Davida S. Perry has been a civil litigator since 1986 and holds the distinction of an "AV" rating with Preeminence from Martindale-Hubbell. In 1994, Ms. Perry and her father, Murray Schwartz, created the partnership of Schwartz & Perry LLP. Since the firm's inception, Ms. Perry has devoted her efforts exclusively toward representing victims of unlawful employment discrimination. Ms. Perry worked alongside her father in the landmark first impression case of Thoreson v. Penthouse Magazine and Robert Guccione. In Thoreson, the finding of sexual harassment was sustained on appeal, which set a significant precedent that a claim of sexual harassment can be established based on the victim's testimony alone.In 1991, the City of New York enacted its own Human Rights Law authorizing a private cause of judicial action for victims of employment discrimination. The New York City law was challenged in Bracker v. Cohen, a sexual harassment case in which Schwartz & Perry LLP represented the plaintiff. The law was ultimately found to be constitutional and as a result, a multitude of cases have been instituted under that law. Notably, Ms. Perry served as Second Chair during the trial of McIntyre v. Manhattan Ford, Lincoln Mercury, a sexual harassment, retaliation and intentional infliction of emotional distress suit. A Manhattan jury awarded the plaintiff $6.6 million, which, even after being reduced, still stands as one of the highest awards for sexual harassment in the entire nation. In June 2006, following a two-week trial, the jury returned a verdict in favor of a client of Schwartz & Perry LLP in the amount of $2.5 million, of which $300,000 was an award for punitive damages. The verdict was based upon a retaliation claim arising from the plaintiff's allegation of age discrimination. After adding damages and interest, the amount of the final judgment paid totaled nearly $4 million. Ms. Perry has co-authored numerous articles and publications for programs sponsored by the New York State Bar Association, the National Employment Lawyers Association and the Practising Law Institute.