Darnisha Lewis-Bonilla

Ms. Lewis-Bonilla is seasoned trial counsel at our Long Island office. If you believe you may have a claim because you were treated unjustly at work due to your membership in a protected class, you should call the experienced New York City attorneys of Phillips & Associates. Our team has filed many lawsuits and understands which strategies are most likely to result in success.

Ms. Lewis-Bonilla graduated from the St. John’s University School of Law in Queens, New York with a Juris Doctor in June 2010. While in law school, she received a Ronald Brown Academic Scholarship and made the Dean’s List. She received a CALI Excellence for the Future Award in Insurance Law, Professional Responsibility & Legal Writing Seminar. She was a finalist in the Edward Hart Civil Internal Trial Competition. She was a semi-finalist in the Thurgood Marshall Mock Trial Competition. She was a member of the Black Law Students Association, Polestino Trial Advocacy Institute and an Advocate with the Courtroom Advocacy Project.

Ms. Lewis-Bonilla received her Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude, in English-Creative Writing from Hofstra University, Honors College of Arts and Sciences. She served on the Dean’s List during all semesters of college. She received a plethora of scholarships, including Presidential Scholars Award and a Horace & Amy Hagedorn Scholarship. She studied abroad at Hofstra University’s Honors College in Shanghai, China. She served on the Hofstra University Judicial Board as a Student Justice. She also served as a member of the Hofstra University Pre-law Society. She worked as a peer volunteer for Hofstra University Career Center.

After law school she litigated various matters, gaining a strong understanding of how best to present cases and develop winning strategies. Among other things, she worked as an Associate in a Nursing Home Unit, litigating nursing home abuse, neglect, and medical malpractice claims on behalf of injured parties. She prosecuted wage and hour employment law claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and local law on behalf of plaintiffs. She litigated as an Assistant Special Prosecutor, working collaboratively with criminal and civil investigators to investigate allegations of neglect and abuse. She also gained valuable trial experience working for the Bronx County District Office as an Assistant District Attorney and conducting complex investigations, Grand Jury presentations and felony hearings and trials.

Before she joined Phillips & Associates, she practiced law in the Executive Division of the Office of the General Counsel of the New York State Office of the Attorney General. She served as in-house counsel working on legal matters in the daily administration of the agency. She worked independently conducting legal research and analysis to resolve complex legal matters. She also provided guidance and strategic responses to legal issues that arise, including labor and employment law matters.

She is also a member of the National Employment Lawyers’ Association in New York. She is admitted in the Eastern District of New York and the Southern District of New York.

Ms. Lewis-Bonilla is committed to fighting for workers in courtrooms. She has compassion for how humiliated, hurt, and financially insecure her clients feel when they’ve been discriminated against due to their race, color, sex, national origin, religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or other protected characteristic. Federal, state, and local laws may provide grounds to sue for damages after an employer has discriminated against you.

Several of the federal anti-discrimination laws require you to file a charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) before filing a lawsuit for damages in court. You must work for a midsize to large company to pursue a claim under these laws. For example, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which is enforced by the EEOC, only protects you in the event that your employer has at least 15 employees.

State and local laws tend to provide protection for a broader range of characteristics. Additionally, they tend to be more inclusive of the kinds of harms various workers experience. For instance, the New York State Human Rights Law defines “disability” as any psychological, mental, medical or physical impairment. The state law also covers a history or record of that type of impairment. In contrast, the ADA defines disability a bit more restrictively as a mental or physical impairment that substantially restricts one or more significant life activities, a person with a history or record of that impairment, or someone who is perceived by others as having that impairment.

It is crucial to retain legal representation who understands what your rights are and how to most effectively litigate these in court. Ms. Lewis-Bonilla has handled many cases in court. You should retain experienced New York City lawyers when you believe you’ve been discriminated against or sexually harassed by your employer. At Phillips and Associates, we represent victims of discrimination in companies located in Queens, Manhattan, the Bronx, Brooklyn, Staten Island, Suffolk County, and Nassau County, among other places. Fill out our online form or contact us at (212) 248-7431.