LAWTON W. SQUIRES joined MDAFP as a partner in 2022. Prior to joining MDAFP, Mr. Squires worked with the Nationwide Insurance Trial Division as a Director of Quality Assurance, Ethics & Training from April 2017 through November 2022. His duties included: the analysis and research of ethical inquiries from Trial Division members; the preparation of webinars, iDrives and on-line learning materials, job aids, practice guides and live classes for Trial Division associates; teaching attorneys trial practice and trial tactics at the Trial Division's quarterly Trial Schools; consulting on complex trial and litigation matters; and protecting Trial Division members from potential ethical pitfalls, that might arise in the course of their legal practices.
He has handled complex litigation matters from inception through trial to verdict in the State and Federal Courts for over thirty-nine (39) years. His practice has encompassed: commercial litigation, legal malpractice, products liability, labor law, construction accidents, premises liability, general liability, attorney and judicial disciplinary proceedings, professional malpractice, medical malpractice and motor vehicle accident matters. In addition to representing clients in the New York State and Federal Courts, Mr. Squires has represented clients before many of New York State’s regional professional disciplinary agencies including: the Departmental Disciplinary Committee; the Grievance Committee; the Committee on Character and Fitness; the Commission on Judicial Conduct; the Office of Professional Discipline; and the Office of Professional Medical Conduct. He has also served as excess and monitoring counsel for numerous clients and major insurance carriers. In September 2012, Seymour James, Esq., President of New York State Bar Association, named Lawton to serve as a member of the NYSBA Ethics Committee. The Committee is responsible for manning an attorney ethical hotline, for reviewing and analyzing attorney ethical inquires and the drafting and publication of the NYSBA Attorney Ethics Opinions that serve as an ethical guide for the State’s practicing attorneys. Mr. Squires has also served as the Managing Trial Attorney for United States Fidelity & Guaranty Company (USF&G), The St. Paul Insurance Companies and The St. Paul Travelers Companies in New York. He also has represented the Zurich American Insurance group as its New York City, Supervising Trial Attorney. In these roles he has managed New York City legal offices covering litigation matters in the City of New York and surrounding suburban counties, as well as supervised law firm staffs ranging from seven (7) to twenty (20) employees. As an Adjunct Professor of Law at The New York Law School, Mr. Squires has taught Trial Advocacy since 1990. He has also taught practicing attorneys as a faculty member of the USF&G and The St. Paul Companies, National Trial Schools and as a continuing legal education lecturer for the Defense Association of New York, the New York State Bar Association, the Bronx Black Bar Association, The Black Women’s Bar Association of New York and the Metropolitan Black Bar Association. Mr. Squires’ roster of courses includes classes on: Civil Trial Practice; Jury Selection; Opening Statements; Cross Examination; Effective Summations; Tort Litigation; Preparation for, Taking and Defending Depositions; Attorney Ethics; and Professional Discipline in New York State. Mr. Squires co-starred as the lead defense attorney, opposite the Hon. Catherine Crier, of Court TV fame, who played the lead prosecutor in The Media Center at The New York Law School's production of The Trial of Travis Bickle, from the facts of the Martin Scorsese classic film, Taxi Driver, starring Robert De Niro and Jodi Foster, on January 28th, 2008. The NYLS Media Center annually produces mock trials to advertise and publicize The New York Law School's Trial Advocacy and Clinical Legal programs. A graduate of The State University College at Oneonta, New York, and of The New York Law School, Mr. Squires served as a member of the National Mock Trial Team. He also was a member of the Executive Board of the Moot Court Association. Mr. Squires is a past President of the Defense Association of New York and has served the Board in an Emeritus capacity for over a decade. He is also a member of the Executive Board of the New York State Bar Association’s Tort, Insurance and Compensation Law Committee and also a member of the NYSBA’s Trusts and Estates Section. Mr. Squires also holds a certification as a Guardian ad Litem, and has also served the Courts and litigants and wards, in the roles of: Referee, Umpire and Guardian of the Property. Prior to joining Nationwide Insurance and Morris, Duffy Alonso Faley & Pitcoff, Mr. Squires was a Member of Herzfeld & Rubin, P.C. for thirteen (13) years. PRIOR EXPERIENCE - Herzfeld & Rubin, P.C., Partner
AWARDS - Mr. Squires holds the highest legal ability rating of “AV,” granted by Martindale-Hubbell. This is a professional rating awarded only to attorneys who demonstrate the highest professional and ethical standards.
- Thompson Reuters has also rated Mr. Squires as one of its Super Lawyers for over fifteen (15) years.
- Additionally, the New York Times has selected Mr. Squires as one of its “Top Attorneys in New York,” as selected by Peer Review and Professional Achievement beginning in October 2011.
- The Black Law Students’ Association of New York Law School has awarded Mr. Squires its Distinguished Alumni Award.
- The Institute of Jewish Humanities also has recognized Mr. Squires with its Lawyer of Achievement Award.
PUBLICATIONS Defense Association of New York Lecturer and Contributing Author: “Visualizing Your Cross-Examination, as the Foundation for Your Summation” – 2022. Lecturer and Contributing Author: “Navigating the Ethical Implications of Background Checks and Social Media Investigations” – 2021 Lecturer and Contributing Author: “Ethical Issues in Medical Malpractice Representation” - 2015 Lecturer and Contributing Author: “Understanding Attorney Professional Conduct and Misconduct” - 2014 Lecturer and Contributing Author: “Hot Topics in Ethics Including Use of Social Media” - 2011 Contributing Author: The Defendant - “Fred, The Breeding Bull and Its Affect on Dog Attack Cases” - Fall 2009 Lecturer and Contributing Author: “Jury Selection and Opening Statements” - 2008 - 2009 Lecturer and Contributing Author: “Defense of a Slip and Fall or Trip and Fall Case” - 1998 and 2003
Association of Black Women Attorneys
Panelist/Author: “Lawyering in the Technology Age - Ethical Pitfalls to Avoid” - 2015. New York State Bar Association
Panelist: “Annual Survey on Professional Ethics” - 2015 & 2016 Lecturer: “Basic Tort and Insurance Law Practice” - 2010 Lecturer: “The Examination Before Trial - Honing Your Deposition Skills in Tort and Personal Injury Cases” - 2010 Lecturer and Contributing Author: “Premises Liability” - 1996 Lecturer and Trial Practice Demonstrator: “Toxic Torts” - 1996
Metropolitan Black Bar Association
Lecturer: “How To Avoid A Grievance Complaint!” - 1987 - 1992.
New York Law Newsletter “No, No!!! Bad Dog!!!” “Intra-Family Immunity” “Liability in Elevator Accidents: An Overview” “Can You Rely On Plaintiff’s Co-Efficient of Friction Test?” “A Federal Practice Primer for Claims Examiners” “What Do They Want From Me? An Associate’s Guide to Success in a Law Firm.” “How to Avoid a Grievance Complaint” “Intra-Family Immunity” “Can You Rely on Plaintiff’s Co-Efficient of Friction Test?” IMPORTANT DECISIONS Mr. Squires has had numerous verdicts noted and published by the New York Law Journal and the New York Jury Verdict Reporter, including: - The Matter of Maija Dixon
- Valverde v. 41-45 FS Tiemann Place, LLC
- The Matter of Alan Steinmetz
- The Matter of Antonio Johnson
- Polanco v. Robert Kunz d/b/a Creative Carpentry
- Encarnacion v. Ballanca
- Busa v. General Snow Service and Costco Wholesale Corp.
- Herrera-Paz v. Mezzano Realty Corp.
- Adzer v. Rudin Management
- The Matter(s) of the Hon. Duane A. Hart, (1 & 2 - before The NYS Court of Appeals and the NYS Commission on Judicial Conduct, respectively)
- Fuller-Mosley v. Litemakers
- Perlmutter v. A. Colarusso & Son
- Amaya v. Trinity Church
- Giambanco v. Rankin Healy Memorial Association
- Dawid v. Stamford Livery Service
- Konshina v. Gorbunov, D.D.S.
- Gurvas v. Burg
- Novin v. Hilton Hotels Corp.
- Heller v. Lehrer-McGovern, Inc., et al.
- Kaczorowski v. Consolidated Edison, et al.
- Bahlke v. Glen Oaks Village Owners, Inc.
- Sharon v. El San Juan Hotel & Casino.
- In June 2007, Mr. Squires successfully represented a firm client and obtained a plaintiff’s verdict in the legal malpractice action of LaPorta v. Jurman, that included judgments for neglect and malpractice, in addition to a treble damage award for fraud committed by the defendant attorney, pursuant to Judiciary Law Section 487.
- In November of 2012, the legal malpractice matter of Okun v. Livoti was successfully resolved on behalf of the plaintiff who had been the victim of attorney neglect, misrepresentation and fraud committed by the attorneys who represented him in the dissolution of his dental practice.
- In June of 2014, Mr. Squires successfully resolved via mediation the New York portion of an international estate litigation on behalf of the plaintiff against his attorneys who were alleged to have committed fraud, breach of fiduciary duty and legal malpractice against their client.
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