Beatrice Franklin joined Susman Godfrey after clerking for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the U.S. Supreme Court, Judge Susan Carney on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and Judge Jesse Furman on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. These experiences provided her with unparalleled insight into the workings of the bench as well as a keen understanding of trial and appellate law.
Ms. Franklin applies this knowledge to her representation of both plaintiffs and defendants in all types and stages of commercial litigation. She has litigated cases across a broad spectrum of practices areas including complex business disputes, energy matters, real estate, patent, antitrust, and financial services.
In trial courts around the country, Ms. Franklin has shepherded cases from the initial filing of a complaint through post-trial motions. She has briefed and argued numerous dispositive and discovery motions, deposed fact and expert witnesses, litigated evidentiary issues and examined witnesses at trial. Ms. Franklin also has substantial appellate experience, having argued in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, the Minnesota Supreme Court, the Minnesota Court of Appeals, and New York’s First and Second Departments.
Ms. Franklin’s recent representations include:
- Representing a commercial tenant in a $40 million dispute with a landlord over valuable commercial space in Brooklyn, New York. Since taking over the case, Ms. Franklin has briefed and/or argued several successful motions, including opposing an attempt to reconsider a successful grant of partial summary judgment in her client’s favor; defeating a pre-trial motion to dismiss; and litigating emergency appeals to the Second Department. At a bench trial on her client’s damages claims, Ms. Franklin presented multiple witnesses and cross-examined the defendant’s sole expert.
- Serving as part of the interim co-lead counsel team for a proposed class of home sellers asserting antitrust claims relating to broker commissions against the four largest national real estate services companies and the National Association of Realtors. Ms. Franklin successfully argued the motion to appoint interim co-lead counsel and successfully opposed the defendants’ motions to dismiss. Ms. Franklin has deposed nearly a dozen key witnesses in the case, including senior executives from the country’s largest real estate brokerages, and briefed and argued multiple discovery motions.
- Representing the University of Massachusetts and Carmel Laboratories in patent infringement litigation against cosmetics giant L’Oréal. During discovery, Ms. Franklin briefed and argued numerous critical motions. Ms. Franklin also assisted in briefing the appeal to the Federal Circuit that reversed the trial court’s personal jurisdiction and invalidity rulings.
- Representing Glacier Park Iron Ore Properties in its lease dispute with U.S. Steel Corporation related to valuable mining lands in the Minnesota Iron Range. In addition to briefing and arguing arbitrability issues in the Minnesota Court of Appeals, Ms. Franklin successfully petitioned the Minnesota Supreme Court for review of the Court of Appeals’ order denying her team’s motion to compel arbitration. She also argued that appeal at the Minnesota Supreme Court – this argument was covered by The American Lawyer, which spotlighted Ms. Franklin’s work and sought her opinion on how to get more young, female lawyers in front of appellate courts and by the St. Cloud Times, with whom Ms. Franklin discussed the case and reflected back on her time clerking for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
- Representing Joel and Mary Rich, the parents of a murdered son, Seth Rich, in a groundbreaking lawsuit against Fox News and individual defendants for intentional infliction of emotional distress claims and related torts. After the Second Circuit reversed the district court’s dismissal of the Riches’ claims, Ms. Franklin litigated multiple discovery motions, paving the way for a confidential settlement.
- Working pro bono, Ms. Franklin argued and won an appeal before the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on behalf of a petitioner whose asylum application was rejected by the immigration court and BIA. Shortly following Ms. Franklin’s argument, the Second Circuit issued an order granting the petition and sending the case back for a new asylum hearing. Click here to read the opinion and here to listen to Ms. Franklin’s argument.
Ms. Franklin graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University and received her J.D. from Columbia Law School, where she received the Ruth Bader Ginsburg Prize and won Best Oralist and Best Brief in the Harlan Fiske Stone Honors Moot Court competition.
Updated Aug 2023
