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AARP Foundation Litigation Team

 

William A. Rivera - Senior Vice President, Litigation

Kelly Bagby - Vice President, Litigation (Housing, Health and Human Services)

Dean Graybill - Vice President, Litigation (Income, Consumer, and Employment)

AARP Foundation Litigation (AFL) is an advocate in courts nationwide for the rights of people 50 and older, addressing diverse legal issues that affect their daily lives and assuring that they have a voice in the judicial system.

The AFL Team

Elizabeth Aniskevich

Elizabeth Aniskevich is a Senior Attorney at AARP Foundation.  Her work focuses on protecting the rights of older adults through vigorous advocacy.  Elizabeth litigates a variety of cases, ranging from consumer protection, to housing, to employment matters, and has vast experience litigating class actions. She also regularly writes amicus briefs for state and federal courts across the country.  Prior to joining the Foundation, Elizabeth worked to protect the integrity of financial markets through representation of investors in securities class actions and shareholder litigation.  She also clerked in the Eastern District of Virginia where she managed the court’s pro se prisoner docket.  Elizabeth graduated valedictorian from the University of Florida, with a double B.A. in Sociology and Criminology and received her J.D. from American University, Washington College of Law.  In addition to her work for the Foundation, Elizabeth serves on the D.C. Bar Foundation’s Young Lawyers Leadership Network Council. 

Benjamin Davis

Benjamin Davis is a Senior Attorney for AARP Foundation’s litigation department, focusing on unfair employment practices and consumer issues.  Benjamin represents older individuals in both class action and individual lawsuits across the country.  Benjamin formerly served as an Assistant State’s Attorney for Baltimore City, the largest prosecutorial office in Maryland. During his tenure as an Assistant State’s Attorney, Benjamin gained extensive trial experience, where he served as the first chair prosecutor for over a hundred bench and jury trials.  Benjamin later transitioned to private practice, where he utilized his litigation skills at a prominent plaintiff’s firm for almost a decade, representing thousands of aggrieved workers.  While at the firm, Benjamin was the supervisor of the employment department, where he was directly responsible for all phases of litigation. His primary focus was filing national class action lawsuits against large companies on behalf of employees who were victims of unfair wage practices.  This includes lawsuits against employers who failed to pay their employees overtime and minimum wages, as well as other benefits mandated by law. Benjamin received his J.D. from Howard University School of Law and is a member of the National Employment Lawyers Association (“NELA”) and the American Association for Justice. *Admitted to practice in Maryland. Not yet admitted in the District of Columbia. Practice is supervised by members of the D.C. Bar. 

Sam Gerleman

Samantha (Sam) Gerleman joined AARP Foundation Litigation after serving as a Civil Rights & Employment Fellow at Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC where she challenged discriminatory housing and workplace practices through impact litigation.  Prior to Cohen Milstein, Sam was a Stanford Law Fellow at Disability Rights Maryland where she provided legal representation to youth with heightened behavioral needs and laid the groundwork for litigation and legislative efforts aimed at preventing youth with disabilities from entering Department of Social Services custody. Sam received her B.A., summa cum laude, in Ethics and Public Policy, Sociology, and Philosophy, from The University of Iowa, where she graduated with University Honors and Honors in Philosophy. She received her J.D., with High Pro Bono Distinction, from Stanford Law School where she was integrally involved in numerous student organizations as a law student, including the SLS First Generation Professionals (Academic Chair, Mentor, Co-Founder), Law Students for Disability Rights (Co-President), Stanford Lawyering for Reproductive Justice (Outreach Vice-President), and Stanford’s Social Security Disability Pro Bono Project (Student Director). Sam was named one of D.C.’s “Top 40 Under 40” by The National Trial Lawyers.

Meryl Grenadier

Meryl Grenadier is a Senior Attorney at AARP Foundation Litigation. Her work involves nationwide impact litigation and legal advocacy on behalf of low income older adults. She works on matters involving health law, civil rights, elder abuse, retirement benefits, and consumer protection. Prior to joining AARP Foundation, Meryl was an associate at a D.C. boutique litigation firm where she worked on a variety of complex matters, including whistleblower matters, consumer class actions, and commercial disputes. Meryl serves on the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys Litigation Committee, and is former co-chair of the D.C. Bar Foundation’s Young Lawyers Network Leadership Council. Meryl holds a B.A. in political science and a B.S. in journalism from Boston University, and a J.D. from Northeastern University School of Law. 

Maame Gyamfi

Maame Gyamfi is Senior Attorney at the AARP Foundation Litigation.  Ms. Gyamfi is a health care expert who advocates nationwide for the rights of older adults with low to moderate income, addressing diverse issues that affect their daily lives and ensuring that they have a voice in the judicial system.  She works on matters involving health law, civil rights, elder abuse, disability rights, consumer protection, and other public interest areas. Prior to coming to AFL, Ms. Gyamfi was Senior Counsel at the Office of the Inspector General, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services where she worked on health care fraud and compliance matters. She also litigated criminal and civil cases as a Special Assistant United States Attorney for the U.S. District Courts of the Southern District of Florida and the Eastern District of New York. Ms. Gyamfi is a graduate of Georgetown University Law Center and the University of California at Berkeley.

Allie Horwitz

Allie Horwitz joined AARP Foundation Litigation as an Attorney in 2023. Allie previously served as a public defender in Maryland and New Hampshire, where she zealously defended hundreds of individuals accused of crimes, litigating all stages of their cases, including bail hearings, motions hearings, trials, and appeals. She was also a Fellow at AARP Foundation where she worked on cases involving housing discrimination, voting rights, and retirement benefits. Prior to her work as a Fellow, Allie was a Law Clerk for Justice Richard Bernstein on the Michigan Supreme Court. Allie holds a J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School, where she received the Jane L. Mixer Award for her contributions to advancing social justice and where she was a managing member of the Michigan Journal of Race & Law. She received her B.A. from Amherst College in psychology. She is fluent in Spanish. *Admitted to practice in New Hampshire and Maryland. Not yet admitted in the District of Columbia. Practice is supervised by members of the D.C. Bar. 

Daniel Kohrman

Dan Kohrman is a Senior Attorney with the AARP Foundation’s legal advocacy unit, AARP Foundation Litigation (AFL).  Dan represents older workers in class action and individual litigation in trial courts and AARP itself in amicus briefs in appellate courts, including the US Supreme Court.  Most of Dan’s cases involve claims under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) and/or the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).  He also has filed many briefs for AARP challenging state voter ID laws. Dan has been with AFL since 2001. He previously worked for theCivil Rights Division of the U.S. Justice Department, the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, and the law firm of Hogan & Hartson (now Hogan Lovells).  Dan received a BA from Yale College, a master's degree from the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University and his JD from Columbia Law School. From 1984-85 Dan served as a law clerk for the Hon. Stanley S. Brotman in the U.S. District Court in Camden, N.J. Dan has three children in their twenties.

AARP Foundation Supreme Court Preview

The Supreme Court often hears cases affecting the lives of people over 50. Read our review of key cases coming before the Court this year and likely to come in the future.

  

 

Sébastien Monzón Rueda

Sébastien Monzón Rueda came to AFL after four years as a Staff Attorney in the Tenant Advocacy and Support Practice at Legal Counsel for the Elderly (LCE) where he represented older adults with low to moderate income in housing-related cases before the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.  He also litigated reasonable accommodation cases and discrimination claims before administrative bodies, such as the D.C. Housing Authority and the Office of Administrative Hearings.  Sébastien received his J.D., cum laude, from the University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law (UDC Law) and his B.A. from the University of British Columbia.  He clerked for the Honorable Tyrona De Witt and the Honorable Diane Lepley at the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.  Sébastien is a Board Member of the Washington Council of Lawyers—the public interest bar association for DC—and serves as Co-Chair of its Advocacy Committee.  He is fluent in Spanish.

Ali Naini

Ali Naini joined AARP Foundation Litigation after a career in the District of Columbia Attorney General’s Office and the non-profit organization Mobilization for Justice (formerly “MFY”).

Ali, who speaks English, Farsi, and Turkish, has shown a keen interest in public policy since his early days at the University of Virginia, researching microfinancing in Cairo and later working with the Harlem Children’s Zone on health, financial, and housing projects.

In law school, he served as managing editor of the George Washington Law Review.  He then earned his litigation spurs in a three-year stint at the D.C. Attorney General’s Office.  He won 4 of 4 jury trials and 21 of 24 court motions, handling a wide variety of litigation tasks relevant to AFL’s work.  In 2016, he again chose public interest work, serving as senior staff attorney at MFY’s Foreclosure Prevention Project in New York City.  There, he tirelessly represented low-income clients facing loss of their homes, handling individual cases, lobbying for reforms, and first-chairing a trial.    

Julie Nepveu

Julie Nepveu is a Senior Staff Attorney at AARP Foundation Litigation.  She advances the interests of older people nationwide in the areas of access to courts, consumer protection, mortgage and reverse mortgage servicing and foreclosure defense, fair housing, disability rights, and public utilities.  Her work includes litigating cases, filing amicus briefs, and drafting comments on proposed federal regulation and legislation, and providing support to AARP state office staff. Julie previously worked as Staff Attorney at the National Lawyers’ Committee For Civil Rights Under Law in the Housing and Community Development Project. Prior to that, she represented low income and subsidized tenants at Legal Services of Northern Virginia. Julie also served as a judicial law clerk at the U.S. Claims Court to the Hon. Thomas J. Lydon. Julie earned her BA from the University of Vermont and her JD from the University of Maine School of Law. The Maine State Bar Association honored Julie with its Pro Bono Award in 1991.

Lauren Naylor

Lauren Naylor joined AFL after seven years at a plaintiffs’-side employment law firm representing federal and private sector employees in complex discrimination and retaliation matters. Lauren has represented employees before administrative bodies, including the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and in state and federal court. Lauren holds a B.A. in political science and public administration from Rhode Island College. She earned her J.D. from George Washington University Law School where she received the Ogden W. Fields Graduate Award for Excellence in Labor Law.

Stefan Shaibani

Stefan Shaibani is an alumnus of Stanford Law School, a former Law Clerk at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and a former Trial Attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice, Commercial Litigation Branch.  Mr. Shaibani is an attorney at the AARP Foundation Litigation, where he represents plaintiffs in disability, consumer, and employment class actions.

Prior to joining AARP Foundation Litigation, Mr. Shaibani operated a solo and small firm practice for 16 years representing plaintiffs in automobile negligence, premises liability, first-party insurance, and business tort cases in the DC metropolitan area.  In this capacity, Mr. Shaibani conducted bench and jury trials, depositions, mediations, and worked with expert witnesses in fields such as orthopedics, neurosurgery, neurology, pathology, oncology, vocational rehabilitation, economics, accident reconstruction, and premises security.  Mr. Shaibani has represented many indigents, disadvantaged and elderly clients who sustained harms and losses by the negligence of individuals and corporations defended by casualty insurers.

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AARP Foundation Supreme Court Preview

The Supreme Court often hears cases affecting the lives of people over 50. Read our review of key cases coming before the Court this year and likely to come in the future.