Molly A. Karlin

Molly Karlin is a go-to attorney for high-stakes appeals. She represents clients in complex commercial cases, including those involving fraud, breach of contract, tort, copyright, entertainment, insurance/reinsurance, securities, and class actions, as well as individuals and entities charged with white collar and other serious criminal and regulatory offenses. She is also well-versed in constitutional and statutory issues. Molly is adept at finding creative solutions to the toughest problems, identifying novel issues, and adopting out-of-the-box approaches to resolve disputes in her clients’ favor.  In commercial appeals, she is undefeated.

“[Your brief] is excellent.  Very clear and hard-hitting.”

– Hon. Alex Kozinski, Former Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

A writer by nature, Molly has drafted numerous briefs and petitions before the United States Supreme Court and appellate courts and has successfully briefed and argued dispositive motions in both the federal and state courts and in arbitration and mediation. The United States Supreme Court has called for responsive briefing to nearly all the petitions for writs of certiorari Molly has filed, indicating its interest in her clients’ cases even where the opposing party waived its right to be heard.  State and federal courts have corrected defects in their court rules and pattern jury instructions in direct response to issues Molly raised in her clients’ appeals.  On the political front, her cases have spurred remedial legislation.

Molly is also deeply committed to pro bono work.  Recently, she secured a grant of clemency by the President for a client sentenced to life without parole for non-violent drug offenses under a federal three-strikes law. She obtained legal status in immigration court, precluding deportation, for a client who had been sexually assaulted by gang members in El Salvador due to her transgender status. Molly also regularly represents amici curiae in the defense of constitutional rights and civil liberties and in opposition to capital punishment.

Prior to joining Miller Barondess, Molly cut her teeth at some of the country’s most elite national and international firms.  She also served for nearly a decade as an assistant federal public defender, advocating for indigent defendants convicted of serious federal crimes. She holds a J.D. from Columbia Law School, where she was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar, earned the Parker School Certificate of Achievement in International and Comparative Law, and served as an Articles Editor for The Columbia Journal of Gender and Law.  After graduating, she served as a law clerk on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. She earned her B.A., cum laude and with distinction in the English major, from Yale University.

Molly is admitted to practice in California, Arizona, New York, the U.S. Supreme Court, and numerous federal appellate and district courts across the country.