Brenna Rabinowitz
Ms. Rabinowitz represents clients in a range of employment matters, including claims of discrimination, retaliation, sexual harassment, and wage-and-hour violations. She has assisted in the successful pre-litigation resolution of numerous matters and has litigated in state and federal court both on behalf of individual employees and in class and collective actions.
Ms. Rabinowitz served as a judicial law clerk for the Honorable A. Richard Caputo in the Middle District of Pennsylvania after earning her J.D. cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania Law School with a Certificate of Management from Wharton Business School. During law school, Ms. Rabinowitz served as Managing Online Editor for the Journal of Constitutional Law, and co-Chair for the Equal Justice Foundation’s annual auction, which funds grants to students who take unpaid internships with non-profit organizations. She also participated in Penn Law Advocates for the Homeless, the Employee Assistance Project, and the ACLU’s Civil Forfeiture Project. She received her B.A. in Economics summa cum laude from Messiah College in 2013.
Prior to her clerkship, Ms. Rabinowitz was an Associate at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP, where she focused on global white collar investigations. While at Freshfields, she served on Sanctuary for Families’ Pro Bono Council as Membership Committee Chair and represented several pro bono clients. Her efforts earned a Pro Bono Publico Award from the Legal Aid Society as part of a team representing a client on an FMLA retaliation claim.
Ms. Rabinowitz lives with her husband, three children, and an expanding cast of pets, including backyard chickens. She enjoys hiking, gardening, and vegetarian cooking.
Education
University of Pennsylvania Law School, J.D. cum laude
Wharton Certificate in Management
Dean’s Scholar
Online Managing Editor, Journal of Constitutional Law
Messiah College, B.A. in Economics summa cum laude
Admissions and Professional Activities
Admitted to New York State Bar, June 2017
Federal Court for the Southern District of New York
Federal Court for the Eastern District of New York
Member, National Employment Lawyers’ Association (NY Chapter), November 2018 – present
Member, New York State Bar Association (2017 – present)
Notable Cases
Cojocaru v. City University of New York, 19-cv-5428 (Southern District of New York).
Successfully defended professor in sex harassment case, resulting in settlement of claims with zero monetary contribution from client while client received one year of continued pay and retirement with full benefits.
Crichlow v. NYC Health and Hospitals, 26903/2019 (Bronx County Supreme Court).
Defeated motion to dismiss in a race discrimination case against Lincoln Hospital on behalf of an African-American anesthesiologist whose boss subjected her to race-based harassment and treated her differently than her peers.
Huggins v. Wiener et al., 18-cv-1037 (Southern District of New York).
Successfully moved for conditional certification of collective of building superintendents in overtime and minimum wage action against a real estate company.
Reached a settlement equivalent to 2.5 years of salary in a sex discrimination case on behalf of an executive assistant after drafting demand letter and EEOC charge.
Cauchi v. HRC Corp. et al., 654649/2018
Age discrimination case on behalf of building superintendent against corporate and individual defendants.
Munoz v. City of New York, 17-cv-9583 (LAK)
False arrest case on behalf of New York State parole officer and her disabled son.
Rodriguez v. G&C Cleaners, 19-cv-3441 (Southern District of New York)
Overtime, minimum wage, and sexual harassment retaliation case on behalf of a construction site cleaning crew member against cleaning company and its owner.
Rodriguez v. SimplexGrinnell, 16-cv-9605 (N.D. Ill)
Prevailing wage collective action against fire safety company on behalf of employees performing testing, inspection, and programming of fire alarm and sprinkler systems.
Small v. Barr, 18-cv-5659 (BCM)
Sexual harassment case on behalf of a Bureau of Prisons employee.