Attorney Recognition
Our law firm and its attorneys have been recognized not only for their legal skills and results, but also for using their knowledge and skill to build organizations that help the community.
NYC Lawyers Helping The Community
Big Apple Pothole & Sidewalk Corp
Big Apple Pothole & Sidewalk Corp was founded to provide the city of New York with the written notice of sidewalk, curb and crosswalk defects that is required by law to sue the city for injuries suffered in pedestrian sidewalk accidents. This has saved injured plaintiffs and their attorneys countless hours in preparing claims against the city. Because of changes in the law, the city is no longer liable in many cases involving injuries caused by defective and damaged sidewalks. However, the maps created are still being used in cases when defects in streets and crosswalks cause injury; the maps show that the city had prior notice of the problem, but did nothing to correct it.
Attorney Stephan H. Peskin is one of the founders of Big Apple Pothole and has been its elected president since 1997.
Trial Lawyers Care
Located across the street from Ground Zero, our firm helped create a nonprofit organization called Trial Lawyers Care, which provides free counsel to victims of the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. In this capacity, our attorneys have represented 18 victims without charge.
Statistics about Trial Lawyers Care include:
- More than 1,100 Trial Lawyers Care lawyers have volunteered from every state and six Canadian provinces, as well as England, Mexico and Australia.
- These lawyers have counseled 4,000 families from 35 states and 11 countries.
- They have provided pro-bono representation to more than 1,700 families who applied for federal financial help.
- They have dedicated a combined total of more than 100 years of service on these cases.
Attorney Stephan Peskin was instrumental in establishing Trial Lawyers Care.
Recognized By The Profession
Million & Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum
The Million Dollar Advocates Forum and the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum are membership organizations limited to trial attorneys who have won million-dollar and multimillion-dollar verdicts and settlements. Several members have won billion-dollar cases. There are 4,000 members throughout the United States, about 1 percent of all lawyers in the country. Membership in these organizations demonstrates an ability to accomplish outstanding results in challenging injury cases, including those involving product liability, professional malpractice and construction injuries.
Firm attorney Stephan H. Peskin is a member of both the Million and Multi-Million Dollar Advocates forums.
New York State Trial Lawyers Association
The mission of the New York State Trial Lawyers Association organization is “to promote a safer and healthier society, to assure access to the civil justice system by those who are wrongfully injured and to advance representation of the public by ethical, well-trained lawyers.” Established in 1953 as the New York Association of Plaintiffs Trial Lawyers with a few dozen members, today the NYSTLA is almost 4,000 attorneys strong, partnering with other organizations and lobbying to protect and preserve individual access to the civil justice system.
Attorneys Stephan H. Peskin, Matthew C. Lombardi, Shoshana Bookson and Christopher M. Seleski are members of the NYSTLA. Stephan Peskin and Shoshana Bookson are past presidents and have held other leadership positions. Christopher Seleski received an award from NYSTLA in April 2016 for his commitment and dedication to his clients and the organization. Matthew Lombardi currently serves on the Board of Directors.
- Stephan Peskin – NYSTLA Board of Directors Details
- Shoshana Bookson – NYSTLA Board of Directors Details
- Matthew Lombardi – NYSTLA Board of Directors Details
American Association for Justice
The mission of the American Association for Justice (AAJ) is to “promote a fair and effective justice system and to support the work of attorneys in their efforts to ensure that any person who is injured by the misconduct or negligence of others can obtain justice in America’s courtrooms, even when taking on the most powerful interests.” The organization, founded in 1946, has undergone several name changes over the years, but its purpose remains unchanged. A particular focus of the organization is to preserve the right to trial by jury and strengthen the civil justice system by providing education and information about issues related to public health and safety.
One of the educational efforts of the AAJ is Take Justice Back, a website that publishes stories that shed light on the struggle to preserve access to the civil justice system.
Attorneys Stephan H. Peskin, Matthew C. Lombardi, Shoshana T. Bookson and Christopher M. Seleski are members of the AAJ. Stephan Peskin is a longtime member of the organization’s Board of Governors and has held other leadership positions. Shoshana Bookson is currently a New York governor of the AAJ.
New York County Lawyers’ Association
Since its inception in 1908, NYCLA has been at the forefront of most legal debates in the country. The Association’s founders were and their successors are dedicated to the highest standards for the legal profession and the preservation of justice for all.
Attorneys Stephan H. Peskin, Matthew C. Lombardi, Shoshana Bookson and Christopher M. Seleski are members of the NYCLA. Christopher Seleski is co-chair of the NYCLA Young Lawyers Section which seeks to facilitate the transition of law students, law graduates and newly admitted attorneys into the profession by providing a comfortable forum for the exchange of ideas. He is also a member of NYCLA’s Law and Literature Committee and the Task Force on Records Destruction.
Super Lawyers
Super Lawyers is an attorney rating service based on peer nomination, peer evaluation and independent research. The goal of the service is to “create a credible, comprehensive and diverse listing of outstanding attorneys that can be used as a resource for attorneys and consumers searching for legal counsel.” Up to 5 percent of lawyers in a state can be named to Super Lawyers.
Super Lawyers also has a rating service for attorneys aged 40 or younger or those in practice for fewer than 10 years. Known as Rising Stars, attorneys who are selected for this listing represent only 2.5 percent of lawyers in their states.
Attorneys Stephan H. Peskin and Shoshana T. Bookson are listed in Super Lawyers; Matthew C. Lombardi appears in Rising Stars.
AVVO
The Avvo rating evaluates an attorney’s background based on the information provided by that attorney for the Avvo profile. The service also collects information from publicly available sources such as attorney websites and state and city bar associations. Ratings are on a scale from 1 to 10 (extreme caution to superb). Avvo rates 97 percent of all attorneys in the United States. Younger attorneys are more likely to have a lower rating than more experienced attorneys simply because there is less evidence about those attorneys’ background and experience.
Attorney Stephan H. Peskin has an Avvo rating of 10, or “superb,” in five practice area categories: medical malpractice, litigation, car accident, slip-and-fall and wrongful death.
