Dan Ackman

Dan Ackman is a journalist and civil rights lawyer, who graduated from Wesleyan University and Columbia Law School. He has written on law, policy, business, and sports for such publications as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, New York Daily News, Newsday, New York Post, The American Lawyer, The New York Observer, Slate, Inc., Pink Magazine, Salon and Forbes. He has also been a columnist for Forbes.com, BreakingViews and the Wall Street Journal's Law Page. At Forbes.com, writing AbOUT everything from the Enron scandal to the [...] industry he was named a finalist for the Online Journalism Award. 1. He has appeared as a commentator on CNN, NPR, PBS, CNBC, CBS, the BBC, CSPAN, Fox News, ESPN Radio and Fox Business.

Some of his notable television appearances include:

  • CNBC on Dennis Kozlowski's Appeal 2
  • NPR on the Frank Quattrone trial 3
  • CNN on Martha Stewart 4
  • The James Goodale Show on the Rather Report 5
  • Fox News/The O'Reilly Factor
  • NPR on the Alfred Taubman price-fixing prosecution 6
  • CNN on the Dennis Kozlowski trial 7

In addition to writing about law and business, Ackman has written extensively about off-beat sporting events such as outrigger canoe racing, the Army Best Ranger competition 8, squash, the world cyber-games9, and white collar boxing 10.

Civil Rights Law

As a lawyer, Ackman has successfully represented taxi drivers in claims against the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC). These victories include:

  • an order opening the TLC courts to the public,
  • a ruling that TLC courts systemically deprived taxi drivers of their constitutional rights to due process
  • an order requiring Mayor Giuliani to testify in the Operation Refusal lawsuit
  • a $7 million judgment for victims of the Mayor Giuliani's and the TLC's Operation Refusal policy.

He is challenging the legitimacy of the city's administrative law tribunals in two lawsuits pending in the New York federal courts.