Ms. Caplan’s primary practice area is employment litigation and alternative dispute resolution in both the individual and class contexts. She is counsel with AARP and Sprenger & Lang, as well as other firms, in the Hollywood Writers Age Discrimination Litigation, and is a member of the three-person strategy steering committee for the 23-class actions. The Writers Litigation was brought under California law on behalf of thousands of members of the Writers Guild of America who have been denied employment as television writers on the basis of their age. Ms. Caplan served as lead counsel in Flournoy v. NASA, a race discrimination class action brought on behalf of 128 African American scientists and engineers at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center who claimed systematic denial of promotions in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The matter was settled in 2003 for approximately $5 million in monetary and programmatic relief, the pro rata record for a federal sector race discrimination in promotions claim. Ms. Caplan also serves as lead class counsel in Boord v. Gonzales, a Title VII class action brought on behalf of approximately 1200 female support staff at FBI Headquarters and affiliated offices. The Boord complaint alleged that the FBI’s use of a prior investigative experience requirement (Special Agent status) in the selection process for numerous positions had a disparate impact on females as a class, and was not job related. The action settled in 2006 with a pioneering claims process under which class members may receive monetary and job relief without limitations (beyond Title VII), and are entitled to highly advantageous burdens of proof and attorneys fees for representation on their claims. The Boord settlement also entails an independent assessment of all Agent-only position designations at FBI HQ and affiliated offices. While previously with Sprenger & Lang, Ms. Caplan helped to litigate and resolve for approximately $23 million in monetary and programmatic relief McLaurin v. Amtrak and Thornton v. Amtrak, race discrimination cases on behalf of management employees and trackmen, respectively, in addition to working on numerous other employment cases. The firm received the Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs 1999 Outstanding Achievement Award for its role in the Amtrak cases.

Ms. Caplan serves by invitation both as an arbitrator for the National Association of Securities Dealers (“NASD”) and the D.C. Office of Police Conduct. She is co-author of ADR in Employment Law, “Confidentiality and Privilege in Mediation” (BNA forthcoming 2006). She has served on several mediation and/or settlement related panels including recently American Bar Association Employment Law Basics and as moderator for the DC Bar’s “The Ins and Outs of Employment Class Action Settlements: Practical Tips for Experienced and Novice Class Action Litigators.” She is a member of the Employment and Alternative Dispute Resolution Sections of the American Bar Association.

Ms. Caplan received her B.A. and J.D. from the University of Michigan where she received the S.A. Benton Memorial Award for academic excellence and community contribution, Bates International travel fellowship, and was an Angell Scholar. Prior to joining Kator, Parks & Weiser, Ms. Caplan was a partner with Sprenger & Lang, PLLC. She began her legal career with Hughes Hubbard & Reed in NY, NY.

Email:
mcaplan@katorparks.com