Judd BursteinJudd Burstein was born in New York City on November 23, 1953, the youngest of six children, to the late Herbert Burstein and Nassau Supreme Court Justice Beatrice Burstein. Mr. Burstein graduated summa cum laude from Brandeis University in 1975 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. He earned a Master of Arts in Philosophy from McGill University in 1977, and received his Juris Doctor from New York University in 1981. In 1984, he formed a partnership with prominent defense attorney, Gerald Shargel. Thereafter, he served as Counsel to Burns, Summit Rovins & Feldesman, and as Adjunct Professor at Hofstra University Law School. He began his solo career in 1986.

Today, he helms Judd Burstein, P.C., a five lawyer boutique litigation firm. The philosophy of the firm is that litigation is, itself, a discipline that cuts across a host of legal specialities. In essence, Mr. Burstein believes that the ability to communicate with judges and jurors, the trial skill of cross-examination, and the ability to develop overall litigation strategy are skills far more important to victory than a specialty in a particular area of the law. Knowledge of the substantive law underlying a case can be easily secured by the litigator through study and expert assistance. In contrast, most litigators who specialize in just one area, such as patents or bankruptcy, simply do not have the breadth of experience or confidence in their litigation talents to make use of that talent and experience in a broad number of areas. Ironically, by the time a case comes to trial, Mr. Burstein, through the course of trial preparation, necessarily secures the very knowledge and experience he did not possess at the time of his retention. As a result of his approach to practice, Mr. Burstein has significant experience in certain types of litigation, which include complex commercial litigation (including the civil RICO statute), sports and entertainment litigation, matrimonial litigation and white collar criminal litigation.

Over the years, Mr. Burstein's belief that litigation skills trump specialized knowledge of one area of the law has led to his serving successfully as trial counsel throughout the country in litigations and arbitrations involving defamation, negligence, the airline industry, bankruptcy fraud, securities fraud, white collar crime, intellectual property, divorce, breach of fiduciary duty, breach of contract, provenance of art works, the music industry, the sport of boxing, architectural malpractice, real estate construction and civil racketeering.

Three examples help make the point:

  • In 2007, Burstein, who had never represented a client in a construction dispute, won a $2,000,000 jury verdict and also secured approximately $2,000,000 in settlements with other defendants on claims arising from the faulty design and construction of an apartment building.
  • Commencing in 2003, Mr. Burstein, who had no prior experience with the New York City Charter, successfully represented the Comptroller of the City of New York in a landmark case where two Courts have now ruled that the City Charter requires the New York City Mayor to submit proposed agreements involving the use of the City's intellectual property for public review.
  • In 2002, Mr. Burstein, who had never tried a defamation case previously, won a substantial six figure verdict for a public figure. In a post-trial decision, the federal Trial Judge who presided over the case observed, with respect to a key issue in the case, "Burstein seized on the issue masterfully. Burstein was even more effective during his summation."

Judd Burstein is admitted to practice in the following courts:

  • All Courts of New York State
  • U.S. District Court, Eastern, Southern, and Northern Districts of New York
  • U.S. District Court, District of Columbia
  • U.S. District Court, District of Connecticut
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, 2nd Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, 3rd Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, 4th Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, 6th Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, 7th Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, 10th Circuit
  • U.S. Supreme Court
  • U.S. Tax Court