It’s inevitable—at some point in your life, you’re going to need a lawyer, and you won’t always be able to predict when that need will arise. Whether you’re starting a business or selling one, getting married or divorced, patenting your invention, litigating a contract, or buying a home—there is a talented and highly competent attorney listed in this guide who can help. Perhaps you or a family member is involved in an accident or accused of a crime. These are all serious matters forwhich you need first-rate legal representation.

The New York Area’s Best Lawyers® helps take the mystery out of locating a high-quality advocate to protect you, your family, your business, and all other assets. The exceptional attorneys listed in this guide are only those attorneys listed in The Best Lawyers in America®.

These attorneys were nominated by and voted in by their peers. Lawyers cannot buy their way into this guide. They must earn a spot through exemplary legal work that attracts the notice of their colleagues. To remain on the list, they must be at the top of their game, year after year. Best Lawyers, the leading referral list in the legal profession, and ALM, the nation’s leading legal journalism and information company, have teamed up to provide this invaluable resource for readers, whatever your legal needs may be. Lawyers in this guide are arranged by their legal specialty—from Administrative Law to Workers’ Compensation Law—which makes it easy to find the professional advice you need.

Keep this comprehensive guide available for those times when you need a first-rate advocate to assist you. The lawyers listed in The New York Area’s Best Lawyers are eager to help.

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METHODOLOGY

This list is excerpted from the 2012 edition of The Best Lawyers in America®, the preeminent referral guide to the legal profession in the United States. Published for nearly three decades, Best Lawyers® lists attorneys in 82 practice areas, representing all 50 states and the District of Columbia, who have been chosen through an exhaustive survey in which thousands of the nation’s top lawyers confidentially evaluate their professional peers. The 2012 edition of Best Lawyers, which will be published December 2011, is based on more than 3.9 million evaluations of lawyers by other lawyers.

The method used to compile Best Lawyers remains unchanged since the first edition was compiled more than 28 years ago. Lawyers are chosen for inclusion based solely on a vote of their peers. Listings cannot be bought, and no purchase is required to be included. In this regard, Best Lawyers remains the gold standard of reliability and integrity in lawyer ratings. The nomination pool for the 2012 edition consisted of all lawyers whose names appeared in the previous edition of Best Lawyers, lawyers who were nominated since the previous survey, and new nominees solicited from listed attorneys. In general, lawyers were asked to vote only on nominees in their own practice area in their own jurisdiction. Lawyers in closely related practice areas were asked to vote across practice areas, as were lawyers in smaller jurisdictions. Where practice areas are national or international in nature, lawyers were asked to vote nationally as well as locally. Voting lawyers were also given an opportunity to offer more detailed comments on nominees.

Voting lawyers were provided this general guideline for determining if a nominee should be listed: “If you had a close friend or relative who needed a real estate lawyer (for example), and you could not handle the case yourself, to whom would you refer them?” All votes and comments were solicited with a guarantee of confidentiality—a critical factor in the viability and validity of Best Lawyers surveys. To ensure the rigor of the selection process, lawyers were urged to use only their highest standards when voting, and to evaluate each nominee based only on his or her individual merits. The additional comments were used to make more accurate comparisons between voting patterns and weight votes accordingly. Best Lawyers uses various methodological tools to identify and correct for anomalies in both the nomination and voting process.

Ultimately, of course, a lawyer’s inclusion is based on the subjective judgments of his or her fellow attorneys. While it is true that the lists may at times disproportionately reward visibility or popularity, the breadth of the survey, the candor of the respondents, and the sophistication of the polling methodology largely correct for any biases. For all these reasons, Best Lawyers lists continue to represent the most reliable, accurate and useful guide to the legal profession in the United States.

Best Lawyers lists are available at www.bestlawyers.com. “Best Lawyers” and “The Best Lawyers in America” are registered trademarks of Woodward/White, Inc.

Woodward/White, Inc. has used its best efforts in assembling material for this list but does not warrant that the information contained herein is complete or accurate. Neither Woodward/ White, Inc. nor ALM Media, LLC (or either party’s affiliates, employees, officers, directors, or agents) assumes, and both parties hereby disclaim, any liability to any person for any loss or damage caused by errors or omissions herein, whether such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident or any other cause. This magazine includes paid attorney advertising. Consumers should contact the state bar for verification and additional information prior to securing the legal services of any attorney. For more information, see www.bestlawyers.com. The 2012 edition of The Best Lawyers in America® is available from the publisher. For information, call 803-648-0300; write 129 First Avenue, Aiken, SC 29801; e-mail info@bestlawyers.com; or visit www.bestlawyers.com. “The Best Lawyers in America” and “Best Lawyers” are registered trademarks of Woodward/White, Inc. “ALM” is a trademark of ALM Media Properties, LLC.