Sanford Rubenstein

Attorney Sanford Rubenstein, recently featured in a cover story in “Resident” magazine, in which he was described as “A Champion for The People,” is one of New York’s most sought after advocates for victim’s rights in personal injury, medical malpractice and civil rights matters. Described by the Melvin Belli Society of ATLA as one of the Nation’s top trial lawyers, he has been described by New York Post’s Page Six as “a high powered personal injury lawyer,” and by the New York Daily News as a “famed attorney”. He has also been called a “legend” by television personality Wendy Williams. In 2019, he was named as one of New York State’s most influential lawyers by City & State New York Magazine.

Rubenstein has handled numerous multi-million dollar high profile cases in which he has represented victims in tragic occurrences in New York City, including the police torture of Abner Louima, who was sodomized by a New York City police officer in a police precinct bathroom for which he obtained a 8.75 million dollar settlement from the City of New York, and the fifty shot police shooting that killed Sean Bell the night before his wedding and wounded his two friends, for which he obtained a 7.15 million dollar settlement from the City of New York. He also obtained a 17.9 million dollar award for negligence and medical malpractice for a woman who suffered the amputation of her hands and feet and an 18.1 million dollar settlement for a college student who went into a coma and died after a botched hospital diagnostic test. In 2014, he and his malpractice team were successful in obtaining a 62 million dollar jury verdict against a Long Island hospital and its medical staff for the medical malpractice of a woman who suffered a bilateral amputation and hearing loss. He also represented the estate of Eric Garner in the early stages of the litigation against the NYPD. In 2019, he obtained a 3.3 million dollar settlement for the estate of Kalief Browder, a Rikers Island inmate who spent 400 days in isolation at Rikers, leading to his suicide. That tragedy was featured in a T.V. documentary series produced by Jay Z and was instrumental in resulting in a commitment by City Hall to close its Rikers Island Correction Facilities.

Appearing frequently on national and local T.V. News, he has been quoted in all of New York’s daily newspapers. Rubenstein has been a guest on Good Morning America, Good Day New York, Geraldo At Large, Inside Edition and Montel. He has appeared as a legal analyst on CNN, Fox and MSNBC. He was a regular panelist on the Fox News Show “Strategy Room” and presently is a panelist on the “Law and Crime Network”. Rubenstein has spoken at the Harvard Law School Criminal Justice Institute and Brooklyn Law School. The recipient of numerous awards, Rubenstein has been recognized for his work in social justice by civil rights organizations including, The NAACP, Black Lives Matter Greater New York, Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network, The Foundation For Ethnic Understanding and The Black Institute. He was the first recipient of the Johnnie Cochran Jr. Justice Award, an honor of special meaning to him as the late Johnnie Cochran Jr. was his mentor.

In 2016, he was elected to the Fellows of the New York Bar Foundation, an honor recognizing his career of outstanding professional achievements as an attorney. In 2017, he was named by the National Trial Lawyers as one of the top 100 civil plaintiffs lawyers in the country and has been selected and featured in the Top Attorneys of North America 2018 & 2019 editions.

He is the author of a book entitled “The Outrageous Rubenstein,” in which he writes about his experience as a media savvy trial lawyer fighting for justice and change. A profile of him published in the American Bar Association Periodical, “Minority Trial Lawyer,” described him as:

“Prolific, legendary, change-maker, and even outrageous are all accurate descriptions of the renowned civil rights attorney based in New York. Sanford Rubenstein. Rubenstein’s career has been punctuated by many heart-wrenching, high profile cases in which he has represented countless victims of wrongful acts. Yet, it is Rubenstein’s mastery of the trial outside of the courtroom – under the scrutiny of a jury compromising the press, the public, and policy makers – that sets him apart from other civil rights attorneys”.