- I authored two books for young readers. Diving for the Moon is about a 12-year-old hemophiliac boy who contracts HIV in the 1990s before the blood supply was safe. David Inside Out is about a high school boy’s struggles to come to terms with his gay identity.
- I am at work on a third novel called Riverfire about a group of teens on a whitewater rafting trip who become surrounded by forest fires.
- Having learned through writing how to present a narrative in a compelling way gives me an edge in presenting a case to a jury.
- I am an avid recreational biker. Riding through the streets of Brooklyn, where I live, keeps me healthy and feeling young.
- I love my job fighting back on behalf of people who have suffered discrimination. It gives purpose to my life.
Partner
bantle@civilrightsfirm.comLee Bantle became a member of the bar of the U.S. District Court, Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, in 1984. In 1989 he was admitted to the bar of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second and Eleventh Circuits.
Education & Clerkship
University of Minnesota (B.A., Journalism, 1977, magna cum laude; Phi Beta Kappa) University of Minnesota (M.A., Speech-communications, with honors, 1979); New York University (J.D., 1983, Order of the Coif, Law Review). Law Clerk to the Hon. Edward R. Korman, U.S. District Court Judge in the Eastern District of New York.
Awards
- Top Rated Civil Rights Attorney in New York, NY, Super Lawyers, 2008, 2010 – 2011, 2014 – 2022
- Top Rated Lawyer, Martindale-Hubbell
Employment
Associated with the law firm of Debevoise & Plimpton from 1983 to 1986. Associated with and then member of the law firm of Beldock Levine & Hoffman LLP from 1987 to 1999. Opened Bantle & Levy LLP on January 1, 2000.
Organizations
Mr. Bantle is a former member of the Board of Directors of the New York chapter of the National Employment Lawyers Association and the former chair of its Judiciary Committee. He has served on the Association of the Bar of the City of New York’s Committee on AIDS and its Committee on Federal Legislation. He has been a cooperating attorney for the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund.
Lee Bantle also serves as a member of the faculty for NYU’s Annual Workshop on Employment Law for Federal Judges.