New York Litigation · Appellate Strategy · Insurance Defense
Matthew Lerner
Clear strategy for complex, high-stakes New York matters.
I am a New York litigation and appellate attorney who helps insurers, claims professionals, businesses, and trial counsel evaluate exposure, preserve critical issues, and make better strategic decisions—from the earliest stages of a case through trial and appeal.
Professional Perspective
Trial experience informed by an appellate point of view.
For more than twenty years, I have represented insurers, property owners, manufacturers, contractors, businesses, and other organizations in serious personal-injury, property, coverage, and commercial disputes.
My practice combines practical litigation judgment with an appellate lawyer’s attention to legal standards, preservation, the record, and the consequences of decisions made long before a case reaches an appellate court.
Whether the assignment involves a dispositive motion, trial strategy, potential appeal, coverage dispute, or exposure assessment, my focus is the same: identify what matters, explain it clearly, and provide a strategy that can be acted upon.
The most useful legal analysis does more than describe the law. It helps the client decide what to do next.
Matthew Lerner
Core Practice
Experience where litigation risk and strategy intersect.
My work focuses on recurring issues that present significant exposure for insurers, claims professionals, businesses, and defense counsel throughout New York.
Appellate Strategy
Issue preservation, record analysis, appellate exposure, briefing, argument, and strategic consultation.
New York Labor Law
Claims involving Labor Law §§ 240(1), 241(6), and 200, including indemnification and risk-transfer issues.
Insurance Coverage
Coverage opinions, additional-insured disputes, priority, tenders, disclaimers, and declaratory-judgment actions.
Premises Liability
Serious-injury, property, snow-and-ice, notice, trivial-defect, contractual-duty, and risk-allocation matters.
Trial and Exposure Strategy
Motion practice, trial support, catastrophic-loss analysis, damages evaluation, and resolution strategy.
Who I Work With
Legal analysis designed for real-world decision-makers.
My role changes with the assignment, but the objective remains constant: provide useful analysis that improves the client’s ability to assess risk and choose a direction.
Claims Adjusters and TPAs
Exposure assessments, appellate audits, reserve insight, damages analysis, litigation trends, and practical recommendations for handling complex claims.
Insurance Carriers
Coverage analysis, declaratory-judgment litigation, additional-insured and priority disputes, risk transfer, and strategic defense planning.
Trial and Defense Counsel
Appellate issue preservation, motion support, record development, dispositive strategy, briefing, and appeals from start to finish.
Businesses and Property Interests
Defense of substantial injury, property, premises, contractual, and liability claims throughout New York.
Background and Credentials
Experience developed inside and outside the courtroom.
My professional background has given me a close view of how courts evaluate legal arguments, how records affect outcomes, and how litigation strategy can either preserve or compromise a client’s options.
New York Court of Appeals
After graduating at the top of my law school class, I clerked at New York’s highest court.
Appellate Advocacy
I have argued appeals throughout the New York court system and before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
Coordinating and Strategic Counsel
My experience includes serving as appellate coordinating counsel in one of the largest dental-malpractice actions in New York history.
Amicus and Industry Advocacy
I have authored amicus briefs for national legal and product-defense organizations.
Professional Recognition
In 2008, I received the Sheldon Hurwitz Young Lawyer Award from the New York State Bar Association for outstanding contributions to insurance law.
About New York Civil Law
Practical New York legal intelligence without unnecessary complexity.
New York Civil Law provides timely, focused analysis of New York litigation, appellate decisions, insurance-defense strategy, coverage disputes, Labor Law, premises liability, civil procedure, trial practice, and emerging legal technology.
Every resource is written with the professional reader in mind: clear enough to use quickly, detailed enough to support an informed decision, and practical enough to apply to an actual claim or case.
Claims Professional Resources
Litigation, coverage, exposure, valuation, and appellate tools created for claims professionals.
Appellate Strategy Resources
Preservation, standards of review, record analysis, briefing, argument, and appeal-readiness materials.
Appellate Exposure Audit
A structured evaluation of appellate risk, record quality, preservation, exposure, and strategic options.
New York Civil Law Podcast
Concise discussions of recent decisions, recurring litigation issues, and practical implications.
Connect
Looking for a clearer assessment of a difficult case or appeal?
Contact me to discuss appellate exposure, litigation strategy, New York insurance-defense issues, or the resources available through New York Civil Law.