A partner in the Litigation Department, Roberta ("Robbie") A. Kaplan has been described in a profile in Lawdragon as a “pressure junkie” who “thrives on looking at the big picture” whether “in the gay-marriage legal fight or high-profile corporate scandals.” Ms. Kaplan was chosen by the National Law Journal as one of the top "40 Under 40" lawyers in the United States, a New York “Super Lawyer,” and by Lawdragon as one of the 500 leading litigators in the United States.

Ms. Kaplan has extensive experience representing major corporate clients like Fitch Ratings, MacAndrew & Forbes Holdings, Inc., AIG and Citigroup in complex, high-profile matters. In recent years, Ms. Kaplan has been active in matters involving mortgage-backed securities and other structured finance vehicles, credit rating opinions, U.S. equity research analysts, as well as brokerage practices in the insurance industry and finite reinsurance. As a result, Ms. Kaplan has developed an expertise dealing with the complex interplay between regulatory investigations, criminal prosecutions, and the onslaught of civil lawsuits that follow. Ms. Kaplan also served as lead trial counsel on behalf of the California Public Utilities Commission in connection with the bankruptcy of Pacific Gas & Electric Company resulting from the California Energy Crisis.

Ms. Kaplan’s pro bono work has involved a number of important civil rights and public policy matters. Ms. Kaplan filed the lawsuit challenging, on state constitutional grounds, the inability of same-sex couples to marry in New York. Although Ms. Kaplan’s clients lost that case before the New York Court of Appeals, changes in the political landscape have made it increasingly likely that same-sex marriage will soon become a reality. A video recording of Ms. Kaplan’s oral argument in that case can be viewed at http://www.nycourts.gov/ctapps/crtnews.htm. Ms. Kaplan’s role in that case has been recognized by a number of organizations, including the New York City Council, the New York Civil Liberties Union and the National Organization for Women.

While serving as a senior law clerk to Judith S. Kaye, then the Chief Judge of the State of New York, Ms. Kaplan assisted Judge Kaye in connection with a number of articles including State Courts at the Dawn of a New Century: Common Law Courts Reading Statutes and Constitutions, 70 NYU L Rev 1-35 (April 1995) and Commercial Litigation in New York State Courts, 1-8 (Robert L. Haig, ed. 1995). Since then, Ms. Kaplan has published on a number of legal issues, including the chapter on “Investigating the Case” in the latest edition of Commercial Litigation in New York State Courts as well as The Court of Appeals’ Decision in Godfrey v. Spano. A Troubling Exercise in Indecision, 73 Albany L. Rev. 101 (2010). Ms. Kaplan also clerked for Judge Mark L. Wolf of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts.

During law school, Ms. Kaplan was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar. She is a member of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, New York State Bar Association and The New York Women’s Bar Association. She is the former Chair of Paul, Weiss’ Women's Initiatives Committee, where she instituted comprehensive changes to the firm's flex-time, mentoring and day care policies.