Bruce Menken
Mr. Menken is an accomplished negotiator and skilled trial lawyer. In 34 years of legal practice, he has a solid record of working on turning challenging cases into success stories for clients. Equally adept in court, arbitration, mediation or negotiation, Mr. Menken represents executives, professionals and individual employees in employment matters.
Mr. Menken entered private practice in 1993 after gaining valuable trial experience as a public defender in the late 1980’s and vital civil litigation experience at a federal non-profit in the early 1990’s. He is quick on his feet, having argued hundreds of motions in court and first chaired over 30 jury trials. He connects with clients and jurors and is respected by judges and adversaries. New lawyers come to him for assistance and he frequently co-counsels cases with them. For nearly 30 years, Mr. Menken has successfully represented employees in a wide variety of contract, discrimination, sexual harassment, wrongful discharge and bonus/commission cases. Many of his clients work in the financial, advertising, telecommunications, publishing and garment industries and seek counsel regarding non-compete and non-solicit disputes.
Mr. Menken has been lead or co-counsel in several class action and whistle blower cases which have settled in the 7 and low 8 figure range. United States of America ex rel. Richard Faden v. Young Adult Institute, Inc. 09 Civ. 5003 (RMB) (filed May 28, 2009) (false claims act settlement of $18 million, of which $3.4 million allocated to relator); Ramos, et al., v. SimplexGrinnell LP, 796 F.Supp.2d 346 (E.D.N.Y. 2011) (certifying class of over 500 electrical and sprinkler technicians in NY state-wide prevailing wage case that settled in maintenance and repair claims for $5.525 million in 2012 and testing and inspection claims for $9.5 million in late 2014).
Mr. Menken’s practice continues to flourish. In just the past year, he has negotiated over a dozen high value settlements for workers and executives, co-counseled a federal court trial with his partner, Scott Simpson, successfully argued various motions in federal and state court, conducted a number of contentious depositions and managed the firm. A fierce competitor, who is a former college athlete and ranked tennis player, Mr. Menken prides himself on knowing when during a case to kick it into a higher gear.
Education
Clark University (B.A., 1983)
Brooklyn Law School (J.D., 1986)
Admissions and Professional Activities
Admitted to New York State Bar
United States District Courts for the Southern, Eastern, Northern and Western Districts of New York
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
Member of various bar associations
Had numerous published court decisions and several cases highlighted in The New York Law Journal and The New York Times.
Mr. Menken has been recognized as a “Super Lawyer” for the New York area in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020.