John S. Crain

John S. Crain is a Senior Associate at Wigdor.

Prior to joining Wigdor, John clerked for the Hon. Chief Judge Roslynn Mauskopf of the Eastern District of New York. John was previously an associate at a prominent law firm in New York, where he worked on an array of transactional matters, including high-level executive compensation negotiations and related disclosures to the SEC.

During law school, John served as an intern for the Hon. Nicholas Garaufis of the Eastern District of New York and interned at the New York City Law Department, where he assisted with the litigation of various federal claims on behalf of the city.

John is committed to civil rights and antidiscrimination law both within and outside the workplace. He has published a law review article on Congress’ antidiscrimination enforcement powers and published a second article entitled “The Constitutional Tort of Shielding Criminal Wrongdoers in Violation of the Equal Protection of the Laws” in the Albany Law Review, arguing that prosecutors must face the same constitutional equal-protection scrutiny as all other state actors when deciding which crime victims to protect.

Notable Cases

• John has helped settle numerous cases in the range of $10,000,000-$20,000,000. One was a sexual assault case against a major Hollywood figure; another was a case of race harassment against a major corporation.
• Groundbreaking decision under the Ending Forced Arbitration Act, Delo v. Paul Taylor Dance Found., Inc., 4883337 (Aug. 1, 2023).
• Innovative litigation around New York’s new Anti-SLAPP law, which included winning a motion for reconsideration on the availability of compensatory and punitive damages in Kling v. Gillespie, (Apr. 17, 2023).
  

Education

J.D., summa cum laude, Brooklyn Law School

• Graduated 2d in his class after completing an accelerated, two-year program
• Awards for academic excellence in Civil Rights, Torts, Legal Ethics and Civil Procedure
• Faculty Prize for exceptional academic record and future professional achievement
• Writing team, Prince Moot Court Evidence Competition
• Staff member, Brooklyn Law Review
  

B.A., Kenyon College

Admitted to Practice

• U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
• U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York
• U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
• New York
  

Awards

• 2024, 2023 Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch
• 2024, 2023 National Law Journal Rising Star of the Plaintiff's Bar