Who is Roberta ("Robbie") Kaplan in the Epstein files?

She is a prominent New York attorney and co-founder of Kaplan Hecker & Fink LLP. In the files she appears only in legal-practice emails from 2019. They concern victims' rights at Epstein's bail hearing in U.S. v. Epstein (19 Cr. 490), a court letter to Judge Failla, and the Epstein victims' compensation program and estate. The files point to a lawyer working on the victims' side of these matters, not to any personal relationship with Epstein.

Did Roberta Kaplan have a personal relationship with Jeffrey Epstein?

Nothing in these documents suggests that. Epstein's name co-occurs with hers in 12 documents because the emails concern litigation and proceedings about him, including his criminal case and his estate. All 13 documents are emails among lawyers and related parties, with no social, financial or travel records.

What did Kaplan say about the Epstein victims' compensation program?

In a December 13, 2019 email she said her team had received the Feinberg draft protocol and that it was "exactly as much of a disaster as we expected." She also asked that the document be sent on along with the recent Virgin Islands (VI) filings. She forwarded other emails about the program on December 10 and 14, 2019. The documents show her team's reaction but do not give the full legal reasoning.

Where can I read more about Roberta Kaplan?

Her background is covered on Wikipedia. She is widely known for arguing United States v. Windsor, the 2013 Supreme Court case that struck down part of the Defense of Marriage Act, and for her work in civil rights and high-profile litigation.

Who is Roberta ("Robbie") Kaplan in the Epstein files?

She is a prominent New York attorney and co-founder of Kaplan Hecker & Fink LLP. In the files she appears only in legal-practice emails from 2019. They concern victims' rights at Epstein's bail hearing in U.S. v. Epstein (19 Cr. 490), a court letter to Judge Failla, and the Epstein victims' compensation program and estate. The files point to a lawyer working on the victims' side of these matters, not to any personal relationship with Epstein.

Did Roberta Kaplan have a personal relationship with Jeffrey Epstein?

Nothing in these documents suggests that. Epstein's name co-occurs with hers in 12 documents because the emails concern litigation and proceedings about him, including his criminal case and his estate. All 13 documents are emails among lawyers and related parties, with no social, financial or travel records.

What did Kaplan say about the Epstein victims' compensation program?

In a December 13, 2019 email she said her team had received the Feinberg draft protocol and that it was "exactly as much of a disaster as we expected." She also asked that the document be sent on along with the recent Virgin Islands (VI) filings. She forwarded other emails about the program on December 10 and 14, 2019. The documents show her team's reaction but do not give the full legal reasoning.

Where can I read more about Roberta Kaplan?

Her background is covered on Wikipedia. She is widely known for arguing United States v. Windsor, the 2013 Supreme Court case that struck down part of the Defense of Marriage Act, and for her work in civil rights and high-profile litigation.

Back to People & Entities

Roberta ("Robbie") Kaplan

Person

Total Mentions

Documents

Connected Entities

Person referenced in documents

Watch: Roberta ("Robbie") Kaplan in the Epstein files

1:06

Narrated from the AI-generated summary of the documents. Numbers reflect the archive at generation time.

Roberta "Robbie" Kaplan is a New York litigator at Kaplan Hecker & Fink LLP. The files show her working on Epstein-related legal matters in mid-to-late 2019, including victims' rights around Epstein's bail hearing and the Epstein victims' compensation program.

All 13 mentions are emails, and 12 have her in the From/To/Cc header. Her email signature ("Roberta ('Robbie') Kaplan, Esq., Kaplan Hecker & Fink LLP") appears on the messages. They fall into three clusters. The first is a July 2019 thread titled "U.S. v. Epstein, 19 Cr. 490 -- victims' rights re: bail hearing", in which she writes "Can you talk?" to colleagues. The second is a November 2019 forward of her letter to Judge Failla responding to defendants' letters. The third is a set of December 2019 messages about the Epstein Victims' Compensation Program and the estate. The records are professional legal correspondence, not social or personal contact with Epstein. No non-email records (court filings, financial or travel records) name her.

Key Highlights

•A July 2019 thread, "U.S. v. Epstein, 19 Cr. 490 -- victims' rights re: bail hearing", appears in several copies. It includes Kaplan and Kaplan Hecker & Fink colleagues such as Alex (MI) Conlon, Jenna Dabbs and Alexandra Elenowitz-Hess.
•In a December 13, 2019 email she writes that "we got the Feinberg draft protocol today; its exactly as much of a disaster as we expected." This shows she was critical of the draft protocol for the Epstein victims' compensation program, which is associated with Kenneth Feinberg.
•On December 10 and 14, 2019 she forwarded emails titled "Epstein Victims' Compensation Program" to others, including Kate Doniger, with the note "FYI". One of these forwards includes a message from Jordy Feldman.
•A December 2019 email forwards a letter from Bennet Moskowitz to Sigrid McCawley about the Estate of Jeffrey E. Epstein. Kaplan adds, "I assume you have this." Moskowitz is a lawyer tied to the estate, and McCawley is a lawyer for Epstein accusers.
•A November 6, 2019 email forwards her letter to Judge Failla responding to defendants' November 5, 2019 letters, with the note "FYI".
•Her closest co-occurrences are Jeffrey Epstein (12 documents), MI Conlon (7), Jenna Dabbs (6) and Bennet Moskowitz (5). Epstein is the subject of the legal matters rather than a correspondent in these emails.

Frequently Asked Questions

Books for Further Reading

Perversion of Justice: The Jeffrey Epstein Story

Julie K. Brown

Investigative journalism that broke the Epstein case open

Filthy Rich: The Jeffrey Epstein Story

James Patterson

Bestselling account of Epstein's crimes and network

Relentless Pursuit: My Fight for the Victims of Jeffrey Epstein

Bradley J. Edwards

Victims' attorney's firsthand account

Document Mentions (13)

EFTA00014324 - EFTA00014325

1 mention

I < '; Conlon ; Alexandra Elenowitz-Hess Cc sr- >; Subject: Re: U.S. v. Epstein, 19 Cr. 490 -- victims' rights re: bail hearing Can you talk? Roberta ("Robbie") Kaplan, Esq. Kaplan Hecker & Fink LLP New York New York 10118 ;Jenna Dabbs From: Sent: Wednesday, July 10, 2019 5:56:39 PM To: Conlon; Roberta Kaplan

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EFTA00019559 - EFTA00019560

1 mention

Also: we got the Feinberg draft protocol today; its exactly as much of a disaster as we expected. psl send to along with their recent VI filings. Roberta ("Robbie") Kaplan, Esq. Kaplan Hecker & Fink LLP From: Sent: Friday, December 13, 2019 1:09 PM To: Conlon Roberta Kaplan Subject: RE: Transcript from yesterday'

Page: EFTA00019559 →

EFTA00019565 - EFTA00019569

1 mention

a> To: 'S" Cc: "Kate L. Doniger" -MINIE >, Alex Conlon Subject: Fwd: Epstein Victims' Compensation Program Date: Sat, 14 Dec 2019 14:55:17 +0000 Roberta ("Robbie") Kaplan, Esq. Kaplan Hecker & Fink LLP 350 Fifth Avenue I Suite 7110 New York New York 10118 From: Jordy Feldman < > Sent: Saturday, December 14, 2019 9

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EFTA00019570 - EFTA00019572

1 mention

we got the Feinberg draft protocol today; its exactly as much of a disaster as we expected. Kate: psl send to along with their recent VI filings. Roberta ("Robbie") Kaplan, Esq. Kaplan Hecker & Fink LLP From: Sent: Friday, December 13, 2019 1:09 PM To: Alex Conlon Roberta Kaplan Subject: RE: Transcript from yester

Page: EFTA00019571 →

EFTA00026674 - EFTA00026676

1 mention

Elenowitz-Hess EFTA00026674 --- PAGE BREAK --- Cc: Subject: Re: U.S. v. Epstein, 19 Cr. 490 -- victims' rights re: bail hearing Can you talk? Roberta ("Robbie") Kaplan, Esq. Kaplan Hecker & Fink LLP New York, New York 10118 From: Sent: Wednesday, July 10, 2019 5:56:39 PM To: MI Conlon; Roberta Kaplan; Dabbs; A

Page: EFTA00026675 →

EFTA00026681 - EFTA00026682

1 mention

ess Cc: " " ' Subject: Re: U.S. v. Epstein, 19 Cr. 490 -- victims' rights re: bail hearing Date: Thu, II Jul 2019 02:06:10 +0000 Can you talk? Roberta ("Robbie") Kaplan, Esq. Kaplan Hecker & Fink LLP New York, New York 10118 From: Sent: Wednesday, July 10, 2019 5:56:39 PM To: Conlon; Roberta Kaplan; Jenna Dabbs

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EFTA00026683 - EFTA00026684

1 mention

To: ; Jenna Dabbs > ; Alexandra Elenowitz-Hess Cc: Subject: Re: U.S. v. Epstein, 19 Cr. 490 -- victims' rights re: bail hearing Can you talk? Roberta ("Robbie") Kaplan, Esq. Kaplan Hecker & Fink LLP New York, New York 10118 (212) 763-0883 I From: Sent: Wednesday, July 10, 2019 5:56:39 PM To: MI Conlon; Roberta

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EFTA00027881 - EFTA00027882

1 mention

Dec 2019 16:51:52 +0000 Attachments: 2019.12.03_Letterfril_Moskowitz_to_S._McCawley_Re_Estate_of Jeffrey_E._Epstein. pdf I assume you have this. Roberta ("Robbie") Kaplan, Esq. Kaplan Hecker & Fink LLP 350 Fifth Avenue I Suite 7110 New York New York 10118 From: Moskowitz, Bennet J. Sent: Tuesday, December 3, 2019 9

Page: EFTA00027881 →

EFTA00027912 - EFTA00027915

1 mention

From: Roberta Kaplan fr-" To:" )" Subject: Fwd: Epstein Victims' Compensation Program Date: Tue, 10 Dec 2019 16:48:48 +0000 FYI Roberta ("Robbie") Kaplan, Esq. Kaplan Hecker & Fink LLP 350 Fifth Avenue I Suite 7110 New York, New York 10118 From: Kate L Doniger Sent: Monday, December 9, 2019 4:55:5

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EFTA00028355 - EFTA00028356

1 mention

Conlon < >; Jenna Dabbs ; Alexandra Elenowitz-Hess Cc: Subject: Re: U.S. v. Epstein, 19 Cr. 490 — victims' rights re: bail hearing Can you talk? Roberta ("Robbie") Kaplan, Esq. Kaplan Hecker & Fink LLP New York New York 10118 From: Sent: Wednesday, July 10, 2019 5:56:39 PM To: Conlon; Roberta Kaplan; Jenna Dabbs;

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EFTA00028471

1 mention

6 Nov 2019 16:48:47 +0000 Attachments: 021_- _2019.11.06_Letter from_R._Kaplan_to_l_Failla_re_Response_to_Defendante_Nov._5„2 019 Letters.pdf FYI Roberta ("Robbie") Kaplan, Esq. Kaplan Hecker & Fink LLP From: Kyla Magun Sent: Wednesday, November 6, 2019 11:44:49 AM To: Cc: ; Roberta Kaplan ; Julie Fink < >; Jenna

Page: EFTA00028471 →

EFTA00030276 - EFTA00030277

1 mention

exandra Elenowitz-Hess <[email protected]> Cc: ) Subject: Re: U.S. v. Epstein, 19 Cr. 490 -- victims' rights re: bail hearing Can you talk? Roberta ("Robbie") Kaplan, Esq. Kaplan Hecker & Fink LLP New York, New York 10118 From: < Sent: Wednesday, July 10, 2019 5:56:39 PM To: Conlon; Roberta Kaplan; Jenna Da

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