Lawyer Identified as Attacker in New York Subway Incident
Viral videos in 2018 have captured not one, but two, New York City lawyers directing racially charged comments at bystanders.
December 14, 2018 at 04:37 PM
4 minute read
What is it with New York lawyers spouting racist rants in public places this year?
Another New York lawyer has been caught on video making racially charged comments, as well as assaulting a fellow subway passenger. That video, which has gone viral, comes just a few months after a New York City lawyer named Aaron Schlossberg was caught making a racially charged, anti-immigrant rant. That video, which also went viral, prompted intense blowback and a referral to attorney disciplinary authorities, forcing a public apology from Schlossberg.
In the latest incident, multiple videos posted online Wednesday depict a woman on a New York City subway car in Brooklyn shouting expletives, spitting at fellow passengers and specifically attacking another woman on the train by kicking and hitting her with an umbrella and keychain.
At one point in the video of the incident, the aggressor—identified in news reports as Anna Lushchinskaya, who uses the last name Lushchinsky professionally—lets out a racial slur typically used to denigrate Asians. Later, Lushchinsky makes another comment that seemed to be racially charged, referring to a male passenger, who has dark skin and describes himself on camera as Dominican, as “Muhammad.”
After footage of the subway incident was publicized, news reports emerged that in addition to her behavior during the morning rush hour, Lushchinsky is a law school graduate who was registered as an attorney in New York. According to state bar records, she graduated from New York Law School and was admitted to practice in New York in 2004. It's unclear from the bar records whether Lushchinsky is actively practicing—her profile on the state bar's attorney directory lists her registration status as, “due to re-register within 30 days of birthday.”
Lushchinsky could not be reached for comment Friday.
In the wake of the subway confrontation, Lushchinsky, 40, was arrested and the New York City Police Department's transit bureau announced on Twitter that she could have faced felony assault charges. However, according to criminal court records in New York, the subway incident resulted in five misdemeanor charges, including menacing with a weapon other than a gun and attempted assault.
— PL∆T∆NO M∆N™ (@PlatanoMan) December 12, 2018
The video of Lushchinsky called to mind the controversy that swirled around Schlossberg earlier in 2018. In May, a video posted online showed a white man who appeared to be Schlossberg berating the manager at a Fresh Kitchen restaurant in Manhattan. The tirade apparently came after Schlossberg overheard a conversation in Spanish between other Fresh Kitchen employees. Schlossberg accused them of all being “undocumented” and threatened to call U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The viral video of Schlossberg prompted U.S. Rep. Adriano Espaillat, D-New York, to refer the matter to bar disciplinary authorities. Ethics experts said at the time that it wasn't likely Schlossberg would ultimately face discipline from the bar, and even if he were disciplined, it probably wouldn't become public.
But a different analysis may apply to Lushchinsky—particularly if she is convicted of any of the criminal charges she faces in light of the subway incident.
“Whether the lawyer is disciplined will depend on whether he has prior discipline and his defense ('the meds made me do it,' for example),” Stephen Gillers, a professor at New York University School of Law, said in May after the Schlossberg incident. “If the conduct leads to a conviction, even a minor one, discipline will be much more likely.”
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllJudge Rejects Coke's Motion to Disqualify Paul Hastings, Says Beverage Giant Signed Valid Conflict Waiver
Paul Hastings Blasts Coke's Motion to Disqualify It From Lawsuit, Calling Effort 'Harassment'
3 minute readMcDonald's Shareholder Faults Morgan Lewis for Its Handling of Probe Into Alleged Sexual Harassment by Ex-CEO
4 minute readTrending Stories
- 1Perkins Coie Lures Former Longtime Wilson Sonsini Tech Transactions Partner
- 2‘The Decision Will Help Others’: NJ Supreme Court Reverses Appellate Div. in OPRA Claim Over Body-Worn Camera Footage
- 3MoFo Associate Sees a Familiar Face During Her First Appellate Argument: Justice Breyer
- 4Antitrust in Trump 2.0: Expect Gap Filling from State Attorneys General
- 5People in the News—Jan. 22, 2025—Knox McLaughlin, Saxton & Stump
Who Got The Work
J. Brugh Lower of Gibbons has entered an appearance for industrial equipment supplier Devco Corporation in a pending trademark infringement lawsuit. The suit, accusing the defendant of selling knock-off Graco products, was filed Dec. 18 in New Jersey District Court by Rivkin Radler on behalf of Graco Inc. and Graco Minnesota. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi, is 3:24-cv-11294, Graco Inc. et al v. Devco Corporation.
Who Got The Work
Rebecca Maller-Stein and Kent A. Yalowitz of Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer have entered their appearances for Hanaco Venture Capital and its executives, Lior Prosor and David Frankel, in a pending securities lawsuit. The action, filed on Dec. 24 in New York Southern District Court by Zell, Aron & Co. on behalf of Goldeneye Advisors, accuses the defendants of negligently and fraudulently managing the plaintiff's $1 million investment. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Vernon S. Broderick, is 1:24-cv-09918, Goldeneye Advisors, LLC v. Hanaco Venture Capital, Ltd. et al.
Who Got The Work
Attorneys from A&O Shearman has stepped in as defense counsel for Toronto-Dominion Bank and other defendants in a pending securities class action. The suit, filed Dec. 11 in New York Southern District Court by Bleichmar Fonti & Auld, accuses the defendants of concealing the bank's 'pervasive' deficiencies in regards to its compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act and the quality of its anti-money laundering controls. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, is 1:24-cv-09445, Gonzalez v. The Toronto-Dominion Bank et al.
Who Got The Work
Crown Castle International, a Pennsylvania company providing shared communications infrastructure, has turned to Luke D. Wolf of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani to fend off a pending breach-of-contract lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 25 in Michigan Eastern District Court by Hooper Hathaway PC on behalf of The Town Residences LLC, accuses Crown Castle of failing to transfer approximately $30,000 in utility payments from T-Mobile in breach of a roof-top lease and assignment agreement. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Susan K. Declercq, is 2:24-cv-13131, The Town Residences LLC v. T-Mobile US, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Wilfred P. Coronato and Daniel M. Schwartz of McCarter & English have stepped in as defense counsel to Electrolux Home Products Inc. in a pending product liability lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 26 in New York Eastern District Court by Poulos Lopiccolo PC and Nagel Rice LLP on behalf of David Stern, alleges that the defendant's refrigerators’ drawers and shelving repeatedly break and fall apart within months after purchase. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Joan M. Azrack, is 2:24-cv-08204, Stern v. Electrolux Home Products, Inc.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250