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.

Ms. Franklin represents Glacier Park Iron Ore Properties in its lease dispute with U.S. Steel Corporation related to valuable mining lands in the Minnesota Iron Range. Ms. Franklin has played a pivotal role in this matter: in addition to briefing and arguing arbitrability issues in the Minnesota Court of Appeals, she 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.

In addition, 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’s robust docket also includes:

• Representing the University of Massachusetts and Carmel Laboratories in patent infringement litigation against cosmetics giant L’Oréal. Ms. Franklin has briefed and argued numerous critical motions.
• 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.
• Representing a commercial tenant in a dispute with a landlord over valuable commercial space in Brooklyn, New York. Since taking over the case, Ms. Franklin has briefed several successful motions, including opposing an attempt to reconsider a successful grant of partial summary judgment in her client’s favor.

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.