RPJ Partner Ethan Krasnoo Interviewed for OperaWire Article “Q&A: Samuel Schultz’s Lawyer Ethan Krasnoo on Litigating Sexual Harassment & Assault Cases”

Mr. Krasnoo was interviewed by OperaWire in connection with his representation of Sam Schultz, who was sexually assaulted by Opera star David Daniels and his husband.  This past August, Daniels and his husband pled guilty to the assault in connection with the criminal cases against them.   The interview in OperaWire explores Mr. Krasnoo’s involvement as an attorney who supported the victim in the criminal matter and his background as an attorney who has worked on sexual abuse and sexual harassment cases primarily from an employment standpoint.

Mr. Krasnoo became involved in this case supporting Samuel Schultz through the National Women’s Law Center in connection with support from the Times Up Legal Defense Fund.  As a civil attorney for the victim, Mr. Krasnoo was in a position to support and prepare Sam for testimony at trial, answer any questions Sam might have regarding the trial and plea, and work to make the process as minimally retraumatizing as possible. Mr. Krasnoo believes it to be quite valuable for survivors when attorneys are able to serve this function in sexual assault and harassment cases.

In the interview, Mr. Krasnoo speaks to the role the #MeToo movement has played in empowering survivors to come forward and how this intersects with (sometimes dated) evidentiary support for legal claims. He also discusses the courage of survivors coming forward, the way laws in the employment sector make it so the damages associated with the effects of such harassment are unique to each person, and the pull he experiences as an attorney who, on the one hand, feels for his clients and the emotional suffering they have undergone in seeking to prevent their reliving of trauma, and, on the other hand, has an obligation to put on the best case he can for his clients. Read more at the link here.

This article is intended as a general discussion of these issues only and is not to be considered legal advice or relied upon. For more information, please contact RPJ Partner Ethan Krasnoo who counsels clients in areas of complex commercial litigation, arbitration, mediation and dispute resolution, and employment, intellectual property, and entertainment and media. Mr. Krasnoo is admitted to practice law in New York, the United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and United States Tax Court.