Kaplan Martin LLP

Commercial Litigation; Trials; Dispute Resolution; Constitutional Law; Investigations and Crisis Management; Higher Education; Employment Law; Discrimination; Sexual Misconduct; Public Interest Litigation; Class Actions

Co-Founding Partner, Kaplan Martin LLP

Described as “a modern-day legal giant ... a towering intellect and a genius in court, with the instincts of a street fighter,” Roberta “Robbie” Kaplan is a nationally acclaimed litigator whose work spans high-stakes commercial disputes and landmark constitutional litigation with enduring institutional and legal impact. A seasoned trial lawyer, Kaplan is known for her deep command of the law and strategic discipline in the courtroom. 

Kaplan has played leading roles in some of the most consequential lawsuits of the past several decades. She successfully challenged the Defense of Marriage Act before the U.S. Supreme Court in United States v. Windsor, obtaining a landmark ruling that reshaped federal recognition of same-sex marriages and helped catalyze the nationwide movement toward marriage equality. She also secured a $26 million jury verdict against white supremacist organizers of the violent 2017 Charlottesville “Unite the Right” rally, establishing civil liability for coordinated extremist conduct after a complex four-week federal trial. Most recently, Kaplan represented E. Jean Carroll in two successful federal trials against President Donald J. Trump, for which unanimous juries awarded Ms. Carroll more than $88 million in damages. Kaplan is currently preparing for potential Supreme Court review of the cases. 

In the last year, she has served as lead counsel to the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority in federal court proceedings defending the first-in-the-nation congestion pricing program against numerous challenges seeking to block its implementation and has successfully preserved the program – projected to generate more than $550 million annually for the region’s public transit system. She is also defending a leading beverage company in a multi-district class action litigation. 

Before launching Kaplan Martin LLP in 2024, Kaplan spent more than two decades as a partner at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, where she built a national reputation managing complex commercial litigation across industries including financial services, technology, and higher education. She co-founded Kaplan Martin as an independent litigation boutique designed to counsel clients through high-stakes disputes, investigations and strategic advisory matters, bringing focus and agility to representations on both sides of the “v.” 

Kaplan represents financial and media institutions, Fortune 50 companies and boards, universities, law firms, public institutions, and senior executives in complex commercial disputes and regulatory matters involving significant legal, financial, and reputational stakes. She is frequently called upon to navigate sensitive institutional disputes, lead internal investigations, and other high-profile litigation. Along with her commercial defense practice, Kaplan is also a renowned plaintiffs-side litigator, recognized, in particular, for her cases representing victims of workplace discrimination and sexual assault.   

Kaplan is consistently recognized as one of the country’s leading litigators. Legal 500, recognizing her as a lawyer whose work has shaped some of the most consequential cases in the country, named her to its inaugural list of “U.S. Elite Commercial Disputes” attorneys and in Band 1 for education law. Chambers ranks her in Band 1 across multiple practice areas, including commercial litigation, employment litigation and higher education. Benchmark Litigation named her the Constitutional Law Litigator of the Year for 2026. The American Lawyer has named her “Litigator of the Year,” and the New York Law Journal has honored her as “Attorney of the Year.”  

J.D., Columbia University Law School, 1991 A.B., Harvard College, magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, 1988