Overview
Beatrice Franklin represents both plaintiffs and defendants in commercial litigation across a broad spectrum of practice areas including complex business disputes, energy matters, real estate, patent, antitrust, securities, and financial services. Her work has resulted in successful trial judgments, multimillion-dollar settlements, and defense-side dismissals.
Named a Rising Star of the Plaintiffs’ Bar by National Law Journal’s Elite Trial Lawyers (2024) and among Lawdragon’s Next Generation of Leading Lawyers (2023), Ms. Franklin is regularly tapped to take on significant, high-stakes litigation. Ms. Franklin is part of the co-lead counsel team for a certified class of home sellers asserting antitrust claims relating to residential broker commissions. The class has reached nearly $1 billion in proposed settlements, including a landmark $418 million settlement with the National Association of Realtors. In a long-running commercial real estate dispute, Ms. Franklin won a $36 million post-trial judgment involving a valuable piece of Brooklyn real estate. And in addition to her extensive trial court work, Ms. Franklin has substantial appellate experience, having argued before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, New York’s First and Second Departments, the Minnesota Supreme Court, and the Minnesota Court of Appeals.
Ms. 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. She 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.
Notable Representations
- Moehrl, et al., v. National Association of Realtors, et al. (N.D. III.); Gibson, et al. v. National Association of Realtors, et al. (W.D. Mo.). Serving as part of the co-lead counsel team against the country’s largest real estate services companies and the National Association of Realtors. The class has reached proposed settlements of over $900 million with the National Association of Realtors and numerous brokerage defendants. Throughout the case, Ms. Franklin has played a critical role: opposing the defendants’ motions to dismiss; securing class certification; winning discovery motions; and deposing nearly a dozen key witnesses in the case, including defendants’ senior executives. Read more.
- 255 Butler Associates LLC, v. 255 Butler LLC (Kings County). Won a $36 million judgment for a commercial tenant in its dispute with a landlord over valuable commercial space in Brooklyn, New York. At trial, Ms. Franklin presented multiple witnesses and cross-examined the defendant’s sole expert. Both before and after the judgment, Ms. Franklin briefed and argued numerous successful motions in both the trial court and Second Department. Read more.
- Macquarie Winer Storm Litigation. Representing Macquarie Energy in several matters arising out of Winter Storm Uri. Current cases involve defending against claims brought by the Kansas Attorney General and putative classes of Kansas consumers. Other matters have been resolved favorably for her client.
- Beast Investments, LLC v. Celebrity Virtual Dining, LLC, et al. (New York Commercial Division) Representing Virtual Dining Concepts in its litigation with Jimmy Donaldson, a/k/a MrBeast, involving their MrBeast Burger partnership. Ms. Franklin has successfully defeated a motion to dismiss her client’s breach of contract claims and litigated a variety of discovery disputes.
- Glacier Park Iron Ore Properties v. United States Steel Corp. (Minnesota Supreme Court) Represented Glacier Park Iron Ore Properties in its lease dispute with U.S. Steel Corporation related to valuable mining lands in the Minnesota Iron Range. In addition to briefing and arguing arbitrability issues in the Minnesota Court of Appeals, Ms. Franklin 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.
- Rich v. Fox News et al. (S.D.N.Y.) Represented Joel and Mary Rich, the parents of a murdered son, Seth Rich, in a groundbreaking lawsuit against Fox News and individual defendants for intentional infliction of emotional distress claims and related torts. After the Second Circuit reversed the district court’s dismissal of the Riches’ claims, Ms. Franklin litigated multiple discovery motions, paving the way for a confidential settlement.
- Osariemen v. Garland (Second Circ.) Working pro bono, 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.
Honors & Distinctions
Honors and Awards
- Rising Star, New York Super Lawyers – an honor awarded to the top 2.5% of lawyers under the age of 40 in New York (2024, Thomson Reuters)
- Rising Star, New York Law Journal (2024, ALM)
- Lawdragon 500X - The Next Generation of Leading Lawyers (2023, 2024)
- Lawdragon Top 500 Plaintiff Financial Lawyers (2024)
- Rising Star of the Plaintiffs Bar, National Law Journal Elite Trial Lawyers (2024, ALM)
- 40 and Under Hot List, Benchmark Litigation (2023, 2024)
- Ruth Bader Ginsburg Prize
- James Kent Scholar
- Best Oralist and Best Brief, Harlan Fiske Stone Moot Court Competition
- National Association of Women Lawyers, Outstanding Law Student
Clerkships
- Honorable Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Supreme Court of the United States
- Honorable Susan Carney, United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
- Honorable Jesse Furman, United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
Education
Education
- Columbia Law School
- Harvard University (B.A., magna cum laude)
Admissions
Admissions
Bar Admissions
- New York
Court Admissions
- U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
Languages
Languages
- French
- Italian
