Abi Hassen - www.abihassen.com - abi@abihassen.com

EDUCATION

Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain

M.A., Political Philosophy

New York University School Of Law, New York, NY

J.D.

The Evergreen State College, Olympia, WA

B.S., Emphasis: Computer Science

ACADEMIC POSITIONS

Penn State Dickinson Law

Visiting Assistant Professor of Law

Courses: Professional Responsibility; Law in Emergency; Advocacy I (Trial Advocacy); Legal Writing

Adjunct Professor of Law,

Course: Race, Law, and Technology: Theoretical Perspectives, Practical Interventions

LEGAL EXPERIENCE

O’Neill And Hassen, Brooklyn, NY

Partner, 2015 – Present

Criminal law practice with expertise integrating technology into the practice of indigent criminal defense (CJA). Represented clients in all aspects of federal criminal defense. Extensive experience managing, organizing, and litigating digital discovery. Second chair on two federal criminal trials including 6-week, complex, multi-defendant fraud/conspiracy case.

Black Movement-Law Project, Multiple locations

Co-Founder, 2015 – 2019

Non-profit devoted to rapid response and helping build local, self-sustaining, legal support infrastructure. Worked closely with activists in Baltimore, Ferguson, Louisville, Cleveland, and other cities experiencing uprisings. Conducted innumerable Know Your Rights and digital security training sessions. Created and implemented a multi-location digital security educational program for lawyers and activists in cooperation with Electronic Frontier Foundation. Member, Movement for Black Lives Action Table.

National Lawyers Guild, New York, NY

Mass Defense Coordinator, 2011–2015

Dedicated to NLG’s efforts to provide legal support for activists involved in mass protest actions from the pre-planning of Occupy Wall Street through the uprisings in Ferguson. Founding organizer of NLG NYC Muslim Defense Project in response to NYPD spying. Organized legal teams, jail support systems, and temporary law offices for 2012 RNC and DNC. Provided support for protest-related civil litigation. Ran hacker/activist emergency hotline.

ADDITIONAL EXPERIENCE.

Yale Unions, UNITE HERE, New Haven, CT

Organizer

Managed local electoral campaigns. Worker organizer on new organizing campaigns and contract enforcement. Led union members on multi-month voter registration and felon rights restoration drive in central Virginia.

ARTICLES, CLE, AND OTHER PRESENTATIONS

• "Policing and Privacy During the COVID19 Crisis." Guest lecture given at Library Freedom Institute, libraryfreedom.org, 2020.
• "From Pinkertons to Palantir: History and Political Economy of Police Surveillance." Presented at Hackers Next Door: An Infosec Conference, New York, NY, USA, 2019.
• "From Rapid Response to Building a Sustainable Movement." Invited CLE Faculty at NAACP Legal Defense Fund Civil Rights Training Institute (Airlie Conference), Washington, D.C., USA, 2019.
• "Snitching on Yourself: Social Media, Surveillance, and Control." Guest lecture given at Library Freedom Institute, libraryfreedom.org, 2019.
• "Introduction to Criminal Justice And Public Policy." Guest lecture given at the Criminology and Criminal Justice Studies Department, Sonoma State University, Sonoma, CA, USA, 2019.
• "Stop Dropping In: Digital Privacy and the Road to Community Empowerment." Panelist at Left Forum, New York, NY, USA, 2018.
• "Rights To Freedom Of Peaceful Assembly And Of Association In The U.S." Presenter at the 35th Session of the UN Human Rights Commission, event, Geneva, Switzerland, 2017.
• "Legal Support Tech and Organizing for Uprisings, Mass Arrest, and Resistance." Organizer and presenter at Internet Freedom Festival, Valencia, Spain, 2017.
• Encryption vs. Surveillance in the New Civil Rights Movement, Truthout, Dec. 2015, https://truthout.org/articles/encryption-vs-surveillance-in-the-new-civil-rights-movement/
• "The Ferguson Streets to the High Courts: Protest, Policing, and Resistance." Presented at Left Forum, New York, NY, USA, 2015.
• "Protest Defense from Ferguson to Baltimore." CLE Faculty at National Bar Association Section of Civil Rights and Social Justice, Los Angeles, CA, USA, 2015.
• "Protecting Dissent." CLE Faculty at National Lawyer Guild Convention, Chicago, IL, USA, 2014.
• "NSA Surveillance and the Law." Presented at Drexel University School of Law, Philadelphia, PA, USA, 2014.
• "When Activism Goes Online: Anonymous, Hacktivism, and the Law." Panelist at New York Law School Institute for Information Law and Policy, New York, NY, USA, 2013.
• "Animal Advocacy and Terrorism Law." Presented at New York University, New York, NY, USA, 2013.
• "Nothing to Hide, So Much to Lose: Understanding the NSA Leaks." Presented at Waging Nonviolence, New York, NY, USA, 2013.
• “The 5th Estate: Hacking, Leaking and Investigative Journalism.” Presented at Left Forum, New York, NY, USA, 2013.
• Aaron Was a Criminal and So Are You, Common Dreams, Jan. 2013, https://www.commondreams.org/views/2013/01/19/aaron-was-criminal-and-so-are-you

BAR ADMISSIONS

New York, New Jersey