Betsy Plevan is a partner in the Labor & Employment Law Department and a former member of the firm’s seven-person Executive Committee. She has built her practice handling all types of labor and employment litigation, as well as counseling clients in employment matters. In addition to maintaining her active practice, she served as president of the New York City Bar from 2004-2006, a member of the ABA Board of Governors from 2006-2009, and chair of the American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary from 2013-2014.
Betsy’s practice includes representing clients in such diverse industries as banking and finance, health care, entertainment, publishing and education. She spends considerable time representing leading law firms in counseling and litigation assignments as well as conducting high-profile investigations. She has handled both single plaintiff and class action lawsuits involving issues of discrimination, harassment and employee benefits matters.
Having successfully tried a number of jury and non-jury cases in New York and elsewhere in the U.S., Betsy’s trial work has been recognized by her induction as a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. She also has argued more than 60 appeals in state and federal courts, and has been elected a member of the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers.
Betsy has been involved in representing employers in sexual harassment matters for many years. Noteworthy cases include, among others, her retention by Meritor Savings Bank to handle the remand of the landmark Supreme Court case in this area. She also handled, on appeal, the landmark case in which the New York Court of Appeals reversed a $4 million punitive damages award against Penthouse magazine on the ground that no punitive damages are available under the State Human Rights Law.
In the employee benefits area, Betsy has handled class action lawsuits involving alleged breaches of fiduciary duty, COBRA violations and termination of retiree benefits. She also has extensive experience counseling employers on litigation avoidance and sexual harassment investigations and training management employees in these areas.
Betsy is frequently quoted in national newspapers, legal and other trade publications and has appeared on television to discuss employment issues, especially sexual harassment suits, about which she has lectured and written extensively.
Education
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Boston University School of Law, J.D.
magna cum laude
Editor, Boston University Law Review
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Wellesley College, B.A.
Admissions & Qualifications
- New York
Court Admissions
- U.S. Supreme Court
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit
- U.S. District Court, New York, Eastern District
- U.S. District Court, New York, Southern District
- U.S. Tax Court
Memberships
American Bar Association (Former Chair of the Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary, Board of Governors, Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service)
New York City Bar (Past President, Executive Committee, Former Chair of Committee on State Courts of Superior Jurisdiction, Former Chair of Council on Judicial Administration, Former Chair of Special Committee on Women in The Profession, Former Chair of Long-Range Planning Committee, Former Chair, Council on International Affairs)
Federal Bar Council (Past President)
American Law Institute – American Bar Association (Director)
Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law (Former Co-Chair and Director)
Committee for Modern Courts (Director)
New York Lawyers for the Public Interest (Director Emeritus)
American Law Institute (Advisory Committee on the Restatement of Employment Law)
Second Circuit Judicial Conference (Former Chair)
Southern District of New York (Chair of Magistrate Judge Selection Panel)
Chief Judge's Task Force on New York Commercial Courts
Second Circuit Task Force on Fairness in Courts (Co-Chair of Committee on Gender Bias)
Awards & Recognition
Chambers USA: New York: Labor & Employment (Band 1) 2003-2020
Chambers Global: USA, Labor & Employment (Band 1) 2014-2020
James Duane Award
Lifetime Achievement Award, The American Lawyer
Best Lawyers in America
Institutional Investor, Benchmark Litigation Guide
Samuel M. Kaynard Award for Excellence in Labor & Employment Law 2016
Local Litigation Star - New York 2015-2017
Lawyer Monthly Magazine – Women in Law Awards 2014
Fellow, American College of Trial Lawyers
Fellow, American Academy of Appellate Lawyers
Fellow, College of Labor & Employment Lawyers
Lawdragon, Human Resource Executive Most Powerful Employment Attorneys Hall of Fame
Lawdragon, Human Resource Executive 100 Most Powerful Employment Attorneys 2011-2012, 2019
“100 Best Lawyers in New York,” New York Magazine
50 Most Influential Women Lawyers in America, National Law Journal
The Legal 500 United States Hall of Fame 2017-2020
The Legal 500 United States: Labor & Employment: Workplace & Employment Counseling 2007, 2009-2016, 2019-2020
The Legal 500 United States: Labor & Employment: Labor & Employment Litigation 2008, 2011-2016
The Legal 500 United States: Labor & Employment: Labor & Employment: Disputes (incl. Collective Actions): Defense 2019-2020
The Legal 500 United States: General Commercial Disputes 2020
"Top 10 Lawyers," New York Super Lawyers 2011-2014
"Top 50 Women Lawyers," New York Super Lawyers 2011-2014
"Top 100 Lawyers," New York Super Lawyers 2011-2014
Benchmark Litigation’s Top 250 Women Litigators in America 2016-2017, 2019-2020
Benchmark Labor & Employment Stars 2019
New York Super Lawyers 2006-2019
The International Who's Who of Management Labour & Employment Lawyers
ORT Jurisprudence Award
The American Inns of Court Professionalism Award for the Second Circuit 2015
American Jewish Congress Louis D. Brandeis Award
Boston University Law School, Silver Shingle Award for Distinguished Service to the Legal Profession
Jewish Theological Seminary, Simon Rifkind Award
John J. McCloy Memorial Award, Fund for Modern Courts
Milton Gould Award for Outstanding Oral Advocacy, The Office of the Appellate Defender
Human Relations Award, Anti-Defamation League Lawyers Division
Whitney North Seymour Award, Federal Bar Council
NYLPI Law & Society Award
NY Law Journal Lawyers Who Lead By Example
Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law Whitney North Seymour Award
UJA Lawyers Division Proskauer Award
Legal Aid Society Servant of Justice Award
“Top 50 Women,” New York Metro Super Lawyers, 2019