Michael Bottar | Syracuse Personal Injury Lawyer

Mr. Bottar brings more than 15 years of experience to the pursuit of medical malpractice, wrongful death, construction accident, and other complex personal injury actions throughout New York and the northeastern United States, with a focus on claims for birth injuries, neonatal/pediatric negligence, heart attack, stroke, brain damage, spine/nerve injuries, and liability under the Federal Tort Claims Act.

Mr. Bottar is a graduate of Colgate University and is a summa cum laude (top 2%) graduate of Syracuse University College of Law where he is an adjunct professor of law, authors the "Civil Practice" chapter of the Syracuse Law Review’s Survey on New York law, and serves on the law school's Board of Advisors.

Mr. Bottar has been selected by his colleagues for inclusion in the oldest peer-reviewed publication in the legal profession, The Best Lawyers In America®.  For the areas of plaintiff's medical malpractice, product liability and personal injury, he is the youngest attorney in central New York listed in Best Lawyers®, and is the only attorney in Syracuse listed in all three fields.  Mr. Bottar was honored by The Best Lawyers In America® as Syracuse's 2019 Medical Malpractice Lawyer of the Year, its 2019 Product Liability Lawyer of the Year, and its 2017 Product Liability Lawyer of the Year.

Mr. Bottar is regional vice president of the New York State Academy of Trial Lawyers and is a member of its judicial screening committee. He is also one of the region's best known speakers and has, on behalf of various bar associations, provided continuing legal education on nearly 50 occasions to thousands of attorneys in Syracuse, Albany, Rochester, Buffalo, New York City and throughout Long Island. In addition, Mr. Bottar has been invited to speak by the Association of Justices of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, and was selected to serve as a faculty member for the New York State Bar Association Advanced Trial Academy.

Every year since 2013, Mr. Bottar has been recognized in Upstate New York Super Lawyers®, a publication with membership limited to the top 5% of lawyers in each state, and was selected for its "Top 50" lawyers list in 2016, 2018 and 2019. He was named a 2016 New York Daily Record Attorney of the Year for his "professional accomplishments, exceptional character, integrity, ethics, and commitment to clients and community." He has achieved an AV® Preeminent™ rating from Martindale-Hubbell, the organization's highest rating for legal ability and ethical standards, and holds the title of fellow in the Litigation Counsel of America, a trial lawyer honorary society with membership limited to less than one-half of one percent of lawyers.

Since 2013, Mr. Bottar has been recognized annually by The National Trial Lawyers as one of the "Top 100" trial lawyers in New York State and, having recovered nearly $75,000,000 for his clients, he has earned life membership in the Million Dollar and Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forums.

Mr. Bottar is a past member and executive editor of the Syracuse Law Review, which published his note titled "Robbing Peter to Pay Paul: Medicaid Liens, Supplemental Needs Trusts and Personal Injury Recoveries on Behalf of Infants In New York State Following the Gold Decision." Mr. Bottar’s article, which addressed the complexities of personal injury settlements, has been cited as an authority by the Practicing Law Institute (twice), American Jurisprudence Proof of Facts, the American Law Institute, and the American Bar Association’s Real Property Trusts and Estates Law Journal. In addition to the Syracuse Law Review, he is a past member of the Syracuse University College of Law Moot Court Honor Society, and was inducted into the Order of the Coif, the Order of Barristers, and the Justinian Honorary Law Society.

Mr. Bottar began his legal career as a litigation associate with the New York City office of White & Case, LLP, one of the largest and most prestigious law firms in the world (41 offices in 28 countries), with professional highlights including representing a French bank on trial for fraud, advising Fortune 500 companies on various liability matters, and conducting Foreign Corrupt Practices Act investigations in Buenos Aires, Brussels, Paris, Hong Kong and Shanghai. Immediately prior to joining Bottar Law, PLLC, Mr. Bottar was a litigation associate with Bond, Schoeneck & King, PLLC, then the largest law firm in Syracuse, New York.

Mr. Bottar is also a founding donor in support of Syracuse University's newly-constructed law school, where the Lorraine and Anthony V. Bottar Lecture Hall is named in memory of his grandparents.  He was born and raised in Syracuse, New York, and presently resides in Manlius with his wife, Tiffany, a physical therapist, and their children.