Litigator and Teacher Andrew Finkelstein ’91 Built an Impactful Career Based on Accountability

As a boy, Andrew Finkelstein ’91, the managing partner of Finkelstein & Partners, regularly accompanied his father Howard Finkelstein ’59 to “Jennifer’s Day Fair,” which offered carnival rides, food, fun, and, for one fortunate student, a scholarship.  

As Andrew explains in his bestselling book, I Hope We Never Meet, he eventually outgrew the rides and his dad finally revealed that the annual gathering had its roots in a family tragedy: 8-year-old Jennifer was killed after a New Jersey Transit Authority bus swerved, crossed into the opposite lane and hit her mom’s car on the way to school.  Howard, who always choked up after speaking to Jennifer’s parents at the fair, was their attorney. The settlement against the transit authority that he secured for the family provided funding for the fair and the scholarship, and—crucially --held the transit authority accountable, leading to the enaction of safety protocols to improve hiring and training processes.   

Because of cases such as Jennifer’s, Andrew describes himself as a “deterrence attorney,” one who, like his father, seeks justice for people who are hurt, and accountability from entities and corporations if their actions caused the harm.  For the past 11 consecutive years, Andrew has been voted one of the nation’s top 50 most influential civil plaintiff’s trial lawyers by National Trial Lawyers, and he has successfully litigated numerous wrongful death and catastrophic injury cases, securing multiple multi-million-dollar verdicts and settlements.  

Earlier this year, Andrew provided a $1 million gift to seed the launch of a new Trial Advocacy Center at the Law School, continuing a family tradition of generosity started by Howard, who funded a named scholarship at the school.  

“My dad went to Brooklyn College, then to Brooklyn Law. He was the first in his family to go to college and viewed Brooklyn Law as giving him the opportunity to succeed,” Andrew said. “After my father passed away, I continued contributing to his scholarship, but I wanted to do something more meaningful  that could impact more than one student here, and after meeting with the dean, we came up with the idea of developing a litigation program to help train students on what it’s really like to be a trial lawyer." 

The Trial Advocacy Center continues the family’s legacy of generosity and pays tribute to Brooklyn Law School’s mission to support practical training as the path to student success.   

“This transformative gift reflects Andrew Finkelstein’s pride in the opportunities that Brooklyn Law School afforded him, and his deep commitment to helping future generations of students who – as he was - are drawn to mastering the mix of art and skill that it takes to be a great litigator” said Robert Fairfield, Chief Advancement Officer.  

 

A BLS Family Tradition 

Andrew didn’t start out wanting to study law and instead studied business and marketing and was hired at a brokerage house. But he did not enjoy the work, and after deciding to go to law school, the next decision was easy.  

“There was just no question about following in dad's footsteps to Brooklyn Law School,” Andrew said. He took classes with some of the same legendary professors as his father, including Joseph Crea ’47, who taught nearly every class on the curriculum, Professor John J. “Jack” Meehan (Torts, Evidence), Professor Margaret Berger (Civil Procedure, Evidence), and Professor Richard T. Farrell (Civil Practice Law and Rules). He loved a Supreme Court Litigation class taught by Professor William Hellerstein who split the class into two and instructed each side to write briefs and give oral arguments about live cases that were going before the Court. 

Andrew also learned much about the law outside the classroom.  

“One of the greatest advantages at Brooklyn Law School is the proximity to the courthouse. I was able to go to court and just pop my head in and watch trials going on and get engaged,” Andrew said. “As a student I was a member of the New York State Trial Lawyers Association (NYSTLA) and was able to go to those CLEs, which I found insightful as to what it means and what it takes to be a trial lawyer.” 

Teaching and Supporting the Legal Community 

After graduation, Andrew immediately went to work at his dad’s firm, Finkelstein & Partners, and he later became managing partner at four other firms: Jacoby & Meyers; Fine, Olin & Anderman; Finkelstein, Blankinship, Frei-Pearson & Garber, and Diller Law.  

“The beauty of joining my dad's firm is I was afforded the opportunity, the day after I was admitted, to pick my first jury,” Andrew recalled. “Going to trial is like anything else. You need repetition and practice, and I had a wonderful opportunity to have that.” 

Finkelstein & Partners now has about 350 employees, including attorneys who have been there longer than Andrew with tenures of 30-, 40-, and 50-plus years. These longtime staff members are key to the firm’s overall success, said Andrew.  

For the past 20 years, Andrew has also relied on focus groups to assess how the way he lays out his cases would land with jurors, and considers it another pivotal tactic.  

“It's an opportunity to learn about your case, what the strengths and what the weaknesses are, and when you learn the weaknesses, how to embrace the weaknesses and make those weaknesses part of your strengths,” Andrew said.  

Andrew, who was named president of NYSTLA in June, now works to support membership through CLEs and various programs, and he represents trial lawyers at the state level on issues that impact them.  

Finkelstein also teaches trial lawyers through his role as a faculty member and executive chairman at the national nonprofit Trial School, and students through guest lectures at Harvard Law School, and recently Brooklyn Law School.  

In November, he served as a guest lecturer for a combined Torts class (one taught by Dean David Meyer and the other by Jeffrey D. Forchelli Professor of Law Amy Gajda), where he covered a range of issues for trial lawyers, including how to select a jury and the art of cross-examination.  

Meyer asked Finkelstein how he decides which cases to take on. Andrew said he immediately wants to hear from the would-be plaintiff: what did this defendant do to you? He holds great compassion for clients, who are often discouraged or looked down upon for pursuing a lawsuit. It goes back to what he learned from his dad at the fair.  

“You have to have empathy and be able to connect with people,” Finkelstein said. “It's not a lawyer skill. It's a human skill.”