Alina Habba

Alina Habba (born March 25, 1984) is an Assyrian-American lawyer and Managing Partner of Habba, Madaio & Associates LLP, a legal firm based in Bedminster, New Jersey with offices in New York City. She represents former President of the United States, Donald Trump. She is also a senior advisor for MAGA, Inc., Trump's Super PAC.[1]

Alina Habba
Born (1984-03-25) March 25, 1984
Summit, New Jersey, U.S.
Alma materLehigh University (BA)
Widener Commonwealth Law (JD)
OccupationLawyer
Spouses
Matthew Eyet
​
​
(m. 2011; div. 2019)​
    Gregg Reuben
    ​
    (m. 2020)​
    Children2
    Websitealinahabba.net

    Early life and education

    Habba and her two siblings were born in Summit, New Jersey, to Assyrian parents who emigrated from Iraq to the United States in the early 1980s to escape persecution. Her father, Saad F. Habba, is a gastroenterologist.[2]

    Habba graduated from Kent Place School in 2002,[3] and attended Lehigh University, graduating in 2005 with a bachelor's degree in political science.[2] She obtained a J.D. from the Widener University Commonwealth Law School, in 2010.[4][5] Between 2005 and 2007, Habba had been working in the fashion industry, in accessories production and marketing with executives at Marc Jacobs. According to her, although she enjoyed the fashion industry, she decided to attend law school for financial reasons.[2]

    Law career

    After finishing law school, Habba served as a law clerk to Eugene J. Codey Jr., then Presiding Judge of the Civil Superior Court in Essex County, New Jersey from September 2010 until September 2011.[6][7] Habba began private practice in September 2011, when she joined as an associate at Tompkins, McGuire, Wachenfeld & Barry, LLP, where she worked from September 2011 to February 2013. From February 2013 to March 2020, she was an equity partner and the Managing Partner of Sandelands Eyet LLP, a mid-sized firm that serviced a subsidiary of Fortress Investment Group.[8] After her 7-year tenure at the firm, she left to start her own company in March 2020. Her firm, Habba, Madaio and Associates LLP, employs five people.[2] Along with the New Jersey office, Habba has an office in Manhattan.[9][10]

    Habba is a member of the Bar Associations of New Jersey, New York, and the American Bar Association. She is licensed to practice law in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.[6][11] She has served as lead counsel for many cases, including a federal class action suit against a New Jersey nursing home accused of various negligent acts and consumer fraud violations.[9]

    Habba has also held the position of general counsel for a large parking management and real estate investment firm. She has represented clients in various legal cases including a man suing a nursing home in New Jersey,[12] a student seeking a refund for tuition after University of Bridgeport moved classes to an online format.[13][14]

    In July 2021, Habba represented Siggy Flicker, former star of The Real Housewives of New Jersey who alleged that Facebook had disabled her account for wishing Melania Trump a happy birthday.[15][16]

    In July 2021, Habba represented Caesar DePaço, a pharmaceutical entrepreneur, in a federal court case where he filed a lawsuit against Portuguese journalists for revealing his close connections to the far-right Chega party in Portugal.[17][18]

    Work as Trump attorney

    In 2019, Habba joined the Trump National Golf Club Bedminster in New Jersey, an eight-minute drive from her law firm.[2][17][19] There, she and Donald Trump got acquainted.[2][19] Habba had never done legal work for Trump when, in September 2021,[9] he hired her as part of his legal team,[17] replacing several well-established lawyers who had worked for Trump for many years but had withdrawn their services, including: Marc Kasowitz, Charles Harder, Marc Saroff Mukasey, Jay Sekulow, and Lawrence S. Rosen.[13][20]

    Quickly after her hiring, Habba made headlines by filing a $100 million lawsuit on Trump's behalf against the New York Times, three Times reporters, and Trump's niece, Mary L. Trump.[9] Habba also worked on Trump's behalf when he was sued for defamation by Summer Zervos. Trump had called Zervos a "liar" in 2017, after she accused him of kissing her and groping her, without her consent, when she was a contestant on Trump's reality TV show, The Apprentice. In October 2021, Habba filed Trump's countersuit against Zervos, claiming she was trying to stifle Trump's right to free speech. Shortly thereafter, in November 2021, Zervos dismissed the lawsuit.[21]

    Habba represented Trump in a legal case where he was being investigated for falsely representing the value of his assets on his New York State income tax returns.[22] She attempted to appeal a court order requiring Trump and his children to give sworn testimony about the valuations they signed for when filing those returns, but her appeals were unsuccessful. New York's Attorney General, Letitia James, personally questioned Trump on August 10, 2022. Habba was present during the deposition and led the defense. Trump refused to answer any questions during the four-hour deposition by citing the United States Constitution's Fifth Amendment over 450 times.[23][24]

    In February 2022, Habba attempted to prevent Trump from being required to give a sworn statement in an investigation led by New York Attorney General James, but was unsuccessful. In April 2022, a judge found Trump in contempt for failing to comply with a subpoena issued by James for his records. The judge questioned the diligence of the search for records. In May 2022, Judge Arthur F. Engoron of the New York County Supreme Court held Trump in contempt of court and ordered him to pay a $110,000 fine. Trump paid the fine in May 2022,[25] and the ruling remains pending on appeal.

    On July 19, 2022, Habba was sued by a former employee Na'Syia Drayton who claimed Habba repeatedly sang inappropriate gangster rap and hip hop music in the office while using the N word, made racist comments and allegedly referred to New York's attorney general Letitia James as '"that Black bitch."[26][27] The lawsuit was settled out of court in September 2022.[28] Habba had called James a "sick person" in January of the same year.[29]

    In September 2022, U.S. District Court Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks dismissed a 2022 suit brought by Habba and Trump against Hillary Clinton, John Podesta, Jake Sullivan, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, and numerous other public officials, private citizens, and private entities that Trump sought damages against for alleged conduct surrounding the 2016 presidential election.[30] Dismissing all of Trump's claims, Middlebrooks concluded that Trump's complaint was not just inadequate in any respect but was inadequate in all respects and expressly reserved the right to consider sanctions against Trump's attorneys at a later date.[30][31]

    Two months after issuing that decision, Middlebrooks sanctioned the Trump lawyers, including Habba, Michael T. Madaio, Peter Ticktin and Jamie Alan Sasson, and they were assessed $50,000 penalties, plus $16,000 to cover the legal fees paid by one of the defendants.[32] Later in January 2023, he ordered Habba Madaio & Associates and Trump to pay $938,000 in legal costs for 31 defendants, including the Democratic National Committee, Hillary Clinton, and former FBI director James Comey.[33][34] This Order is currently pending appeal before the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.

    Habba also represented Trump in a federal civil lawsuit filed by his former attorney, Michael Cohen. Habba filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit with prejudice, which was granted by the Hon. Lewis J. Liman in his Opinion and Order dated November 14, 2022, successfully dismissing the action in its entirety.[35]

    Habba also defended Trump's private interests in the Carroll v. Trump case, when she argued before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit that the Federal Tort Claims Act applies to a former U.S. president. The Second Circuit, in a decision dated September 27, 2022, agreed that Trump was an employee of the United States at the time and that the District Court must consider the applicability of the Federal Tort Claims Act to Trump's comments in that light.[36] The Second Circuit decision did not address the merits of Trump's claim that the comments constituted executive action as the President of the United States.[36]

    In 2022, Trump's Save America political action committee paid Habba's firm almost $2 million in legal fees.[37]

    On April 3, 2023, Habba was interviewed on CNN by Don Lemon. Habba said she opposed releasing Trump's mugshot because he is a highly recognized figure.[38]

    Personal life

    Habba has described herself as "very religious". She has identified as a Catholic Chaldean.[2][26][39]

    Habba was married to Matthew Eyet from 2011 to 2019.[40] She married Gregg Reuben in 2020[41] and the couple lives in Bernardsville, New Jersey.[2]

    See also

    References
    1. "Trump Lawyer Alina Habba Takes Senior Role on MAGA Political Group". Bloomberg. October 24, 2022. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
    2. Larson, Erik (May 13, 2022). "Trump's Lawyer Leads Counterattack From Her 5-Attorney Firm". Bloomberg News. Archived from the original on May 13, 2022. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
    3. "Kent Place School Class of 2002". Courier News. June 18, 2002. Retrieved January 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. The graduation ceremony for the class of 2002 at Kent Place School in Summit was conducted on June 1. Following is the list of graduates.... Alina Habba...
    4. "Super Lawyers: Alina Habba". Super Lawyers. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
    5. "Class Gifts". Widener Law Magazine. Vol. 17, no. 2. Widener University Delaware Law School. Fall 2010. p. 35. Retrieved January 21, 2023 – via Issuu.
    6. "Alina Eyet". lawyer.com. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
    7. "Alina S Habba | Law Clerk | State of New Jersey | 2010". openpayrolls.com. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
    8. Heilman, Greg (October 25, 2022). "Who is Donald Trump's attorney Alina Habba? What's her net worth?". Diario AS. Archived from the original on November 16, 2022. Retrieved September 3, 2022.
    9. Fahrenthold, David A.; Crites, Alice (September 23, 2021). "To sue the New York Times and his niece, Trump turned to a low-profile attorney from New Jersey". Washington Post. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
    10. "Alina Habba". Alina Habba. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
    11. Ngo, Hope (September 28, 2021). "Everything We Know About Donald Trump's Attorney, Alina Habba". The List. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
    12. Carrega, Christina; Evan, Simko-Bednarski (September 8, 2020). "New Jersey nursing home where authorities found 17 bodies sued for alleged failures during Covid-19". CNN. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
    13. Cassens Weiss, Debra (September 27, 2021). "After several lawyers withdraw from Trump's cases, a lesser-known lawyer steps in". ABA Journal. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
    14. Tepfer, Daniel (October 27, 2020). "Class action lawsuit filed against UB for non-relevant fees". Connecticut Post. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
    15. Lambe, Jerry (September 22, 2021). "Trump Lawyer Suing NYT, Mary Trump Represented Former 'Real Housewives of New Jersey' Star Who Recently Claimed Facebook 'Disabled' Account for Wishing Melania Trump a Happy Birthday". Law & Crime. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
    16. "Alina Habba, Esq. Represents Siggy Flicker in Lawsuit Against Big Tech". Habba Law. July 22, 2021. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
    17. Pagliery, Jose; Asawin, Suebsaeng (March 21, 2022). "The One Trump Lawyer the Rest of Trump's Legal Team Loathes". The Daily Beast. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
    18. Case 3:21-cv-14409-AET-TJB (PDF) (Court case). August 9, 2021. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
    19. Swan, Jonathan (January 21, 2022). "Trump's friends worry legal pick for N.Y. case lacks experience". Axios. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
    20. Rawnsley, Adam; Suebsaeng, Asawin; Tani, Maxwell; Sollenberger, Roger (September 23, 2021). "Trumpworld's Star Lawyers Exit as Storm Clouds Gather". The Daily Beast. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
    21. Bromwich, Jonah E. (November 12, 2021). "Ex-'Apprentice' Contestant Drops Defamation Lawsuit Against Trump". The New York Times. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
    22. Jonah E. Bromwich (June 7, 2022). "Trump Set to Be Questioned Under Oath by New York A.G. Next Month". New York Times. Retrieved September 3, 2022. Alina Habba, a lawyer for Mr. Trump, said soon after that ruling that she would appeal the matter to the Court of Appeals.
    23. Reiss, Adam; Da Silva, Chantal; Shabad, Rebecca (August 10, 2022). "Trump invokes Fifth Amendment nearly 450 times in N.Y. AG's civil probe of his business practices". NBC News. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
    24. Bromwich, Jonah E. (August 10, 2022). "Trump and James sat across from each other for hours as he said 'same answer' again and again". The New York Times. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
    25. Larson, Erik (May 20, 2022). "Trump Paid $110,000 Fine to Lift Contempt-of-Court Finding". Bloomberg News. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
    26. Italiano, Laura (July 21, 2022). "'I hate that Black bitch!' Donald Trump's lawyer recently shouted about NY AG Letitia James: lawsuit". Business Insider. Archived from the original on January 21, 2023. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
    27. Dye, Liz (July 21, 2022). "Trump Lawyer Alina Habba Sued For Being Gross Racist Hell Boss". Above the Law – Small Firm Center. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
    28. Pagliery, Jose (September 19, 2022). "Trump Lawyer Settles Secretary's 'B*tch' Discrimination Case". The Daily Beast. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
    29. Palmer, Ewan (January 11, 2022). "Trump's Lawyer Calls Letitia James 'Sick Person' Who Has 'Weaponized' Role". Newsweek. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
    30. Donald J. Trump v Hillary R Clinton, et. al. (2022), US District Court for the Southern District of Florida (2:22-cv-14102-DMM Document 267), p.2. p.65
    31. Impelli, Matthew (September 9, 2022). "Judge threatens Trump lawyers with possible sanctions over Clinton lawsuit". Newsweek. Retrieved September 9, 2022.
    32. Savage, Charlie (November 11, 2022). "Judge Fines Trump Lawyers in Clinton Conspiracy Suit Tossed in September". The New York Times – via NYTimes.com.
    33. Palmer, Ewan (January 20, 2023). "Alina Habba pays the price for cozying up to Donald Trump". Newsweek. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
    34. Schmidt, Michael S.; Haberman, Maggie (January 20, 2023). "Judge Orders Trump and Lawyer to Pay Nearly $1 Million for Bogus Suit". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
    35. "Michael Cohen Loses Suit Alleging Trump Retaliated Over Book". Bloomberg. November 14, 2022. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
    36. Klasfeld, Adam (September 27, 2022). "Second Circuit Hands Donald Trump a Procedural Win in E. Jean Carroll Lawsuit, Setting Stage for a New Appellate Battle". Law & Crime. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
    37. Polantz, Katelyn (February 22, 2023). "Trump leadership PAC spent more than $16 million on legal services in 2022 | CNN Politics". CNN.
    38. ""He's the most recognized face in the world, let alone the country, right now." (Twitter)". April 3, 2023.
    39. MENAFN. "Alina Habba: Iraqi Attorney, Tenacious Defender of Donald Trump". menafn.com. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
    40. "Who is the Iraqi lawyer in the eye of the latest Donald Trump legal storm?". The Kampala Report. April 5, 2023. Archived from the original on April 12, 2023. Retrieved May 5, 2023.
    41. Reuben, Gregg (February 8, 2021). "Gregg Reuben Wedding Gallery". Retrieved May 5, 2023.
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