New York asbestos firm named to Best Lawyers list

NEW YORK - The U.S. News & World Report and peer review rankings guide Best Lawyers included New York asbestos law firm Weitz & Luxenberg on the 2014 list of "Best Law Firms."

Arthur Luxenberg, in addition to five other attorneys at Weitz & Luxenberg, was also included on the "Best Lawyers in America" List.

According to Weitz & Luxenberg's web site, the law firm "pioneered and almost singlehandedly shaped" the asbestos litigation to what it is today.

Its powerful grip on asbestos litigation was seen in July 2013 when the law firm won a New York record-breaking $190 million verdict awarded to five workers, three of which are deceased, in a mesothelioma lawsuit. The award is the largest consolidated asbestos verdict in New York history.

The men were steamfitters, plumbers and construction workers. They filed their lawsuit against defendant boiler companies Cleaver Brooks and Burnham.

The firm popped up in another recent publication, the American Tort Reform Association's annual Judicial Hellholes report, released in December.

Mentioned was Luxenberg's appointment to the Judicial Screening Committee in New York.

Luxenberg was appointed by New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver to the committee, where he has the power to review candidates for the higher courts and give his recommendations to the governor.

ATRA argues any judges aspiring to sit on the bench in higher courts must first go through an attorney that possibly passes through their courtroom regularly.