Megan W. Benett Attorney

First Admitted: 2000, New York

Professional Webpage: https://www.kreindler.com/people/megan-benett

Bar/Professional Activity:

Mass Torts Litigation Committee (2021-2022 ABA Year), Aviation Subcommittee, 2021
District of Massachusetts
ABA National Institute on Aviation Litigation – Planning Committee Member, 2020
Faculty Member, American Bar Association, Annual National Institute on Aviation Litigation, 2019
Member, Criminal Justice Act Panel for the Southern District of New York
Co-Chair, American Bar Association, Annual National Institute on Aviation Litigation, 2019
Faculty Member, American Bar Association, Annual National Institute on Aviation Litigation, 2015
Senior Law Clerk to Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye, New York State Court of Appeals, 2005 - 2007, 2005
Bar Admission: Massachusetts, 2001
Bar Admission: New York, 2000
Bar Admission: United States Supreme Court
Bar Admission: United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
Bar Admission: United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
Bar Admission: United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Bar Admission: United States District Courts for the Southern District of NY
Bar Admission: United States District Courts for the Eastern District of NY
Bar Admission: Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Verdicts/Settlements (Case Results):

Boeing 737 MAX Litigation
Mumbai Terror Attacks Lawsuit
Continental Connection Flight 3407 crash near Buffalo, New York
BP Oil Spill Lawsuits
Saudi Arabia 9/11 Terrorism Case

Representative Clients:

34 families of victims of the 2019 crash of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 (Boeing 737 Max airplane) in Ethiopia. Appointed to Plaintiffs' Executive Committee for the Boeing 737 MAX 8 Litigation, 2019

Pro bono/Community Service:

Staff Counsel - Claims Resolution Tribunal in Zürich, Switzerland, adjudicated claims to dormant Swiss bank accounts that had been owned by victims of Nazi persecution, 2001
Member, Plaintiffs' Executive Committee, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 Boeing 737 MAX 8 Litigation
Public Defender with Legal Aid Society - Manhattan Criminal Defense Division (19 years), 2021

Educational Background:

Albert M. Sacks Fellow at the Harvard Law School Criminal Justice Institute, 1999
Stanford University, Stanford, CA, B.A.

Scholarly Lectures/Writings:

Kreindler Partner Megan Benett presented “Damages in Air Crash Litigation” at the 2021 Aviation Litigation Conference at The Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Washington, D.C., October 28, 2021., Presenter, Damages in Air Crash Litigation, 2021 Aviation Litigation Conference, Aviation, 2021
Faculty Member, American Bar Association 2015 Annual National Institute on Aviation Litigation
Faculty Member, American Bar Association 2019 Annual National Institute on Aviation Litigation
Today’s leading aviation law attorneys discussing the most recent developments in aviation law., Co-chair, National Institute on Aviation Litigation, American Bar Association, Aviation, 2019
Kreindler Partner Megan Wolfe Benett presented “Establishing Jurisdiction by Contract” at the 2018 AAJ Annual Convention in Denver, Colorado. , Presenter, Establishing Jurisdiction by Contract, 2018 AAJ Annual Convention, Aviation, 2018
Lawsuits against foreign governments accused of supporting terrorism present problems that are not routinely encountered in more conventional actions. Legislation to solve these problems has repeatedly fallen short of its goals. In light of the idiosyncrasies of terrorism tort actions, counsel for plaintiffs are well advised to think beyond the law, consider their cases in a historical context, and look for solutions that do not involve litigation., Co-author, Practice Tips: Finding Justice for Victims of State-Sponsored Terrorism, Los Angeles Lawyer, Terrorism, 2010
Steven R. Pounian, a partner at Kreindler & Kreindler, and Megan Wolfe Benett, an associate at the firm, posit a scenario where during an international flight, due to the airline's improper maintenance, the aircraft's engines suddenly fail and the plane pitches down toward the ground. If the pilots are able to restart the engines, saving all aboard, under the Warsaw and Montreal Conventions the passengers cannot recover for the emotional injuries sustained during the time that they believed - reasonably but, as it turns out, incorrectly - they were about to die. If the plane crashes, however, and the survivors of the killed passengers file suit, claiming damages for the conscious pre-death fright, pain and suffering experienced during the time that the passengers believed - reasonably and correctly - they were about to die, can they recover? And if so, why is a reasonable fear of death during an aviation disaster compensable only if the passenger actually dies?, Co-author, Recovery for Psychic Injuries Under Warsaw, Montreal Conventions, New York Law Journal, Aviation, 2009

Industry Groups:

Terrorism

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