A partner in the Litigation Department, Roberta (Robbie) 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.” Robbie was chosen by The National Law Journal as one of “The 100 Most Influential Lawyers,” and one of the top “40 Under 40” lawyers in the United States. She has also been selected as a New York “Super Lawyer,” and as one of the 500 leading litigators in the United States.

Experience

Robbie has extensive experience representing  clients such as Fitch Ratings and JPMorgan Chase in complex, high-profile matters. In recent years, she has been active in matters involving mortgage-backed securities, structured finance transactions, and credit rating opinions. As a result, Robbie has developed an expertise dealing with the complex interplay between regulatory investigations, criminal prosecutions, and the onslaught of civil lawsuits that typically follow. She also served as lead trial counsel representing California following the bankruptcy of Pacific Gas & Electric Company resulting from the California energy crisis in 2001.

Robbie currently represents Edith Windsor, a widow forced to pay $363,000 in federal estate tax, in a case challenging the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act ("DOMA"), the statute that defines marriage for federal purposes as only between a man and a woman. As a result of Ms. Windsor's case, the President and the U.S. Department of Justice decided that DOMA was unconstitutional and that they would no longer defend its constitutionality in court. Judge Barbara S. Jones of the Southern District of New York agreed, finding that section 3 of DOMA was unconstitutional. The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed that decision in an opinion by Chief Judge Jacobs holding for the first time at the Circuit level that laws like DOMA that discriminate against gay men and lesbians should be subject to heightened  scrutiny. The United States Supreme Court granted certiorari, and Robbie argued the case before the United States Supreme Court on March 27, 2013.

Robbie has published on a variety of legal topics, including the chapter, "Investigating the Case" in Commercial Litigation in New York State Courts, as well as the chapter, "Interplay Between Commercial Litigation and Criminal Proceedings" in Commercial Litigation in the Federal Circuit Courts. She also recently published an article entitled "Proof vs. Prejudice" in 37 N.Y.U. Review of Law & Social Change (2013). While serving as a senior law clerk to then Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye, Robbie 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). Robbie also clerked for Judge Mark L. Wolf of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts.

Robbie's legal work has been honored by a number of organizations, including the New York City Council, the Family Equality Council, and the National Organization for Women. In 2011, she was honored as the distinguished alumna of the year by the Columbia Law School Women's Association. She has also received the New York County Lawyers' Association's William Nelson Cromwell Award.

Robbie currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Gay Men's Health Crisis and the New York County Lawyers' Association. She served on New York Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman's Task Force on Commercial Litigation in the 21st Century and continues to serve on The Commercial Division Advisory Council.