Bellonne Pierre-Canel is a Senior Associate with Marks, O’Neil, O’Brien, Doherty & Kelly. She is admitted to practice in New York.
Bellonne graduated from Long Island University’s Brooklyn Campus in 2008, with a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology. She then attended Touro Law Center, graduating in 2014. During law school, Bellonne concentrated in Public Interest law where she interned with various non-profit organizations offering free legal services to low-income New Yorkers including, NYC Legal Services and The Center for Family Representation. Additionally, she interned as a judicial clerk at Suffolk County Family Court in Suffolk County, NY and interned with the Touro Law Center Civil Rights Clinic.
Following her passion for public interest law, she began her career as a Tenants attorney where she represented low-income and elderly tenants, who were facing eviction at the Manhattan and Queens Housing Courts. She then practiced as an Agency Attorney at the Law Enforcement Bureau at the NYC Commission on Human Rights, a City agency that enforces the City Human Rights Law, one of the most robust civil rights laws in the nation. There she investigated and prosecuted claims of employment, housing, and public accommodation discrimination claims on behalf of members of the public and NYC. She then was a Title IX Attorney with the New York City Department of Education serving as a liaison with district and school-based personnel regarding matters related to Title IX compliance and investigated matters of sexual harassment and gender discrimination.
Prior to joining Mark’s O’Neil Bellonne was an EEO investigator for the New York City Department of Transportation where she conducted investigations regarding complaints of discrimination and sexual harassment, and handled request for reasonable accommodations in the workplace.
At Marks O’Neill, Bellonne brings her experience to the Employment, Professional Liability, Healthcare, and Casualty practice groups.
Bellonne is a Haitian-American who was born and raised in New York City. Since her admission to practice, Bellonne has always participated in bar associations and the work of their committees, including the Metropolitan Black Bar Association and Haitian American Lawyers Association. Bellonne served as the Haitian American Lawyers Association Vice President in 2020.