Jay W. Dankner

JAY W. DANKNER was born, raised, and educated in Brooklyn, New York. After graduating with a law degree in 1973, he joined the law firm of the legendary Harry H. Lipsig, under whose tutelage he learned the ins and outs of civil litigation and trial. He tried and won his first case against General Motors involving a design defect within weeks of joining. Thereafter, he turned his attention to the emerging and developing field of law known as product liability litigation.

At age 25, he became a partner at the Lipsig law firm and soon founded and expanded its product liability practice. In 1994, after more than twenty years at that firm and its successors, he founded Dankner & Milstein, P.C. with Edward P. Milstein, who was the partner in charge of the Lipsig law firm’s medical malpractice practice.

Mr. Dankner has been a trial attorney in hundreds of cases, obtaining many multi-million dollar verdicts. He has also been responsible for many of the landmark product liability cases in New York State, both at the appellate level and before the Court of Appeals.

A member of many professional societies and organizations, Mr. Dankner has consistently been named a New York Super Lawyer (The Top 100), New York Area Best Lawyers, Top Plaintiffs’ Lawyers in America, The National Trial Lawyers-Top 100 Trial Lawyers in New York, Best Lawyers in America, and the Million Dollar Advocates Forum. He has received an AV® rating from Martindale-Hubbell. He is also a founding member of the Attorneys Information Exchange Group (AIEG) and serves on its Board of Directors.

A prolific writer and speaker, he has appeared over the years as a television commentator in the fields of personal injury and product liability litigation.

Now, as principal of Dankner Milstein, P.C., he and the firm continue to act as plaintiffs’ counsel in high-profile cases involving significant injuries and deaths in the fields of product liability, medical malpractice, and general personal injury litigation.

Practice areas:

• Liability for defective products
• Personal Injury
• Medical negligence
• Premises liability

Litigation Percentage

• 100% of the practice dedicated to litigation

Admission to the Bar Association

• New York, 1974
• Florida, 1974
• U.S. Court of Appeals, 2nd Circuit, 1975
• U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York
• U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York
• Northern District Court of New York
• US Supreme Court

Academic background:

• Brooklyn Law School, Brooklyn, New York
  • or Doctor of Law (Cum Laude)
• Brooklyn College
  • Bachelor’s Degree (Cum Laude)

Honors and Awards

• Top Ten Personal Injury Lawyers in New York, 2018 (for over 10 consecutive years) by the National Academy of Personal Injury Attorneys
• New York Super Lawyers, 2006-2024
• America’s Best Lawyers, 2007-2024
• 2014 Best Attorney of the Year – Product Liability Litigation, New York City Metropolitan Area
• AVVO Client Choice Award-2014
• Top 100 Trial Lawyers – National Trial Lawyers Association 2013-2020
• Top Lawyers in the New York Area, 2006-2013
• America’s Top Plaintiff Lawyers, 2007
• Town and Country, Best Lawyers in America, 1985