Kramer Levin Partner Authors NY Chapter in Marriage Rights Book “Love Unites Us”

Litigation partner Jeffrey S. Trachtman authored a chapter in the book “Love Unites Us,” a collection of essays by participants in the marriage equality movement published in connection with the first anniversary of Obergefell v. Hodges, the U.S. Supreme Court case that recognized a nationwide freedom to marry for same-sex couples. The book, edited by Kevin M. Cathcart and Leslie J. Gabel-Brett of Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund and published by The New Press, includes essays by such prominent advocates as Evan Wolfson, Mary Bonauto, Paul Smith, and James Esseks.

Mr. Trachtman’s chapter, “Losing Forward: The Marriage Case in New York,” discusses his experience (along with partner Norman C. Simon and other Kramer Levin lawyers) as co-counsel with Lambda Legal in Hernandez v. Robles, which sought recognition of marriage rights for same-sex couples under the New York Constitution, as well as other cases establishing recognition under New York law for such couples’ valid out-of-state marriages. The chapter discusses how the crushing 2006 loss in the New York Court of Appeals (and losses in two other states around the same time) nevertheless furthered the debate about marriage discrimination and helped build the case for recognizing the freedom to marry through legislation, which New York State did in 2011.

“Love Unites Us” will hit bookstores on June 14, 2016. It is available now through pre-order: http://amzn.to/1TpDvwC