Glenn Katon

Glenn Katon is an experienced trial lawyer who fights relentlessly for his clients' civil rights. He has tried over 15 cases and handled numerous appeals, including argument in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth and Eleventh Circuits. Glenn's practice has focused on plaintiffs’ civil rights for the last 15 years, preceded by over 10 years of commercial litigation. He has litigated police brutality, racial profiling, free speech, religious freedom, and immigrants’ rights cases, and been quoted on civil rights law in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and Newsweek.

Glenn began his career as a law clerk to a federal district judge. For two years, he was part of the process through which a federal court decided cases. He  did research and drafting for the judge, observed trials, spoke with juries after verdicts, conducted conferences with counsel, and came to understand the types of lawyering he believed to be effective. The experience of seeing the court's decision-making process from the inside has had a tremendous influence on how he tries to persuade judges and juries for his clients.

After his clerkship, Glenn practiced commercial litigation at a large national law firm, served as a trial attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice, then continued commercial litigation at a highly regarded regional law firm, where he became a shareholder. Over these years, Glenn learned from leading members of the bar, one of whom was nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court. During private practice, Glenn worked on many pro bono cases, including criminal appointments, a death penalty case, and representing community members through the ACLU of Florida. 

Glenn's pro bono work for the ACLU led him to a staff position there, where he was a Senior Attorney and Director of the Religious Freedom Project. He litigated police misconduct, racial profiling, free speech, and religious freedom cases. Glenn's skills in the courtroom were recognized by a federal judge following trial, who noted in a written opinion: “In the Court’s own experience and judgment, Mr. Katon was instrumental in securing the successful results which Plaintiffs achieved.”

After the ACLU, Glenn was the Legal Director at Muslim Advocates, a national legal organization defending the civil rights of American Muslims. He was focused particularly on fighting against racial and religious profiling and was one of the lead counsel who successfully sued the NYPD for spying on Muslims without any suspicion of wrongdoing. He was also one of the lead counsel who obtained a preliminary injunction requiring the New York MTA to run advertisements for The Muslims are Coming!, a movie made by two Muslim comedians. 

In his private civil rights practice, Glenn works mainly for people who have been subjected to police brutality causing death or serious injuries. He is honored to represent people hurt by police who the public has trusted to protect them and use force only when necessary. Glenn believes all of our civil rights are important to our freedom and also handles cases involving other police misconduct and violations of free speech and religious freedom.