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Roberta Kaplan
Born1966 (age 57–58)
Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
EducationHarvard University (BA)
Columbia University (JD)
Known forUnited States v. Windsor
Sines v. Kessler
E. Jean Carroll v. Donald J. Trump
Spouse
Rachel Lavine
​
(m. 2005)​
Children1

Roberta Ann Kaplan (born 1966), also known as Robbie Kaplan,[1] is an American lawyer focusing on commercial litigation and public interest matters. Kaplan successfully argued before the Supreme Court of the United States on behalf of LGBT rights activist Edith Windsor, in United States v. Windsor, a landmark decision that invalidated a section of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act and required the federal government to recognize same-sex marriages. She was a partner at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison before starting her own firm in 2017. In 2018, she co-founded the Time's Up Legal Defense Fund.[2]

Early life and education

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A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Roberta Kaplan grew up in a Jewish household.[3][4] She graduated from Hawken School in Gates Mills, Ohio, in 1984. LGBT scholar and activist Aaron Belkin was Kaplan's high school friend and prom date.[5] She earned a B.A. in Russian history and literature from Harvard University in 1988. While in college she spent a semester abroad in Moscow and "discovered a passion for political activism when she became active in the movement to free Soviet Jewry".[3] She received her J.D. from Columbia Law School in 1991.[6]

Career

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Kaplan served as a law clerk for Mark L. Wolf of the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts. While clerking for Judith Kaye, of the New York Court of Appeals, she assisted Kaye with a number of academic articles. Kaplan's scholarly articles include "Proof versus Prejudice" (2013).[7]

Kaplan joined the law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP in 1992 and made partner in 1999.[8] [9] She has served on the board and as chair of the board of the Gay Men's Health Crisis, which created the Roberta Kaplan Legal Center to provide free legal services.[10][11][12]

In July 2017 Kaplan left Paul Weiss to start her own practice Kaplan Hecker & Fink LLP, a law firm dedicated to commercial litigation and public interest matters.[13][12] She departed her firm in June 2024.[14]

United States v. Windsor

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Main article: United States v. Windsor

In 2009, Kaplan agreed to represent Edith Windsor pro bono. Windsor's wife, Thea Spyer, had died two years after they wed in Canada, leaving Windsor her sole heir.[15] Because their marriage was not recognized under existing U. S. federal law, Windsor received an estate tax bill of $363,053.[16][17] Windsor went to gay rights advocates seeking redress, but could find no one to take her case. She was referred to Kaplan, who later recalled, "When I heard her story, it took me about five seconds, maybe less, to agree to represent her."[18] Kaplan had been co-counsel on the unsuccessful bid for marriage equality in New York state in 2006.[19]

On June 26, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a 5–4 decision declaring Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act to be unconstitutional.[20] Subsequent to Windsor, the Supreme Court ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges (2015) struck down all remaining state and federal laws against same-sex marriage across the United States. Kaplan wrote about United States v. Windsor in the book Then Comes Marriage.[5]

Sines v. Kessler

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Main article: Sines v. Kessler

In 2017, Kaplan and co-counsel Karen Dunn filed a civil lawsuit on behalf of students, clergy members and local residents against 15 individual defendants and associated groups for damages following alleged injuries sustained at the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.[21][22] The lawsuit is based on the Ku Klux Klan Act[22] and according to The New York Times, the defendants are "an array of neo-Nazis, white identitarians and old-line pro-Confederates."[21]

Time's Up

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Main article: Time's Up Legal Defense Fund

In 2018, Kaplan co-founded the Time's Up Legal Defense Fund with Tina Tchen.[12] The fund has raised more than $24 million to provide legal defense for sexual violence victims, especially those who experienced misconduct in the workplace and led 780 attorneys and 50 cases under way.[23][24] In 2019, Kaplan and Tchen later co-founded HABIT, an anti-sexual harassment advisory.[23]

On August 9, 2021, Kaplan resigned from her role as chairwoman of Time's Up, after she was named in the report released on August 3, 2021, by New York Attorney General Letitia James that followed the investigation of sexual harassment allegations against New York Governor Andrew Cuomo,[25][26][27] and after an open letter from a group of former Time's Up staffers and clients to the board of Time's Up was published.[28][29] The report alleged Kaplan was involved in an effort to discredit a woman who had accused Cuomo of sexual harassment.[25]

E. Jean Carroll defamation lawsuits

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Main articles: Donald Trump sexual misconduct allegations § E. Jean Carroll (1995 or 1996), and E. Jean Carroll vs. Donald J. Trump

Kaplan represents writer E. Jean Carroll, who filed a defamation lawsuit against Trump on November 4, 2019. According to The Washington Post, Kaplan claimed "she intends to prove that Trump acted with 'malice,' meaning that he knew his statements were false or showed reckless disregard for the truth."[30]

The lawsuit was moved from state to federal court when the US Department of Justice moved to take over Trump's defense (a motion that was denied in October 2020).[31] Kaplan said she welcomed pursuing the lawsuit in federal court.[31] Although the Department of Justice appealed that decision, Kaplan told reporters, "we are confident that the Second Circuit will affirm the District Court’s comprehensive and well-reasoned opinion."[32]

Kaplan represented Carroll in her civil trial E. Jean Carroll vs. Donald J. Trump, that began on April 25, 2023, in federal court at the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. The jury found in favor of Carroll on May 9, 2023, and awarded her damages of $5 million after finding Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation.[33][34] On January 26, 2024, after a second defamation trial against Donald Trump that was limited only to the question of damages for statements Trump made while president, a different jury awarded Carroll $83.3 million in compensatory and punitive damages.[35][36][37]

Mary Trump v. Donald Trump et al.

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Main article: Mary L. Trump § Will of Fred Trump Sr.

On September 24, 2020, Kaplan and her firm filed a lawsuit with the New York Supreme Court in Manhattan, on behalf of plaintiff Mary L. Trump, accusing President Donald J. Trump and his siblings, Maryanne Trump Barry and Robert Trump, of decades of financial fraud and civil conspiracy.[38][12]

Works

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  • Roberta A. Kaplan, with Lisa Dickey. Then Comes Marriage: United States v. Windsor and the Defeat of DOMA. New York: W. W. Norton, 2015. ISBN 9780393248678

Awards and recognition

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  • Forty Most Influential Lawyers under Forty, National Law Journal (2005)[39]
  • 100 Most Influential Lawyers, Above The Law (2013)[40]
  • Litigator of the Year, American Lawyer (2013)[41]
  • National Public Service Award, Stanford University (2013)[42]
  • Honorary Doctorate, Johns Hopkins University (2014)[43]
  • Lifetime Achievement Award, New York Law Journal (2015)[44]
  • In June 2019, to mark the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, an event widely considered a watershed moment in the modern LGBTQ rights movement, Queerty named her one of the Pride50 "trailblazing individuals who actively ensure society remains moving towards equality, acceptance and dignity for all queer people".[45]
  • 2019 recipient of Gay Men's Health Crisis Joan H. Tisch Award for Community Service and Philanthropy[10]
  • Crain's 2019 Most Powerful Women in New York[46]
  • George A. Katz Torch of Learning Award (TOL) (2023)[47]

Personal life

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Kaplan is openly gay.[48] In September 2005, Kaplan married her partner, Rachel Lavine, in Toronto, Canada.[49] Kaplan is Jewish.[22]

References

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  1. ^ Heller, Karen (January 18, 2021). "Attorney Roberta Kaplan is about to make Trump's life extremely difficult". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 11, 2023. Kaplan, known to all as Robbie
  2. ^ Walters, Joanna (October 21, 2018). "#MeToo a revolution that can't be stopped, says Time's Up co-founder". The Guardian. Retrieved October 21, 2018.
  3. ^ a b Josephs, Susan (January 28, 2016). "Roberta Kaplan". Jewish Women International. Retrieved February 26, 2021.
  4. ^ Hajdenberg, Jackie (October 7, 2023). "HBO to air new documentary on team that sued Charlottesville rally organizers and won - 'No Accident' follows Jewish attorneys Roberta Kaplan and Karen Dunn, who filed lawsuit against 17 white nationalist leaders and organizations behind deadly 2017 rally". Times of Israel – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ a b Kaplan, Roberta A., with Lisa Dickey (2015). Then Comes Marriage: United States V. Windsor and the Defeat of DOMA. New York: W.W. Norton. ISBN 9780393248678.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ Brown, Conor W.K. (April 1, 2019). "Roberta A. Kaplan to Speak at Harvard Law School Class Day". The Harvard Crimson. Archived from the original on May 10, 2019. Retrieved May 10, 2019.
  7. ^ "Proof vs. Prejudice" (PDF). NYU Review of Law & Social Change. 37. Retrieved August 16, 2014.
  8. ^ Kaplan, Robbie Firm. ""Robbie Kaplan"". Robbiekaplan.com. Retrieved January 28, 2024.
  9. ^ Pasquini, Nina (May 29, 2019). ""If You Believe That It Is Possible to Break, Believe That It Is Possible to Repair"". Harvard Magazine. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
  10. ^ a b "Roberta Kaplan Honored at Gay Men's Health Crisis Fall Gala; GMHC Launches Roberta Kaplan Legal Center". Kaplan Hecker & Fink LLP. October 7, 2019. Retrieved September 23, 2021.
  11. ^ Hoffman, Allison (March 24, 2013). "Gay Marriage's Legal Crusader". Tablet Magazine. Retrieved August 16, 2014.
  12. ^ a b c d Heller, Karen (January 18, 2021). "Attorney Roberta Kaplan is about to make Trump's life extremely difficult". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 10, 2021.
  13. ^ "Roberta Kaplan, Champion of DOMA Fight, Leaves Paul Weiss to Start New Firm". Litigation Daily. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
  14. ^ Baker, Katie; Enrich, David (June 26, 2024). "Prominent Lawyer Roberta Kaplan Departs Firm After Clash With Colleagues". The New York Times. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
  15. ^ Gray, Eliza (December 11, 2013). "Runner-Up: Edith Windsor The Unlikely Activist". Time. Retrieved July 18, 2014.
  16. ^ Levy, Ariel (September 22, 2013). "Ariel Levy: How Edith Windsor Won a Landmark Case for Gay Marriage". The New Yorker. Retrieved July 18, 2014.
  17. ^ Jim, Dwyer (June 7, 2012). "She Waited 40 Years to Marry, Then When Her Wife Died, the Tax Bill Came". The New York Times. Retrieved October 21, 2017.
  18. ^ Applebome, Peter (December 10, 2012). "Reveling in Her Supreme Court Moment". The New York Times. Retrieved April 27, 2014.
  19. ^ Hartocollis, Anemona (July 7, 2006). "New York Judges Reject Any Right to Gay Marriage". The New York Times. Retrieved October 21, 2017.
  20. ^ Liptak, Adam (June 26, 2013). "Supreme Court Bolsters Gay Marriage With Two Major Rulings". The New York Times. Retrieved October 21, 2017.
  21. ^ a b Feuer, Alan (February 12, 2018). "Planners of Deadly Charlottesville Rally Are Tested in Court". The New York Times. Retrieved September 23, 2021.
  22. ^ a b c Wexler, Ellen (Winter 2020). "Roberta Kaplan Takes White Supremacy to Court". Moment Magazine. Retrieved September 23, 2021.
  23. ^ a b "Roberta Kaplan and Tina Tchen Launch a New Inclusion Advisory". Fortune. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
  24. ^ Walters, Joanna (October 21, 2018). "#MeToo a revolution that can't be stopped, says Time's Up co-founder". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
  25. ^ a b Kantor, Jodi; Gold, Michael (August 9, 2021). "Roberta Kaplan, Who Aided Cuomo, Resigns from Time's Up". The New York Times. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  26. ^ "Time's Up leader Roberta Kaplan resigns after criticism about Cuomo ties". Chicago Tribune. Associated Press. August 9, 2021. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  27. ^ Katersky, Aaron; Thorbecke, Catherine. "Roberta Kaplan, a Time's Up leader, resigns after backlash over advising Cuomo". ABC News. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  28. ^ Wong, Wilson; Dasrath, Diane. "Time's Up leader Roberta Kaplan resigns after criticism for reportedly aiding Cuomo on harassment allegations". NBC News. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  29. ^ Moreau, Jordan; Wagmeister, Elizabeth (August 9, 2021). "Time's Up Exec Roberta Kaplan Resigns After Involvement in Cuomo Investigation and Open Letter From Ex-Staffers". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. ISSN 0042-2738. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  30. ^ Reinhard, Bet (November 4, 2019). "New York writer who accused Trump of sexual assault sues him for defamation". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 18, 2021. Trump said Carroll was 'totally lying' and 'not my type' when she made her accusation this summer. Carroll's attorney, Roberta Kaplan, said she intends to prove that Trump acted with 'malice,' meaning that he knew his statements were false or showed reckless disregard for the truth.
  31. ^ a b Gerstein, Josh; Cheney, Kyle (October 27, 2020). "Federal judge rebuffs Justice Department's bid to aid Trump in defamation case". Politico. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
  32. ^ Mangan, Dan (November 25, 2020). "DOJ appeals ruling that kept Trump as defendant in E. Jean Carroll rape claim case". CNBC. Retrieved January 18, 2021. It remains to be seen whether the new Attorney General will agree that Trump was acting within the scope of his employment as President when he defamed our client. In any event, we are confident that the Second Circuit will affirm the District Court's comprehensive and well-reasoned opinion.
  33. ^ Neumeister, Larry; Peltz, Jennifer; Sisak, Michael (May 9, 2023). "Jury finds Trump liable for sexual abuse, awards accuser $5M". Associated Press. Retrieved May 9, 2023.
  34. ^ Orden, Erica; Parnell, Wesley (May 9, 2023). "Jury finds Trump liable for sexual abuse in E. Jean Carroll case". Politico. Retrieved May 9, 2023.
  35. ^ Neumeister, Larry; Offenhartz, Jake; Peltz, Jennifer (January 26, 2024). "Donald Trump must pay an additional $83.3 million to E. Jean Carroll in defamation case, jury says". AP News. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
  36. ^ Weiser, Benjamin; Bromwich, Jonah E.; Cramer, Maria; Christobek, Kate (January 26, 2024). "Jury Orders Trump to Pay Carroll $83.3 Million After Years of Insults". The New York Times. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
  37. ^ "Trump ordered to pay E. Jean Carroll $83.3M in defamation damages trial". The Washington Post. January 26, 2024. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
  38. ^ Feuer, Alan (September 24, 2020). "Mary Trump Sues President and Family, Claiming Fraud of Millions". The New York Times. Retrieved August 10, 2021.
  39. ^ "Roberta Kaplan, 38". National Law Journal. May 9, 2005. Retrieved August 16, 2014.
  40. ^ "Above the Law's 2013 Lawyer of the Year Competition". Abovethelaw.com. January 6, 2014. Retrieved July 18, 2014.
  41. ^ "Litigator of the Year: Roberta Kaplan". The American Lawyer. January 2, 2014. Retrieved July 18, 2014.
  42. ^ "2013 Recipients | Stanford Law School". Law.stanford.edu. October 29, 2013. Retrieved August 6, 2014.
  43. ^ Rector, Kevin (May 22, 2014). "DOMA plaintiff, attorney receive honorary degrees, applause at Hopkins commencement". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved August 6, 2014.
  44. ^ Baker, Rebecca. "Lifetime Achievement: Roberta Kaplan". New York Law Journal. Retrieved October 21, 2017.
  45. ^ "Queerty Pride50 2019 Honorees". Queerty. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
  46. ^ Potkewitz, Hilary. "44. Roberta Kaplan". Crain's. Retrieved September 23, 2021.
  47. ^ "53rd Annual George A. Katz Torch of Learning Award Luncheon // Cooley // Global Law Firm". www.cooley.com. Retrieved April 24, 2024.
  48. ^ Pasquini, Nina (May 29, 2019). ""If You Believe That It Is Possible to Break, Believe That It Is Possible to Repair"". Harvard Magazine.
  49. ^ Wolfe, Anna. "'Justice, Justice, Thou Shalt Pursue': The JFP Interview with Roberta Kaplan". Jackson Free Press. Retrieved September 23, 2021.
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