Education

J.D., Cornell University Law School, cum laude

B.A., Northwestern University

Clerkship

Hon. Frederick J. Martone, United States District Court for the District of Arizona

Admissions

District of Columbia

New York

Oregon

U.S. District Court: District of Columbia, Southern District of New York, Eastern District of New York

U.S. Court of Appeals: District of Columbia Circuit, Second Circuit

Todd A. Gluckman

Partner

(202) 204-8482

Todd Gluckman practices civil rights litigation and has focused on disability discrimination. He has also developed an expertise in class certification, attorneys’ fees disputes in civil rights fee-shifting cases, and open government (Freedom of Information Act) issues.

Mr. Gluckman graduated from Cornell University Law School, with honors, in 2005. Following law school, he clerked for Judge Frederick J. Martone of the United States District Court for the District of Arizona. He then worked as a commercial litigator at White & Case LLP, where he focused on complex contract and fraud disputes and maintained an active pro bono practice. He joined Terris, Pravlik & Millian as an associate in 2011 and became a partner in 2015.

Mr. Gluckman is lead class counsel in DL v. District of Columbia, a suit related to the District of Columbia’s failure to provide young children with required special education services. In 2016, the district court issued an injunction requiring the District of Columbia to improve its programs so that it timely provides special education services to all preschool-aged children that need them. In 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals issued a favorable opinion on class certification in DL, which has and will help plaintiffs in civil rights class actions challenging deficient government programs (860 F.3d 713 (D.C. Cir. 2017)). In 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals issued another favorable opinion in DL, this time on hourly rates paid to attorneys representing plaintiffs in the public interest (924 F.3d 585 (D.C. Cir. 2019)). That opinion is important to ensuring that those who cannot afford counsel can obtain high quality legal representation. More information related to DL is available here.

Mr. Gluckman is also lead counsel in a District of Columbia Freedom of Information Act case that arose out of DL. In that case (Terris, Pravlik & Millian, LLP v. District of Columbia), the District of Columbia Superior Court ordered the District of Columbia to turn over budget materials that reflect determinations by its agencies about how much money they need to do their work. District of Columbia law requires that information to be made public and posted online but the Mayor had refused to do so. An appeal is pending. More information about this case is available here.

Mr. Gluckman is co-counsel for residents of nursing facilities who are challenging the District of Columbia’s systemic failure to comply with its obligations under the American with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act, as interpreted by the Supreme Court in Olmstead v. LC ex rel. Zimring, 527 U.S. 581 (1999). In that case (Brown v. District of Columbia), the plaintiffs allege that the District of Columbia’s program for transitioning Medicaid beneficiaries from nursing facilities to the community, where they can live a less restricted life, is fundamentally inadequate. A trial decision is pending. More information about this case is available here.

Mr. Gluckman represents the Community Legal Aid Society, Inc. (CLASI) of Delaware, the state’s Protection and Advocacy System (P&A), in a federal lawsuit in which CLASI challenges the long-standing and systemic failures of the Delaware Department of Education (DDOE), and its Adult and Prison Education Resources Workgroup (APER), to provide special education services to incarcerated students with disabilities who are aged 18-22 in violation of federal and Delaware law. More information related to this case is available here.

Mr. Gluckman has also litigated other cases related to disability discrimination, the Freedom of Information Act, Medicaid benefits, and violations of the False Claims Act.