--- title: "Lewis A. Kaplan | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/lewis-a-kaplan" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # Lewis A. Kaplan U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York · Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York - State: New York - Role: Judge - Service status: senior - Last verified: 2026-07-25 ## Summary Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## Biography ### Professional career - Judge, District Court, S.D. New York, 1994-2011 - Nominated by President Bill Clinton on May 5, 1994, to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, filling the seat vacated by Judge Gerard Louis Goettel - After law school, Kaplan clerked for Judge Edward McEntee of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit from 1969 to 1970, before entering private practice in New York City, where he became a partner at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison in 1977 - Law clerk, Hon. Edward McEntee, U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, 1969-1970 ### Education - Harvard University — J.D. (1969) - Harvard Law School in — J.D. (1969) - University of Rochester in — B.A. (1966) ### Additional information - Member, U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, 2012-2019 - Kaplan assumed senior status on February 1, 2011 - Private practice, New York City, 1970-1994 - Special master, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, 1982-1983 - Lewis Avins Kaplan was born in 1944 in Staten Island, New York. - Date of birth: 1944-01-01 - received his commission the following day. - Organized crime and white-collar cases: He has handled federal racketeering cases involving Mafia members, art fraud prosecutions, and high-profile financial litigation, including Lehman Brothers retirement plan disputes - Donziger: Kaplan ruled in favor of Chevron in a major environmental case, barring enforcement of a $9.5 billion Ecuadorian judgment due to evidence of fraud and misconduct by the plaintiffs’ attorney - Birth place: Staten Island, NY ## Before you appear - Read the judge-specific standing order first when one is listed. - Check the docket and case orders for requirements that supersede broader guidance. - Confirm current remote-access and courtroom technology arrangements before the proceeding. ## Courtroom Rules ### civil remote testimony Scope: courtwide In federal district-court civil proceedings, testimony is ordinarily taken in open court; remote contemporaneous testimony requires good cause in compelling circumstances and appropriate safeguards. Evidence excerpt: For good cause in compelling circumstances and with appropriate safeguards, the court may permit testimony in open court by contemporaneous transmission from a different location. [Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-civil-procedure) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ### criminal recording and broadcasting Scope: courtwide Federal district courts may not permit courtroom photography or broadcasting during criminal judicial proceedings unless a statute or another federal rule provides an exception. Evidence excerpt: Except as otherwise provided by a statute or these rules, the court must not permit the taking of photographs in the courtroom during judicial proceedings or the broadcasting of judicial proceedings from the courtroom. [Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited](https://www.uscourts.gov/court-records/access-court-proceedings/remote-public-access-proceedings/history-cameras-broadcasting-and-remote-public-access-courts) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ## Sources - [Official profile](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1383061) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1383061) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1383061) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/1702/lewis-a-kaplan/) - [Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-civil-procedure) - [Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited](https://www.uscourts.gov/court-records/access-court-proceedings/remote-public-access-proceedings/history-cameras-broadcasting-and-remote-public-access-courts) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/1702/lewis-a-kaplan/) - [Judge Lewis A. Kaplan](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1383061) - [Wikidata: Lewis A. Kaplan](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6536236) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/lewis-a-kaplan", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/lewis-a-kaplan", "name": "Lewis A. Kaplan | KnowJudges", "description": "Lewis A. Kaplan, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Source-linked judicial identity, courtroom procedures, and presentation guidance.", "dateModified": "2026-10-09", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/lewis-a-kaplan#judge" } }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/lewis-a-kaplan#judge", "name": "Lewis A. 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Kaplan", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/lewis-a-kaplan" } ] } ] } ``` ## Federal civil docket activity Dataset updated through 2026-06-30. | Period | Assigned cases | Terminated cases | Median disposition (months) | Median sample | | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | | 1y | 67 | 11 | 0.5 | 11 | | 2y | 156 | 46 | 1.8 | 46 | | 5y | 441 | 297 | 4.1 | 297 | | 10y | 893 | 735 | 5.5 | 735 | Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/recap/ ## Published courtroom rules ### Shared court rules - [SDNY and EDNY — Joint Local Civil and Criminal Rules](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/ny-shared-set-201c11a4597834a9a953) — Federal district-court proceedings only. Civil and criminal sections have distinct scope and district-specific exceptions. Not Bankruptcy Court rules. [Official source](https://www.nysd.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/local_rules/2026-01-02%20-%20EDNY%20and%20SDNY%20Joint%20Local%20Rules%20As%20Amended.pdf). Collected 2026-10-27. - [Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, December 1, 2025](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-651872d6e45e0d82319ecccc) — Civil actions in United States District Courts; Rule 81 exceptions apply. Section-specific exceptions, waivers, later amendments and case orders remain applicable. This is a source excerpt, not an exhaustive statement of the rule. [Official source](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/federal-rules-of-civil-procedure.pdf). Collected 2026-10-27. - [Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, December 1, 2025](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-8721a344fececced2257fe1d) — Criminal proceedings in United States District Courts; this conservative mapping does not distribute appellate-specific provisions to appellate judges. Section-specific exceptions, waivers, later amendments and case orders remain applicable. This is a source excerpt, not an exhaustive statement of the rule. [Official source](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/federal-rules-of-criminal-procedure.pdf). Collected 2026-10-27.