Roberta A. Kaplan '91 to Deliver Graduation Keynote Address at Columbia Law School

New York, March 13, 2014—Columbia Law School announced today that litigation attorney Roberta A. Kaplan '91, who won a 2013 U.S. Supreme Court case challenging the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), will deliver the keynote address at the Law School’s May 22, 2014 graduation ceremony.

 

Kaplan, a 1991 alumna of Columbia Law School and a partner in the litigation department at Paul, Weiss, has long been a leading advocate for a wide variety of clients in her private practice and on a pro bono basis. She represented 84-year-old Edith Windsor in her successful charge against DOMA, the federal law banning recognition of same-sex marriages that the U.S. Supreme Court struck down last year.   

 

The U.S. v. Windsor decision is widely considered one of the most important civil rights rulings in modern history.

 

Roberta Kaplan at the Law School to receive Myra Bradwell award

In recent years, Kaplan has been active in matters involving mortgage-backed securities, structured finance transactions, and credit rating opinions. As a result, she has developed an expertise dealing with the complex interplay between regulatory investigations, criminal prosecutions, and the onslaught of civil lawsuits that typically follow.

 

Kaplan’s achievements and contributions to the law have been honored by many public interest and civic organizations, and she was named 2013 “Litigator of the Year” by The American Lawyer and 2013 "Lawyer of the Year" by Above the Law. The Columbia Law Women’s Association, a popular student organization, recognized Kaplan as the 2011 distinguished alumna of the year by presenting her with the Myra Bradwell award.

 

Kaplan is also a lecturer at Columbia Law School, where she co-teaches an advanced civil procedure course.