Piero A. Tozzi, J.D.

Executive Vice President / General Counsel / Director, International Organizations Law Group (IOLG)

piero@c-fam.org

     Piero A. Tozzi is the Executive Vice President and General Counsel of the Catholic Family & Human Rights Institute and Director of the International Organizations Law Group, C-FAM's public interest law arm. As head of C-FAM’s New York office, Mr. Tozzi is responsible for advancing C-FAM’s mission to defend life and family at the United Nations.

     Prior to joining C-FAM, Mr. Tozzi served a litigation attorney with the firms Winston & Strawn LLP and Torys LLP in New York, principally handling complex commercial suits and arbitrations. He also litigated a number of religious liberty and pro-life cases.

     Among the latter engagements was his pro bono representation of a crisis pregnancy center subpoenaed by former New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer in a case that garnered national attention. Mr. Tozzi also represented the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Liberties and Campus Crusade for Christ as amici curiae, arguing that a statute mandating that ostensibly religious organizations like Catholic Charities provide contraceptives to their employees violated the New York State Constitution's free exercise clause. He has won asylum at trial for victims of foreign religious persecution, and has been recognized by the New York State Bar Association for his commitment to pro bono legal representation.

     Mr. Tozzi serves on the working board of the Guild of Catholic Lawyers of the Archdiocese of New York and is past chairman of the Guild's Young Lawyers' Committee. He is also a board member of Program Reach, Inc., a Bronx-based not-for-profit that promotes character education and abstinence among at-risk youth, and sits on the Board of Visitors of Ave Maria School of Law. He is a member of the International Law and Practice Section of the New York State Bar Association.

     Recognizing the importance of ecumenical collaboration, Mr. Tozzi has engaged with a number of evangelical Christian organizations on social and legal issues of shared concern. In addition to his past representation of Campus Crusade for Christ, he has worked with the Christian Legal Society and is an honor roll allied attorney of the Alliance Defense Fund.

     Mr. Tozzi is a graduate of Fordham University School of Law, Class of 1996, and received his B.A. from Columbia University in 1988. Having lived previously in Taiwan, he speaks Mandarin Chinese and has authored articles on Chinese law and politics, as well as articles on legal issues impacting religion and conscience rights. Mr. Tozzi was born and raised in New York City and lives on Long Island with his wife and three children.


Law Review Articles:
"Whither Free Exercise: Employment Division v. Smith and the Rebirth of State Constitutional Free Exercise Clause Jurisprudence?," 48 J. Cath. Legal Studies 269 (2009).

“The Blessing or the Curse: Whose Values Will Guide Us? Where Will They Lead Us?,” 47 J. Cath. Legal Studies 167 (2008)

“New York State: Steering a Course Between the Scylla of Judicial Activism and the Charybdis of Wayward Legislating – But For How Long?,” Americans United for Life State Supreme Court Project, White Paper Series (2007) (co-author)

“When Conscience Clashes with State Law and Policy: Catholic Institutions: A Response to Susan Stabile,” 46 J. Cath. Legal Studies 161 (2007)

“Constitutional Reform on Taiwan: Fulfilling a Chinese Notion of Democratic Sovereignty?” 64 Fordham L. Rev. 1193 (Dec. 1995)

Amicus Briefs:
International Organizations Law Group Amicus Brief to the National Supreme Court of Justice (Mexico) regarding Baja California's State Constitutional Amendment Protecting Life from Conception

"International Organizations Law Group Shadow Report to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights as to why Abortion Providers should not be considered "Human Rights Defenders"

International Organizations Law Group Memorandum to the National Supreme Court of Justice (Mexico) regarding Mexico City’s Abortion Law (2008) (Spanish)

Brief for Amici Curiae Campus Crusade for Christ and the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights in Support of Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Albany to the New York Court of Appeals (2006)

Other Select Publications:
"UN Disabilities Treaty Does Not Create Abortion Rights," MercatorNet, Aug. 5, 2009 (co-author)

"Presionan a El Salvador Sobre el Aborto," El Diario de Hoy (El Salvador), (Oct. 12, 2008) (co-author)

“Antitrust Enforcement in the Millennium,” BNA Mergers & Acquisitions Law Report (Feb. 2001) (co-author)

“Taiwan Goes to the Polls,” The New Leader (Oct. 10, 1994) (co-author)