About
Danya Perry is the founding partner of Perry Law. Before launching her own litigation boutique in 2019, Danya was a former federal and state prosecutor and investigator, and Chief of Litigation and Deputy General Counsel at a major multi-national holding corporation.
Danya has an active criminal law practice at Perry Law, representing targets and witnesses in complex government investigations, and defending individuals and companies charged with crimes in federal and state courts. Her clients have received formal declinations without charges being brought, favorable plea agreements, and below-guidelines sentences. She also supports crime victims in navigating the criminal referral process and in giving victim impact testimony.
Danya also maintains an active civil docket, representing survivors of sexual harassment, sexual assault, hostile workplaces, retaliation, and other workplace misconduct and discrimination. Through her trauma-informed client counseling and relentless advocacy, she regularly secures seven- and eight-figure settlements and other non-pecuniary concessions for her clients, often without the need for protracted litigation.
Danya is the rare lawyer able to navigate matters on both sides of the aisle in commercial, employment, and civil rights matters. Along with her plaintiff-side work, Danya is the first call for companies facing—or looking to proactively avoid—high-stakes employment litigation, and for individuals facing potentially ruinous allegations of misconduct. For a select roster of clients, Danya provides ongoing advice and counsel to help head off employment disputes and misconduct claims before they arise. She also conducts independent investigations at the request of the world’s most prominent brands, including hedge funds, private equity firms, universities, sports leagues, and other companies.
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From 2002 to 2013, Danya served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, including as Senior Trial Counsel and Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division. As an Assistant U.S. Attorney, she investigated, prosecuted, and supervised hundreds of sophisticated white-collar cases and complex investigations, including the prosecution of a billion-dollar health care fraud, the largest immigration fraud matter in the history of the United States, and one of the largest identity theft rings in the United States.
In 2013, Danya was appointed by New York’s Governor and Attorney General to serve as Deputy Attorney General for the State of New York and Chief of Investigations for the Moreland Commission to Investigate Public Corruption. In this role, she led a sweeping investigation into public corruption in New York State, recommended policies for systemic reform, and referred numerous matters for criminal prosecution.
From 2014-2019, Danya spent five years as the Chief of Litigation and Deputy General Counsel at MacAndrews & Forbes Incorporated. There, she managed and advised all aspects of the company’s complex commercial litigation, compliance, and regulatory matters, including in areas of mergers and acquisitions, contract, antitrust, intellectual property, consumer fraud, and employment law. Danya led and coordinated teams of in-house and outside attorneys in the prosecution and defense of all litigation matters. She was responsible for developing, implementing, and enforcing best-in-class compliance programs across the holding company and its operating companies, and she provided guidance to executive management in a broad array of legal and business issues, including in areas of business risk, corporate governance, internal investigations, and best practices.
Danya has been appointed as a Criminal Justice Act (CJA) Panelist for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York to serve as counsel to criminal defendants, ensuring they receive due process and zealous representation. Danya also serves as an adjunct professor of law at New York University School of Law, where she teaches Professional Responsibility. She previously taught a trial advocacy and prosecution clinic.
Danya is a graduate of Harvard College and Yale Law School. Nationally recognized as an industry expert, Danya frequently speaks on white-collar and enforcement panels and is a regular media commentator, including on MSNBC, CNN, and BBC. Danya has written a number of op-eds and articles, including for The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, the New York Daily News, and Law360. She is a champion sub 3-hour marathoner and a proud single mother of three.
