Hon. Ruth B. Kraft is an employment and labor law partner of Vigorito, Barker, Patterson, Nichols & Porter. She advises business organizations on the facts of employment law, including  wage/hour disputes, employee misclassification, employment policies and procedures, termination, and compliance with state and federal laws.  Her practice is comprehensive, covering business strategy as well as litigation before governmental bodies and in the courts. Judge Kraft has successfully litigated and settled  multi-million dollar employment class action suits, including prevailing wage, misclassification and unpaid overtime in the federal and state court systems, representing employers large and small in a variety of industries.

Prior to joining VBPNP, she practiced and chaired the employment law group at another New York firm after a long career on the bench, most recently at the New York State Department of Labor, with chambers in Brooklyn.  She began her career as an associate at one of the most distinguished law firms in the country prior to joining the faculty of New York University, where she was recognized for excellence in the teaching of law, business ethics and medicine.  She has maintained specialized interests in healthcare organizations throughout her carrier.

Judge Kraft holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree, Summa Cum Laude, with distinction in Political Science, from Queens College, where she was elected to membership in Phi Beta Kappa and was awarded a New York Urban Fellowship.  She is a graduate of the Yale Law School, where she studied under the preeminent luminaries of 20^th century jurisprudence.  Her doctoral thesis, “Informed Consent in the Treatment of Breast Cancer”, is in the permanent collection of the Sterling Memorial Library of Yale University and forms part of seminal research in the field of medical law. Subsequently, she earned a certificate in Alternate Dispute Resolution from Harvard Law School.  She is admitted to practice before the Courts of the State of New York, the United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York and the United States Supreme Court.

About Us: Matthew E. Rappaport concentrates his practice in Taxation as it relates to Real Estate, Corporations, Partnerships, and Trusts & Estates. He advises clients regarding tax planning and structuring for generational wealth transfer, commercial real estate enterprises, business transactions, and cross-border considerations. He primarily advises real estate professionals, financial professionals, and closely held business owners. He also functions like a subcontractor for other attorneys, accountants, financial advisors, bankers, and insurance professionals when they encounter matters requiring a threshold level of tax law expertise.