Molly Karlin

Molly is an experienced appellate and trial attorney who has argued—and won—multiple high-stakes appeals and trials.  A writer by nature, Molly has drafted numerous briefs and petitions before the United States Supreme Court and appellate courts and has successfully briefed and argued dispositive motions in both the federal and state courts and in arbitration.  Her diverse practice runs the gamut from complex commercial litigation, on behalf of both plaintiffs and defendants, to defense-side criminal appeals. She is adept at finding creative solutions to the toughest problems, identifying novel issues and adopting out-of-the-box approaches to resolve disputes in her clients’ favor.  Molly’s work has even spurred courts, on multiple occasions, to alter their state statutes and court rules to rectify legal defects she raised in her clients’ appeals.

LANDMARK WINS

Prior to joining Susman Godfrey, Molly prevailed for her clients in several high-profile matters.

In a case that captured widespread public attention, Molly represented Marissa Alexander, a young Black mother who had been sentenced to twenty years in prison for firing a warning shot to defend herself against her abusive partner.  Molly persuaded the Florida Court of Appeals to reverse Ms. Alexander’s conviction; then, on retrial, she convinced the trial court to admit the copious evidence of the “victim’s” violent attacks on his prior romantic partners. Rather than attempt to defend this damning pattern of abuse before a jury, the prosecution agreed to a sentence of time served.  Ms. Alexander’s case led the Florida legislature to amend the state’s Stand-Your-Ground law to permit the firing of a warning shot in circumstances like hers.  The case was heavily covered by nearly every major news outlet in the United States, several magazines, and publications in other countries, including The New York Times, USA Today, Reuters, U.S. News and World Report, NPR, The Guardian, The Toronto Star, various cable news channels, and Rolling Stone, Slate, The Nation, Essence, and Salon magazines.

On behalf of a Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary, Molly drafted the successful summary judgment briefing that eliminated plaintiff Ford Motor Company’s claims for hundreds of millions in punitive damages, leading to a favorable settlement for the Berkshire subsidiary.  In a related case, Molly prevailed for her insurer client in arbitration and then obtained a federal court’s confirmation of the arbitrator’s decision denying Ford the hundreds of millions it sought.  Both cases received coverage in Law360.

Molly obtained the acquittal at trial of a Syrian man on several terrorism-related offenses stemming from the alleged construction of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in the Iraq War.  On appeal of the remaining convictions, she then argued and obtained reversal—and complete dismissal—of the counts alleging the commission of a crime of violence.  She further persuaded the court of appeals to vacate the defendant’s life sentence, which included a conviction for conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction.  The case was covered by media outlets across the globe, including The Associated Press, Reuters, FOX News, and The Times of Israel.

PRO BONO

Molly is deeply committed to pro bono work.  Recently, she secured a grant of clemency by the President for a client sentenced to life without parole under a federal three-strikes law. She obtained legal status in immigration court, precluding deportation, for a client who had been sexually assaulted by gang members in El Salvador due to her transgender status. Molly also regularly represents amici curiae in the defense of constitutional rights and civil liberties and in opposition to capital punishment. 

BACKGROUND

For a decade prior to joining Susman Godfrey, Molly served as a federal public defender, advocating for indigent defendants convicted of serious federal crimes. Before that, she worked as an associate at other high-powered firms, where she was the primary drafter of important briefing in billion-dollar disputes. Molly holds a J.D. from Columbia Law School, where she was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar, earned the Parker School Certificate of Achievement in International and Comparative Law, and served as an Articles Editor for The Columbia Journal of Gender and Law.  After graduating, she served as a law clerk on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. She earned her B.A., cum laude and with distinction in the English major, from Yale University.

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