Gabrielle Tenzer > Hecker Fink LLP > New York, United States > Lawyer Profile

Hecker Fink LLP
350 FIFTH AVENUE
SUITE 7110
NEW YORK
NY 10118
United States

Work Department

Commercial Litigation; Education; Employment, Discrimination and Sexual Misconduct; Investigations and Crisis Management; Public Interest Litigation; Trials

Position

Partner

Career

Gabrielle Tenzer is a partner at Hecker Fink LLP.

Gabrielle represents a diverse array of commercial clients, including companies such as Citadel, WeWork, T-Mobile, and Uber in a wide range of civil litigation matters. She also advises clients on their most sensitive, high-profile investigations, from matters on the front pages to those that remain confidential. In addition, Gabrielle represents and advises colleges and universities in some of their most pressing legal challenges.

Chambers ranks Gabrielle as one of New York’s top commercial litigators, with their sources describing her as “like the calm in the middle of a storm,” “really solid even in challenging negotiations,” and “very diligent, very smart and good at balancing all the different factors that need to be considered.” She also has been named a Litigation Star by Benchmark Litigation, recognized by Lawdragon as one of its 500 Leading Litigators in America and 500 Leading Corporate Employment Lawyers, and named to the National Law Journal’s list of Employment Law Trailblazers.

Gabrielle is currently representing the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), North America’s largest transportation network, in challenges to New York’s nation-leading congestion pricing program. She recently secured the dismissal of breach of contract and related claims against client Columbia University in a high-impact litigation seeking millions of dollars in tuition refunds related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Gabrielle was also part of a team that conducted a comprehensive external review of gender equity issues in connection with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), focusing on the NCAA championships. The review yielded two published reports, resulted in the adoption of several recommendations by the NCAA, and was a precursor to a new broadcasting deal with ESPN valuing the Women’s Division I Basketball tournament at about 10 times its value under the prior contract. Since the firm issued its reports in 2021, viewership of the Division I Women’s Basketball Championship Final has more than quadrupled and in 2024, for the first time, more people watched the Women’s Final than the Men’s.

Gabrielle joined the firm from Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, where she spent more than ten years in the Litigation Department. During her tenure at Paul, Weiss, she worked on multi-billion-dollar commercial cases involving complex legal issues and extensive discovery. Gabrielle also represented some of the nation’s largest financial institutions in securities litigation, shareholder derivative suits, and adversary proceedings in federal bankruptcy court.

Gabrielle is a member of Hecker Fink’s diversity and inclusion working group and was selected as the firm’s 2019 Fellow to the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity.

Education

  • B.A., Yale University, 1992
  • M.S., University of Michigan, 1994
  • J.D., New York University, 2006

Lawyer Rankings

United States > Industry focus > Sport

High-profile athletes and professional sports leagues rely on Kaplan Hecker & Fink LLP‘s strong track record of handling contentious issues in the sport space, including gender discrimination and sexual harassment claims. New York-based Roberta Kaplan heads the practice and is an expert on commercial and public interest litigation, while Julie Fink assists clients with the implementation of anti-harassment and retaliation policies. Gabrielle Tenzer focuses on complex civil claims, and Shawn Crowley is noted for her expertise in national security trials.

United States > Industry focus > Education

The lawyers at Kaplan Hecker & Fink LLP‘s education practice are well-placed to represent educational institutions in employment, admissions, gender-based misconduct, and athletics-related Title IX matters. Assisting educational institutions with internal investigations into allegations of discrimination and misconduct constitutes an additional pillar of the practice. New York-based department lead Roberta Kaplan is routinely called upon by clients in the education, tech, and financial services segments for her contentious expertise. Also based in New York, Gabrielle Tenzer has significant experience litigating Title IX, student discipline, and COVID-related cases. Joshua Matz is the key contact in Washington DC – his areas of specialization include contract, fraud, and defamation disputes, as well as consumer protection and sex discrimination matters.