crain’s - paul, weiss

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VOL. XXX, NO. 13 WWW.CRAINSNEWYORK.COM MARCH 31-APRIL 6, 2014

CRAIN’SNEW YORK BUSINESS®

F ebruary’s bomb-shell report on bul-lying and rampantverbal abuse within

the Miami Dolphins’ lockerroom stunned the football com-munity and the public, butDavid Brown had been living with it for months. As a member of theindependent investigative team commissioned by the NFL, he was thelead author.

“We knew what we were writing would be heavily scrutinized,” said Mr.Brown.“The issues were complicated.We were very careful to publish anobjective, impartial view of the facts that reflected the nuances.”

Mr.Brown was an obvious choice for the task.“David is a gifted writer and

dogged investigator,” said Mark Mendelsohn, a partner at Paul Weiss.“Hehas this breezy, conversational style that gets people to admit things beforethey even realize they’re making admissions.”

One of Mr.Brown’s landmark victories came in 2008,when herepresented several songwriters’ unions in defeating record companies’attempts to cut more than $1 billion in royalties.

Mr.Brown grew up in Queens, the son of immigrants—his Jamaicanfather was a hospital maintenance worker, and his German mother, a nurse.Though neither of his parents went to college, it was never a question thathe would go. Now he does most of his pro bono work in education, defendingcharter schools—a stance he wishes weren’t so politically charged.

He’s both raised money for Democrats (President Barack Obama andNew Jersey Sen.Cory Booker) and served on former Mayor MichaelBloomberg’s Panel for Educational Policy.“Education reform is the civil-rights

movement of our time,”he said.“Ideally, it should be something that the leftand the right can agree on.”

—hilary potkewitz

DAVIDBROWN, 38PartnerPAUL, WEISS, RIFKIND,WHARTON & GARRISON LLP

NEW YORK’S RISING STARS

DAVID BROWN IS A NATIVE NEW YORKER, GRADUATED FROM COLLEGE,HAS AN ADVANCED DEGREE, LIVES IN THE CITY, IS A KNICKS FAN, IS ONLINKEDIN, WEARS A SUIT & TIE TO WORK, HAS AN IPHONE, DOESYOGA, USES INSTAGRAM, AND LIFTS WEIGHTS.