Furloughed Biglaw Associate Charged In New York Molotov Cocktail Attack

He was furloughed in April as part of the firm's COVID-19 response.

Although states have slowly but surely started to reopen in the wake of the coronavirus crisis, the nation has been in a state of unrest following the officer-involved killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25, 2020, with mass protests breaking out across the country in response to police brutality and racism. Unfortunately, some of these peaceful gatherings have turned into riot situations, with looting and other acts of aggression taking the place of meaningful marches across America. One of those who stands accused of taking part in these violent crimes is a Biglaw associate, or we should say a possibly former Biglaw associate — one who was furloughed earlier this spring thanks to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Colinford Mattis, 32, stands accused of damaging New York City Police Department vehicles with Molotov cocktails during a Brooklyn protest this past weekend. Mattis was allegedly behind the wheel of a van while his passenger, Urooj Rahman, 31, a 2019 graduate of Fordham University School of Law who’s been identified as a human rights lawyer, allegedly threw an incendiary device at an unoccupied NYPD vehicle.

According to his LinkedIn profile, Mattis is a 2010 graduate of Princeton University and a 2016 graduate of NYU School of Law. Mattis is a member of Pryor Cashman’s Corporate Group, but he was furloughed in April as part of the firm’s austerity measures against the pandemic. His profile page was removed from the firm’s website yesterday afternoon. Mattis’s employment status with the firm is currently under review in light of these criminal charges. Here’s a statement from the firm:

(Image via LinkedIn)

“While we were already living in fraught times, the terrible situation around the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis has added painful stress to our lives,” [managing partner Ronald] Shechtman said. “As we confront critical issues around historic and ongoing racism and inequity in our society, I am saddened to see this young man allegedly involved in the worst kind of reaction to our shared outrage over what had occurred.”

Mattis and Rahman will appear today in the Eastern District of New York.

Furloughed Pryor Cashman Associate Charged With Helping Molotov Cocktail Attack During Brooklyn Protests [New York Law Journal]
Two Lawyers Arrested in Molotov Cocktail Attack on Police in Brooklyn [New York Times]


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Staci ZaretskyStaci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.

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