EXCLUSIVE: Manhattan DA’s top deputy Karen Agnifilo lands at law firm Geragos Global
Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance’s top deputy Karen Friedman Agnifilo has landed a new job at the celebrity-friendly criminal and civil law firm led by telegenic trial lawyer Mark Geragos.
Agnifilo announced her resignation from the DA’s office in December and her last day was Wednesday.
“It speaks volumes and is also quite humbling that Karen’s next chapter of her career after stints with Mayor Bloomberg and District Attorney Vance is with Geragos Global,” Geragos told the Daily News Thursday night.
Geragos has represented a long list of high-profile clients including actress Winona Ryder, pop superstar Michael Jackson, reality star Nicole Ritchie, singer Chris Brown and hip hop stars Nathaniel “Nate Dogg” Hale and Sean “Diddy” Combs.
He and partner Ben Meiselas more recently represented Colin Kaepernick in the former 49ers quarterback’s legal battle claiming that the NFL tried to keep him from playing after he chose to kneel during the national anthem.
“We are beyond excited to welcome Karen to the family and to have her manage our explosive growth in New York and firm-wide,” fellow partner Tina Glandian, one of the defense lawyers for “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett in his alleged hate hoax case in Chicago, said in a statement.
Geragos Global also includes a hospitality arm that last month announced the acquisition of the Scott’s Family Resort in the Catskills, home to the Emmy-winning TV show, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.”
“We couldn’t ask for a more perfect candidate to grow and manage the expansion of the Global operation. Karen is and was our only candidate, and we are delighted,” Meiselas said.
“As Chief of the Trial Division, Karen was instrumental in driving crime to historic lows across the borough by implementing data-driven approaches that allowed us to focus on the most serious crimes and bolster efforts to prevent crime,” Vance told his staff in a December memo.
“As Chief Assistant D.A. since 2014, Karen has helped redefine the role of a prosecutor’s office in modernizing and reforming the criminal justice system, and reducing unnecessary incarceration.”
Agnifilo was forced to recuse herself from a number of high-profile criminal cases, including the rape conviction of disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, due to her husband Marc Agnifilo’s work at the firm of criminal defense lawyer Ben Brafman.
Her announcement in December that she was leaving Vance’s office was seen as another sign the Manhattan DA won’t run for a fourth term in 2021. Vance has not announced his plans, but he also has not taken any major steps for another race.
