Introducing our newest colleagues John A. Beranbaum, Christine Clarke and Katherine (“Katie”) Bigley

RPJ is delighted and honored to welcome our newest colleagues to the team:

John A. Beranbaum

John A. Beranbaum joins RPJ’s strong practice in employment law, litigation, arbitration, mediation, and trial advocacy. With over 30 years of litigation and trial experience, Mr. Beranbaum regularly counsels clients navigating complex workplace circumstances on a broad array of employment and labor issues including statutory violations, employment contracts and severance agreements, large-scale reductions in force, discrimination and sexual harassment claims, allegations of whistleblowing and retaliation, and the full range of employment and labor matters, negotiation and dispute resolution. Mr. Beranbaum also serves as a Mediator for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. He is the recently former President of the National Employment Lawyers Association/New York (2020). Mr. Beranbaum received the 2020 Outstanding Pro Bono Service Award from the New York City Bar Association’s Justice Center. He has been selected to Best Lawyers in America in the categories of Employment and Labor, and Employment Law, from 2008 to 2021. Mr. Beranbaum has been recognized annually as a Super Lawyer since 2006; has a Martindale Hubble AV Preeminent rating; and has received a Who’s Who Lifetime Achievement Award. Prior to joining RPJ, Mr. Beranbaum was a Founding Member of Beranbaum Menken LLP and a Solo Practitioner. We invite you to learn more about Mr. Beranbaum here.

Christine Clarke

Christine Clarke joins RPJ’s strong practice in the fields of general litigation, investigations and dispute resolution, employment law, legal compliance, and the representation of non-profit organizations. Ms. Clarke has extensive experience representing clients in federal and state litigation throughout the country, as well as before administrative and licensing agencies. Her primary areas of expertise include employment, healthcare, housing, and civil rights law; legal compliance for companies and non-profit organizations; First Amendment free speech and constitutional due process claims; and discrimination dispute resolution and prevention trainings. Prior to joining RPJ, Ms. Clarke was a litigator with Planned Parenthood Federation of America (“PP”), engaged in federal and state litigation around the country concerning access to reproductive health care. Previously, Ms. Clarke was Director of the Civil Rights Justice Initiative at Legal Services NYC (“LSNYC”), representing low-income New Yorkers in a variety of civil rights claims, including fair housing, employment discrimination, procedural due process, and language access claims. At both PP and LSNYC, Ms. Clarke often worked as lead counsel, coordinating teams of experienced litigators to bring high-profile impact litigations. Ms. Clarke has also designed and continues to provide at RPJ anti-bias and anti-discrimination trainings. Directly out of Yale Law School, Ms. Clarke practiced at Beranbaum Menken LLP, representing clients in discrimination and wage and hour claims. We invite you to learn more about Ms. Clarke here.

Katherine (“Katie”) Bigley

Katherine (“Katie”) Bigley joins RPJ as our experienced Business and Legal Affairs Manager, assisting the firm with our robust entertainment transactions, media analysis, legal research, workplace training, and all manner of contract and document related needs. Prior to RPJ, Ms. Bigley was the Contracts and Rights Manager at Curiosity Stream, a VOD platform focusing on educational and documentary programming, and Topic, a SVOD service featuring international thriller and drama programming. Ms. Bigley began her career as an Associate Producer and a Senior Rights and Clearances Coordinator at ITV America, working on a variety of award-winning unscripted programming for ESPN, Disney, Netflix, History, Discovery and A&E. She is a member of New York Women in Film and Television and a graduate of Harvard Law School’s CopyrightX Class of 2019. We invite you to learn more about Ms. Bigley here.