Global Executive Committee member and Litigation partner Stacey J. Rappaport was awarded the Champion of Justice Award at Fordham Law School’s Feerick Center 2019 Awards & Benefit Reception this week. The award recognizes Ms. Rappaport’s dedication to social justice, spotlighting her work with various nonprofit organizations that provide support for victims of gender-related violence, advocate for gender equity, and provide legal services to underserved populations.
At Milbank, Ms. Rappaport’s practice focuses on disputes arising from complex financial transactions. She regularly represents insurance companies, financial institutions, and major corporations in her national practice. In addition to her role as a litigator at the firm, Ms. Rappaport is also an advocate for women in the legal profession: she is a founding member of Milbank’s Women’s Initiative Committee and served as the committee’s first Chair. She also serves on the firm’s Pro Bono Committee, and prior to her election to the Global Executive Committee, she was a member of various Milbank committees, including the Compensation Committee, Diversity Committee, and Associate Life Committee.
In the broader community, Ms. Rappaport advocates for women through her pro bono work and her nonprofit board memberships. She is a member of the Board of Directors of Sanctuary for Families, Inc., New York’s leading service provider for survivors of domestic violence and other forms of gender violence. She has represented Sanctuary (and other similar non-profits) pro bono as amicus curiae in suits against Backpage.com by child-sex trafficking victims who were advertised on that website, and in a lawsuit against Grindr, LLC by a cyber abuse victim. Additionally, Ms. Rappaport provides pro bono support to the Women’s Prison Project, an initiative spearheaded by Tulane Law School’s Criminal Justice and Domestic Violence Clinics.
In addition to her Sanctuary Board membership, Ms. Rappaport is also a member of the Board of Directors of Legal Square Legal Services, Inc., Fordham Law School’s student law clinic, and the Center for WorkLife Law, a research and advocacy organization at the University of California’s Hastings College of the Law. The Center for WorkLife Law conducts studies of gender bias and makes policy proposals that support workplace gender equity. She is also the founder and former co-chair of the Women Partners Subcommittee of the Committee on Women in the Legal Profession of the New York City Bar, and a former member of the Board of Directors of the New York County Lawyers’ Association.
To read more about Ms. Rappaport and the other honorees, click here.
