President Donald Trump has brought in Caryn Schechtman, a partner at global law firm DLA Piper, to his defense team in the Central Park Five defamation lawsuit. The addition comes as the case, filed in October 2024, continues to work its way through federal court after a judge allowed the plaintiffs' claims to move forward. The suit is brought by Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana, Kevin Richardson, Antron Brown and Korey Wise, five men who were later exonerated in the 1989 Central Park jogger attack.
New lawyer joins Trump's defense bench
According to Reuters, Schechtman will work alongside other attorneys already handling appeals and motion practice in the case. She was added to Trump's growing legal roster as the defense continues to push procedural and jurisdictional challenges instead of heading straight toward a full trial.
The suit and its core claims
The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in October 2024, claims Trump repeated false statements during a Sept. 10, 2024 presidential debate, including assertions that the men had pleaded guilty and killed someone, causing reputational and emotional harm. As set out in the plaintiffs' complaint, the five were convicted as teenagers in 1989 and later cleared in 2002 after DNA testing and another person's confession, a history reflected in federal court records.
Appellate fight over anti-SLAPP shield
On appeal, Trump's lawyers have argued that Pennsylvania's anti-SLAPP statute protects speakers sued under state law in state court, but does not extend that same protection to defendants facing identical Pennsylvania-law claims in federal court. Plaintiffs' lead attorney Shanin Specter labeled that brief "a rehash of his unsuccessful arguments," according to Reuters, signaling the plaintiffs are in no mood to concede ground on the speech protections Trump is trying to invoke.
Who is Caryn Schechtman
On DLA Piper's website, Schechtman is listed as chair of the firm's securities and financial investigations practice in New York, with decades of work on investigations and securities litigation. The firm has also represented Trump Media & Technology Group on major corporate matters, where Schechtman has appeared in recent filings. Outside reporting indicates the firm has been brought in on other Trump-related litigation, including work tied to First Lady Melania Trump, as reported by Bloomberg Law.
What comes next in the long-running fight
The case remains in both pretrial and appellate stages. A federal judge in Philadelphia ruled in April 2025 that the defamation claims can proceed, and lawyers on both sides are expected to keep pressing for decisions on jurisdiction and on how quickly discovery should unfold. For New York readers, the dispute is another reminder that defamation battles tied to high-profile public comments can drag on for years and spill across state lines. The arrival of a senior DLA Piper partner suggests Trump's team is reinforcing its appellate bench as the litigation moves into its next phase. Local outlet Hoodline covered the earlier ruling and the case background in April 2025.
