Gregory Kirschenbaum is a Partner at Phillips & Associates, PLLC, and a New York employment trial lawyer who exclusively represents employees in workplace sexual harassment, whistleblower retaliation, employment discrimination, including race discrimination, hostile work environment claims, and workplace retaliation. He has recovered millions of dollars for clients through pre-suit negotiations, mediation, litigation, and trial. His practice combines early case development and negotiation with the ability to take employment cases through federal court and to a jury when necessary.
Kirschenbaum litigates employee-side claims under Title VII, the New York State and New York City Human Rights Laws, the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination, and New York Labor Law Section 740. In 2015, he obtained a $2.2 million plaintiff verdict in a race-based hostile work environment and retaliation case. In 2022, Kirschenbaum served as trial counsel in Pardovani v. Crown Building Maintenance Co. and Jazz at Lincoln Center, No. 15-cv-09065, in the Southern District of New York. After Phillips & Associates defeated summary judgment, the case proceeded to a federal jury, which returned a unanimous $1.8 million verdict, including $1 million in punitive damages.
Lawdragon Honors
| Honor | Year | Practice |
|---|---|---|
| The 2026 Lawdragon 500 Leading Civil Rights & Plaintiff Employment Lawyers | 2026 | Sexual Harassment, Whistleblower, Discrimination |
Some of Kirschenbaum’s notable results include:
- $2.2 million plaintiff verdict: Race discrimination, hostile work environment, and retaliation
- $1.8 million plaintiff verdict: Race-based hostile work environment, including $1 million in punitive damages
- $600,000 settlement: Whistleblower retaliation
- $600,000 settlement: Sexual harassment and quid pro quo sexual harassment
- $500,000 settlement: Race discrimination and hostile work environment
- $400,000 settlement: Sexual harassment and quid pro quo sexual harassment
- $350,000 settlement: Sexual harassment and quid pro quo sexual harassment
Kirschenbaum earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science from the University of Delaware and his J.D. from Brooklyn Law School, where he developed his focus on workers’ rights. He received the CALI Award for a Collective Bargaining Workshop and a Peggy Browning Fund Fellowship, through which he worked on labor and employment issues at the Major League Baseball Players Association.
Kirschenbaum is admitted to practice in New York, New Jersey, and Florida; the Southern, Eastern, and Northern Districts of New York; the District of New Jersey; the Southern District of Florida; and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. His practice is centered in New York, and he also represents employees in employment matters in New Jersey and Florida.