Mr. Trachtman is a litigation partner who focuses on complex bankruptcy and mass tort litigation and also has experience in such diverse civil practice areas as securities fraud, intellectual property, administrative law, and constitutional law.

Mr. Trachtman was one of the principal litigators on behalf of breast implant tort claimants in the Dow Corning bankruptcy, helping to fashion and obtain judicial approval for a $3.17 billion settlement.  He has played active roles in bankruptcy or class action litigation involving asbestos, diet drugs, and other products.  He also helped lead a team of lawyers that obtained a $90 million recovery in a contract and securities fraud action arising out of a failed merger between Gulf Oil and Cities Service Corp.

Mr. Trachtman has served as Chair of Kramer Levin's Pro Bono Committee since 1993. During his tenure, the firm and its lawyers have received significant recognition for their pro bono efforts, including major awards from the American Bar Association, National Law Journal, New York State Bar Association, and Legal Aid Society. In his own pro bono activities, Mr. Trachtman has litigated extensively in the areas of Social Security disability and civil rights and civil liberties, with a particular focus on LGBT rights.

Mr. Trachtman has been a regular presenter for more than a decade at the annual Law Firm Pro Bono Conference of the Pro Bono Institute and has also spoken on panels at the American Bankruptcy Institute's New York City Bankruptcy Conference (presentation on substantive consolidation), "Bridge the Gap" CLE programs for the Practicing Law Institute, and Mealey's Breast Implant Litigation Conference in Palm Beach, Florida. He has written articles and commentary on legal and public policy issues for such publications as The New York Times, The Washington Post, USA Today, Newsday, and The National Law Journal and has been interviewed and profiled by the New York Law Journal and Metropolitan Corporate Counsel. Mr. Trachtman is listed in New York Super Lawyers for 2006 and 2007.

Representative Matters

• In re Dow Corning — counsel to Tort Claimants Committee.
• In re Adelphia  — counsel to FrontierVision Noteholders Committee.
• In re Owens Corning — counsel to Credit Suisse First Boston as agent for bank lenders.
• In re Consolidated Diet Drug Litigation — counsel to largest group of objectors to mass tort settlement.
• Hernandez v. Robles — co-counsel with Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund in suit seeking recognition of marriage rights for same-sex couples. 
• Encarnacion v. Astrue — co-counsel with Center for Disability Advocacy Rights in class action challenging policies affecting adjudication of children's disability claims.
  

J.D., cum laude, New York University School of Law, 1984

• Note and Comment Editor, 1983-1984, New York University Law Review
• Order of the Coif

B.A., New York University, 1981

Judge Leonard I. Garth, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, 1985 - 1986
Chief Judge Constance Baker Motley, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, 1984 - 1985

New York, 1985

U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit, 2008
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, 2001
U.S. Supreme Court, 2000
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan, 1996
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, 1996
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, 1995
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, 1986
U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, 1985
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York, 1985

Pro Bono Honoree, Legal Services for New York, 2007
President's Pro Bono Service Award, New York State Bar Association, 2005
"Commitment to Justice" Award, Network for Women's Services, 2000 (now known as "inMotion")
Co-founder, board chair (1981-94), and director (1981-present), Cause Effective, Inc.

New York City Bar Association, Member (1990-96) and Secretary (1991-92), Committee on Legal Needs of the Poor; Member (1997-2000), Committee on Pro Bono and Legal Services; Member (2000-03), Committee on Civil Rights
New York State Bar Association
American Bar Association