Joseph M. Lichtenstein offers representation to clients in several boroughs within the greater New York City area as well as in Suffolk and Nassau counties. Mr. Lichtenstein focuses his practice on the representation of plaintiffs who have suffered personal injuries, with approximately 70 percent of his cases related to medical malpractice, 10 percent related to product liability and the balance involving general liability issues. His practice includes advocacy for clients who have suffered birth injuries or brain injuries as well as the representation of families in wrongful death matters.
Mr. Lichtenstein has successfully developed groundbreaking legal theories in medical malpractice litigation, including the first case in New York to have a hospital’s answer stricken based on spoliation of records – a concept that had previously been applied only in product liability litigation. Mr. Lichtenstein has also obtained the only appellate court decision in the United States precluding the defense of the maternal forces of labor (Muhammad v. Fitzpatrick, 2012).
Frequently invited to be a guest lecturer by various groups, Mr. Lichtenstein has spoken to numerous audiences on matters related to his practice areas over the years. He has given multiple presentations to the New York Academy of Trial Lawyers, delivered lectures at the annual convention of the American Association for Justice, lectured to both the Medical Negligence Group and Birth Trauma Litigation Group regarding Erb's Palsy litigation, and has written articles on medical malpractice litigation for the New York Law Journal.
After obtaining his bachelor's degree from the University at Albany, State University of New York, Mr. Lichtenstein earned his Juris Doctor, magna cum laude, from Arizona State University Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law. While in law school, Mr. Lichtenstein was an editor of the law review and inducted into the Order of Barristers. He was the only first-year law student to win the annual state wide jury summation competition, which he won again in his second year. He additionally won numerous American Jurisprudence Awards for the best grade in different classes. He won "Best Oral Advocate" and "Best Brief" in the Appellate Moot Court Competition and was additionally selected to represent the law school in the International Moot Court Competition. Mr. Lichtenstein was further named "Best Trial Advocate in the Graduating Class" and was runner-up for the award of "Outstanding Graduate" in his graduating class.
Mr. Lichtenstein was admitted to practice law in the state of New York in 1987. He began working for Olwine, Connolly Chase O'Donnel and Weyher, a 100+ attorney New York City law firm. In 1988, he joined Finz and Finz, P.C., and ultimately became its senior trial lawyer. In 1997, Mr. Lichtenstein founded his own practice, focusing largely on medical malpractice and other complex litigation.
An active participant in several professional organizations, Mr. Lichtenstein is a member of the American Association for Justice, the New York State Trial Lawyers Association and the New York State Academy of Trial Lawyers. Highly regarded by his fellow professionals, Mr. Lichtenstein has received a 10.0 "Superb" peer-review rating through Avvo.
