License to Thrive

Mercedes Colwin , Legal Eagle

Mercedes Colwin is the Managing Partner of Gordon & Rees’s New York office.  She handles a wide variety of litigation including employment law, commercial litigation, products liability, civil rights violations and criminal law.   Ms. Colwin regularly defends executives from Fortune 500 companies charged with allegations of wrongdoing, including claims of sexual misconduct.  She is a highly-respected and versatile litigator.Prior to entering private practice, Ms. Colwin devoted several years in the public sector.  In 1996, Gov. George Pataki appointed Ms. Colwin as an Administrative Law Judge for the New York State Division of Human Rights, where she served for nine years.  At the time of her appointment, she was one of the youngest ALJ’s in the agency’s history.  As a judge, Ms. Colwin presided over hearings and conferences in cases brought under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 Title VII, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, and the Human Rights Law.  She remains a member of the Governor’s Advisory Counsel for Women and is an active member of the Women’s Presidents’ Organization.In 2005, Forbes Business American Airlines named Ms. Colwin one of the six most influential women in America—a list that included former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.  The Long Island Business News recognized her as one of New York’s rising “young stars” under the age of 40.  Also this year, Notre Dame Law School presented Colwin with the prestigious Graciela Olivarez Award for outstanding achievement as “a leading Hispanic lawyer of the highest ethical and moral standards who exemplifies commitment to community service.”   Widely regarded as one of the top national legal analysts for the FOX News Channel, Ms. Colwin appears weekly on the FOX network’s legal segment called, “On the Docket,” one of the highest rated legal segments on national cable news where she comments on critical legal issues.   Ms. Colwin earned her Juris Doctor from Brooklyn Law School, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from New York University.