She’d just turned her life upside down by accusing New York Governor Andrew Cuomo of sexual harassment. Charlotte Bennett, a former governor’s adviser, realized on a Saturday night in February that she had no idea what would happen next. She was 25 years old and had never been in front of the camera before. How would she handle the public and personal repercussions? She didn’t have much time to ponder.
Debra Katz, the same civil rights attorney who had represented Christine Blasey Ford, Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s accuser, as well as accusers of Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein and countless other powerful men accused of sexual misconduct, most of it with her professional partner of 20 years, Lisa Banks, sent an email the next morning. “How are things going with you? When they connected, Katz asked Bennett a question. Did she get any help or advice? Bennett replied, “Not really.”
“This case is why I do this work,” Katz explained, assuring her that she would be represented pro bono. “It’s why I’m here. Let’s get started.” Many people have experienced a pause, or at the very least a delay, in their professional pursuits as a result of the pandemic year. The opposite has been true for Katz and Banks. “This is most likely the most important year we’ve ever had,” says Banks. Their workload has risen steadily for nearly four years. The Harvey
Weinstein accusations in October 2017, which sparked the #MeToo movement, produced a “sea change,” according to Katz. “Not only were we bombarded with active cases, but we were also inundated with cases of folks who had been harassed decades ago but wanted to report the issues now since the harasser was still in the same perch,” she says. At any given time, Katz and Banks have several dozen active cases ranging from informal advice to full-fledged litigation.
They talk to each other all the time, starting and ending each day with a conversation and discussing cases on hikes in Rock Creek Park. They playfully call themselves Batman and Robin, according to Banks, although she is Robin because she is a decade younger.
Clients and associates describe it as a successful alliance – two very different personalities with common goals. During the Kavanaugh hearings, armed guards were stationed outside their residences and at work 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and their automobiles were searched underneath for bombs. They each attempted to explain why security was vital to their families without frightening the children.