People

Raymond M. Schlather

Ray has been trying cases in federal and state courts throughout Central New York for more than three decades. The well-known and respected national peer review rating organization Martindale-Hubbell rates Ray as "AV," its very highest possible ratings for his recognized "pre-eminent" legal ability and ethical practice. He also is listed among upstate New York's "super lawyers." He has achieved numerous recoveries -- by verdict, arbitration and settlement -- ranging from $100,000 to $2.2 million, and several other "not guilty" or lesser included offense verdicts.

Though Ray primarily represents plaintiffs in his civil practice, and only defendants in his criminal practice, he is periodically retained to represent defendants in commercial litigation and estate litigation. He routinely accepts client referrals from other attorneys.

Ray is past president of the Tompkins County Bar Association, former director and a current member of the New York State Trial Lawyers Association, and a member of the American Trial Lawyers Association and the New York State Bar Association.

Ray is also active in the community. He has served on many not-for-profit and civic boards, including those of the Tompkins-Cortland Community College, Planned Parenthood of the Southern Finger Lakes, the Hangar Theatre, the Greater Ithaca Activities Center (GIAC), the Ithaca City Board of Public Works, the West Hill Civic Association (WHCA), the Ithaca City Common Council, the Ithaca City Planning Board, the Tompkins County Democratic Committee, the Bosnian Student Project, and the Martin Luther King, Jr. Freedom Walk Committee. Ray lectures periodically, both in the legal community and in the local schools, including the Cornell Law School.

To make an appointment with Ray, please contact his paralegal, Laurie F. Schutt.

e-mail ray@ithacalaw.com

Some of Ray's prior trial verdicts include:

Motor vehicle accident, including wrongful death cases: $100,000 to $1.3 million
Medical malpractice cases: $540,000 to $675,000
Other personal injury, including products liability cases: $160,000 to $1.25 million
Civil rights, including sexual harassment cases: $150,000 to $1 million

Various Criminal Cases, including: murder; manslaughter; drugs (federal and state); perjury; assault; rape; conspiracy; official misconduct; falsifying business records; welfare fraud; obscenity; promoting prostitution (First Amendment issues); and driving while intoxicated (felony and misdemeanor): all "Not Guilty"

Other successful cases of interest include the constitutional protection of public art, of a high school newspaper, of cable public access programming, and of non-violent assembly and protest at a local university.

Education:

Cornell Law School, Ithaca, New York, Juris Doctorate, 1976
St. Vincent College, Latrobe, Pennsylvania, B.A., Summa Cum Laude, 1973

Admitted to Practice:

New York State, 1977
United States District Court, Northern District of New York, 1977
United States District Court, Western District of New York, 1982
District of Columbia, 1999
United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit, 1994
United States Supreme Court, 1997