Ms. Rootenberg is an appellate lawyer who has represented clients in hundreds of appeals involving substantive and procedural issues relating to diverse areas of the law, including civil procedure, commercial litigation, insurance law, labor law, municipal liability, no-fault law, and medical malpractice. With over two decades of experience, Ms. Rootenberg routinely prosecutes and defends appeals before New York appellate courts and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Before joining the firm, Ms. Rootenberg was an assistant corporation counsel for the New York City Law Department and an adjunct professor at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law.
Practice Areas
Representative Matters
Second Circuit cases
- U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Mfg. Co. LLC v. City of New York, 708 F.3d 428 (2d Cir. 2013) (upholding city ordinance governing the sale of flavored tobacco products)
- United States v. Kerley, 416 F.3d 176 (2d Cir. 2005) (interpretation and application of federal law criminalizing the failure to pay child support in certain instances)
- Maxwell v. City of New York, 380 F.3d 106 (2d Cir. 2004) (excessive force during arrest)
New York State Court of Appeals cases
- Bellamy v. New York City Police Dept., 20 NY3d 1028 (2013) (privacy and safety exemptions under Freedom of Information Law may justify the withholding of otherwise public information)
- Roberts v. Paterson, 19 NY3d 524 (2012) (City and State not liable for NYC OTB retirees health benefits)
- New York City Health & Hosps. Corp. v. New York State Commn. Of Correction, 19 NY3d 239 (2012) (disclosure of protected health information)
- Felix v. N.Y.C. Dept. of Citywide Admin. Servs., 3 NY3d 498 (2004) (permanent civil servant forfeited employment by violating residency requirement)
- Swinton v. Safir, 93 NY2d 758 (1999) (termination of civil service employment and right to name-clearing hearing)
Appellate Division Cases
- Lebron v. New York City Hous. Auth., 158 AD3d 503 (1st Dept. 2018) (elevator malfunction not proximate cause of decedent’s death)
- Abrahamson v. Bram, 2016 N.J. Super. Unpub. LEXIS 2692, 2016 WL 7335816 (new trial ordered in medical malpractice action because court erroneously refused to provide an informed consent instruction to the jury)
- Moynihan v. New York City Health & Hosps. Corp., 120 AD3d 1029 (1st Dept. 2014) (labor laws applicable to health care organizations)
- Williamsburg Community Coalition v. Council of the City of N.Y., 100 AD3d 521 (1st Dept. 2012) (rational basis for rezoning mixed-use development project)
- Dart v. City of New York, 68 AD3d 664 (1st Dept. 2009) (interpretation of construction contract)
- English v. City of New York, 43 AD3d 811 (2d Dept. 2007) (applicability of labor law)
- Pietropolo v. New York City Dept. of Hous. Preserv. & Dev., 39 AD3d 406 (1st Dept. 2007) (brother’s succession right to sister’s rent-controlled apartment)
- Conte v. City of New York, 300 AD2d 420 (2d Dept. 2002) (jury award deemed excessive)
- Hierro v. New York City Hous. Auth., 123 AD3d 508 (2014) (premises liability/negligent security)
Affiliations + Recognition
- New York City Bar Association Municipal Affairs Award for Outstanding Performance in Public Service
- Martindale-Hubbell Bar Register of Preeminent Women Lawyers each year since 2015
- New York State Bar Association (served on the Committee on Courts of Appellate Jurisdiction from 2012-2017)
- Member, American Bar Association.