Kramer Levin's Jeffrey S. Trachtman Named Alumnus of the Year by NYU Law School OUTLaw for Years of Service to LGBTQ Community

OUTLaw, the LGBTQ student organization at New York University School of Law, presented its annual Alumnus of the Year award to Kramer Levin Partner Jeffrey S. Trachtman at a February 27 reception at the Law School.  Trachtman, a member of the class of 1984, was honored for decades of civil rights work on behalf of the LGBTQ community. 

Most notably, Trachtman served as lead co-counsel with Lambda Legal Defense in Hernandez v. Robles, the historic 2006 case seeking equal marriage rights under the New York constitution, and led a Kramer Levin team that co-counseled with Lambda Legal in a series of cases establishing recognition under New York law for the valid out-of-state marriages of same-sex couples. Trachtman also was lead counsel on important amicus briefs in a series of historic Supreme Court cases, including Dale v. Boy Scouts of America, Lawrence v. Texas, Windsor v. United States, and Perry v. Hollingsworth. Kramer Levin will soon submit an updated version of the Perry and Windsor briefs – addressing the growing support for marriage equality among mainstream religions – in the marriage equality cases now pending before the Supreme Court. Earlier, Trachtman represented the lesbian survivor of a 9/11 victim in establishing her right to share in her partner’s Victims’ Compensation Fund award. Trachtman also serves as point person for Kramer Levin’s pro bono general counsel relationships with the LGBT Community Center and Freedom to Marry.

In remarks to law students, faculty, and alumni at the reception, Trachtman described how his own professional life and personal evolution paralleled developments in LGBTQ rights and urged students and alumni to remain involved in the fight for full LGBTQ equality, with special attention to the problems of more disadvantaged and marginalized members of the community such as homeless youth, low income elderly, and transgender individuals.