory termination in his appeal from the district court’s denial of the defendants’ motion to compel arbitration due to waiver.

• Petrone-Cabanas, et al. v. Arizona (S. Ct.): Emma represented fifteen constitutional and criminal law professors as amici curiae in support of a petition for certiorari challenging certain mandatory juvenile life without parole criminal sentences imposed in violation of Miller v. Alabama.

• Hernandez, et al. v. Florida Board of Bar Examiners, et al. (11th Cir.): Emma represents two attorneys seeking admission to the Florida Bar in a dormant Commerce Clause constitutional challenge to the Florida Board of Bar Examiners’ fee structure.  

State Appeals:

• Rygwall v. ACR Homes (Minnesota Supreme Court): Emma represented the estate of a deceased group home resident in a wrongful death action involving a causation dispute under the Minnesota Tort Reform Act.

Trial Court Matters:

• Clark, et al. v. City of New York, (S.D.N.Y.): Emma developed a novel class action theory under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act and obtained permanent injunctive relief against the New York City Police Department’s discriminatory policy of removing religious head coverings for mug shots. 

• Dame Products v. MTA, et al. (S.D.N.Y.): Emma challenged the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s advertising regulations on behalf of a woman-led sexual wellness company in their First Amendment viewpoint discrimination lawsuit. She obtained a settlement that included both confidential monetary damages and the company’s right to advertise on MTA subways.

• A.A., et al., v. Mamaroneck Union Free School District (S.D.N.Y.): Emma obtained a historically-high, confidential monetary settlement and extensive injunctive relief on behalf of young students who endured years of severe racial bullying in a Title VI lawsuit.

• Headley v. City of New York et al. (E.D.N.Y.): Emma obtained a $625,000 settlement on behalf of Jazmine Headley, who was assaulted along with her young son by NYPD and New York Human Resources Administration officers in 2018, leading to the passage of various remedial City Council bills.

• Breest v. Haggis (New York Supreme Court, New York County): Emma represented Haleigh Breest, a young woman who alleged rape and sexual assault by Hollywood director Paul Haggis. In November 2022, Emma’s prior firm Emery Celli obtained a $10 million jury verdict on behalf of Ms. Breest against Mr. Haggis.

• Turnbull v. JPMorgan (S.D.N.Y.): Emma represented a former JPMorgan precious metals trader in his Sarbanes-Oxley whistleblower suit alleging retaliatory termination. Emma defeated JPMorgan’s motion to dismiss the entire lawsuit, and the case progressed to a favorable settlement.

• People v. Brian Scott Lorenz, (New York Supreme Court, Erie County): Emma represented Brian Scott Lorenz, who has been incarcerated since 1993 for a murder he did not commit; drafted briefing on DNA testing and results that contributed to August 2023 vacatur of Lorenz’s conviction.

• Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington v. Trump, (S.D.N.Y.): Emma represented amica curiae Sarah Chayes, renowned scholar of kleptocracy, in multiple lawsuits alleging violations of the Emoluments Clause by Donald J. Trump.