Mr. Kassirer is a Senior Partner who is based in the firm's New York City office. He leads a Practice Group that concentrates on complex cases, products liability (with an emphasis on foodborne illness and firearms litigation), professional liability, general liability, construction, environmental and toxic tort, and property loss claims.

Mr. Kassirer has extensive experience in foodborne illness litigation. In recent years, Mr. Kassirer and his team have been involved in the defense of nationwide litigation including such well-publicized outbreaks as the 2003 Hepatitis A outbreak involving Chi-Chi’s and O’Charleys; the E. coli O157:H7 outbreak involving spinach; and, most recently, the E. coli O157:H7 outbreak involving Taco Bell.

He has over 25 years of trial experience representing companies in high-exposure cases, both in the State and Federal Courts. In addition, a significant portion of his practice involves monitoring excess exposure cases throughout the United States. Case technical issues as regards liability include: sources of foodborne illness (e.g., trace-back investigation, DNA analysis, and microbial testing), biomechanics/injury causation, accident reconstruction, automotive engineering, mechanical engineering, firearms design, manufacture and distribution practices, cause and origin of fires, professional malfeasance/misfeasance; and as to damages include: the application of the New York Tort Reform Act, defending against economic loss claims, and defending catastrophic injury lawsuits, including, inter alia, traumatic brain injuries and paraplegia/quadriplegia.

Mr. Kassirer is AV Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell.

Bar Admissions:
• New York (1977)
• Pro hac vice in state and federal courts throughout the United States

Court Admissions:
• U.S. Supreme Court
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit
• U.S. District Court, Southern, Eastern, Western and Northern Districts of New York

Experience
Recent Lectures and Presentations:

• American Conference Institute’s 2nd National Forum on Food-Borne Illness Litigation – 12/4-12/5/08 – Who Pays? Apportioning Liability Along the Supply Chain
• China International Food Safety & Quality Conference – 9/24-9/25/08 – Legal Case Studies: How to Protect Yourself From Legal Liability in the U.S. Food Market
• 4th Annual Summit on Food Safety – 6/17-6/18/08 – Safeguarding Your Business Against Food-Borne Illness Suits – Legal Case Studies
• American Conference Institute’s National Forum on Food-Borne Illness Litigation – 2/28-2/29/08 – Current and Emerging Food Contamination Litigation – Trends, New Risks and Recent Decisions
• Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company Food-Borne Seminar – 9/25/07 - An Overview of the Defense of Food-Borne Illness Litigation
• Chubb Group of Insurance Companies – 7/24/07 - The Role of Excess Monitoring Counsel
• Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company Staff Training Seminar - 4/18/07 – New York Practice: Key Statutes in General Liability Cases
• Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company Advanced Casualty Seminar – 10/5/06 - Global Reach: Indemnification Actions Against Foreign Manufacturers or Suppliers of Defective Products
• Allianz Insurance Company Seminar – 5/25/05 - Frye and Daubert Admissibility Standards in New York

Recurrent Lectures and Presentations:

• Attacking Economic Damages in the Construction Industry
• Defending Construction Accidents under the New York Labor Law
• NY County Lawyers Assn. CLE - Annual Lecturer - Trial Preparation
• NY County Lawyers Assn. - Defending Damages
• Defending Traumatic Brain Injury Cases
• Proper Monitoring of Excess Files
• Defense of Elevator Related Accident Cases