René S. Roupinian

Location:

270 Madison Avenue, Suite 1801
New York, NY 10016

Tel:

212.221.1747

Bio

René S. Roupinian is a Founding Partner of Raisner Roupinian LLP.

Since 2002, Ms. Roupinian has devoted her practice to the litigation of federal and state Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act cases and related claims, representing tens of thousands of employees terminated without sufficient notice. Ms. Roupinian’s practice is national and a majority of her cases are initiated as class actions and frequently filed in bankruptcy court as adversary proceedings. René has litigated more than 200 WARN Act cases and recovered more than $100 million in settlements and judgments.

In 2017, René and Jack won a landmark United States Supreme Court decision on behalf of 1,800 terminated truck drivers. Czyzewski v. Jevic Holding Corp., 137 S. Ct. 973, 977, 197 L. Ed. 2d 398 (2017). The decision has been hailed as one of the top ten most important decisions in bankruptcy law and prompted Law360 to name their WARN Practice Group, Bankruptcy Group of the Year, noting that they, as employment attorneys, “made an outsized impact on the bankruptcy world this year.” In recognizing the quality of René and Jack’s work, Law360 wrote: “With a focus on representing employees cut loose by companies heading into bankruptcy, [their] WARN Act group finds itself involved in insolvency cases frequently. The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notice Act requires employers of a certain size to provide adequate notice of their intent to lay off large numbers of workers, and [the WARN] team represents the interests of those jilted employees when they don’t receive that notice. Their expertise in the employment arena, especially as it relates to bankruptcy, led to their representation of more than 2,000 truckers who were unexpectedly laid off by Jevic’s 2008 Chapter 11.”

BAR ADMISSIONS & QUALIFICATIONS

Ms. Roupinian is admitted to practice law in New York and Michigan.
Ms. Roupinian is admitted to the following federal courts: The United States District Courts for the Southern District of New York, the Western District of New York, the Eastern District of Michigan, the Western District of Michigan; and District of Colorado; the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, the Third Circuit, the Fifth Circuit, the Eighth Circuit; and the Ninth Circuit; and the Supreme Court of the United States.
Member, New York City Bar Association
Member, National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA)
Member, Armenian-American Bar Association
Member, American Bankruptcy Institute
Member, Alliance for Justice (AFJ)
Member, Michigan Bar Association
Member, MSU College of Law Alumni Board

Education

B.A. – University of Michigan
J.D. – Michigan State University College of Law

AWARDS

Super Lawyers, 2014-2019

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

Publications:

2010 Co-Author with Jack A. Raisner and Michael Scimone: “Fair Warning for Workers,” Trial Magazine, August 2010
2008 Author: “A Practitioner’s Overview of the Deficiencies of the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act Twenty Years Following its Enactment,” The New York Employee Advocate, Volume 14, No. 5, June 2008
2008 written testimony, U.S. Senate’s Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee by Senator Kennedy (Chair) on the 20th anniversary of the WARN Act’s enactment, regarding the Act and its possible reform.

Presentations:

2019

Speaker: Class Action and Bankruptcy Convergence; American Bankruptcy Institute Southeast Workshop

2017

Speaker: Jevic – The Insider Story and the Impact on Future Chapter 11s; National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges
Speaker: How will Jevic Change Chapter 11 Practice? ABI’s Midwest Regional Bankruptcy Seminar

2016

Speaker: “WARN Act Issues in Bankruptcy,” 36th Annual ABI Midwestern Bankruptcy Institute
Speaker: “WARN Act Update: What Labor and Employment Lawyers Need to Know,” 53rd Annual Midwest Labor & Employment Law Seminar

2014

Speaker: “Seeking Your Recovery: Pre-Judgment Attachment and Bankruptcy”, National Employment Lawyers Association New York Affiliate

2010

Speaker: “The Financial Crisis: Impact on WARN Act Cases,” ABA Federal Labor Standards Legislation Committee Midwinter Meeting
Speaker: “The Financial Crisis: Impact on WARN Act Cases,” New York County Lawyers’ Association

2009

Speaker: “Economy in Peril (Part 1): The Legal Landscape for Addressing Reductions in Force,” American Bar Association teleconference
Speaker: “WARN Act Specialist Offers Advice About Layoffs Amidst Tough Economic Times,” Employment & Labor LAWCAST
Speaker: “Layoff Law,” Fairfield County Bar Association
Speaker: “New Causes of Action: WARN Act and ERISA,” National Employment Lawyers Association New York Affiliate
Speaker: “Reductions in Force in Both a Union and Non-Union Setting,” New York State Bar Association
Speaker: “Attacking Mass Layoffs,” National Employment Lawyers Association National Convention
Speaker: “Analyzing Employee Issues in Chapter 11,” Midwest Regional Bankruptcy Seminar
Speaker: “The Last Resort: What Labor & Employment Lawyers Need to Know About Bankruptcy,” American Bar Association

2008

Speaker: “Grasping the WARN Act through an interactive discussion addressing all the ins and outs,” Tonkins Employment Law: Termination

Rene S. Roupinian

Rated by Super Lawyers

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