Caroline McMahon

Caroline is an associate of the Individual Rights Practice Group in the New York office. She represents individuals harmed by corporate and institutional misconduct, with a focus on clergy sexual abuse litigation in New York and New Jersey. Caroline was a member of the trial team that secured a landmark $5 million jury verdict on behalf of a survivor, the first known jury verdict in New Jersey holding an entity of the Catholic Church liable for the sexual abuse of a minor.

Caroline also represents individuals in complex product liability cases, including the multidistrict litigation for Exactech joint replacement devices, which were recalled due to accelerated wear and premature failure.

Outside of her regular practice, Caroline collaborates with Lawyers for Good Government through the Reproductive Health Legal Assistance Project, providing pro bono guidance to reproductive health care providers.

Caroline is a 2022 graduate of Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, where she served as Senior Articles Editor of the Cardozo Law Review and worked at the New York State Attorney General’s Office, Children’s Defense Fund, and Bronx Legal Services. Prior to law school, she began her legal career working as an assistant to a probate litigator in Boston, Massachusetts.

Education

• Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, cum laude (2022); Cardozo Law Review, Senior Articles Editor (2021-2022)
• Boston College, B.A. in Political Science (2017)

Representative Matters

$5 Million Jury Verdict in New Jersey’s First-Ever Clergy Sexual Abuse Trial Against Catholic Church Entity
Member of the Robins Kaplan trial team that secured a $5 million compensatory jury verdict on behalf of a survivor of child sexual abuse, T.M., against the Order of St. Benedict of New Jersey, Inc., which operates the prestigious Delbarton School in Morristown. This verdict is the first known in the State of New Jersey against an entity of the Catholic Church for sexual abuse of a minor. The plaintiff, T.M., was a 15-year-old student at the Delbarton School in the 1970s when he was sexually abused by Father Richard Lott, an ordained priest and monk of the Order. T.M. testified that Lott took him to a New Year’s Eve party, supplied him with alcohol, and later sexually assaulted him in a building on campus. After a seven-week trial in Morris County Superior Court, the jury found that the Defendants—Father Richard Lott and the Order of St. Benedict of New Jersey Inc.—were liable for the sexual abuse of T.M. while he was a minor. Specifically, the jury unanimously found that T.M. was sexually abused by Father Richard Lott, and that the Order/Delbarton School had negligently retained and supervised the ordained priest and monk.

Civic

• Lawyers for Good Government, Reproductive Health Legal Assistance Project

Professional

• American Association for Justice

Articles

• American Bar Association, Appellate Issues: Winter 2025 Edition, "Mind the Gap: Steps Appellate Judges Can Take to Strengthen the Public’s Understanding of the Judiciary" (March 26, 2025)