Boutique Litigation Firm Tackles the Tough Business Issues, As Seen In Forbes
Boutique Litigation Firm Tackles the Tough Business Issues
Darger Errante Yavitz & Blau Excels in Mass Tort Litigation
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Growth merely for its own sake doesn’t appeal to Darger Errante Yavitz & Blau LLP. What does appeal? Growth that’s strategic and allows DEYB to continuously raise the bar on its client results and industry reputation.
And that’s just the kind of growth the boutique litigation firm is experiencing.
Founded in 2011, DEYB has built a national reputation for successfully managing and defending mass tort claims, product liability cases and other complex litigation, with a deep expertise in asbestos defense litigation. The four founding partners – Jennifer Wilcox Darger, Vincent Errante Jr., Judith Yavitz and Craig Blau – each worked for large international law firms before launching DEYB. They boast decades of collective experience in mass tort litigation.
One of the latest moves in the firm’s strategic growth and expansion is the decision to base an attorney outside of its New York headquarters for the first time – but likely not the last. It recently hired a trial lawyer with extensive experience, having tried scores of cases to verdict, who will be based in Chicago.
With nearly 50 employees, including 23 attorneys, 17 paralegals, nurses, and other support staff, DEYB recently expanded to a second floor in its New York headquarters building.
The firm is also taking on new clients within its specialty area of asbestos litigation as well as in other areas, including breach of contract, consumer fraud and premises liability, says founding partner Craig Blau. These new clients expand DEYB’s footprint in industries where it already has considerable experience – including building materials, automotive, electrical and lighting – and adds a new industry to its roster: retail.
One area where Blau sees a growing need is in litigation over talcum powder.
“We stay on the cutting edge of the legal landscape and recognized talc as one of the next big torts,” Blau says. “We assembled a team of lawyers experienced in handling that.”
In any area of litigation the firm tackles, DEYB works to build and maintain a reputation for sterling service. In the area of asbestos litigation, for example, the firm serves as New York City Defense Liaison Counsel, coordinating litigation in the city for dozens of law firms and hundreds of companies. It was also one of only two defense firms selected to train new judges in New York City on asbestos litigation. The firm has also been instrumental in helping to secure several high-profile defense verdicts in asbestos cases.
As a result, the firm has received annual recognition by U.S.News & World Report for Best Law Firms/Best Lawyers, by New York magazine as New York's Leading Lawyers, by Super Lawyers magazine, as well as being named Best Boutique Litigation Firm in the USA in 2016 by Wealth & Finance magazine.
As DEYB looks to the future, its commitment to diversity will guide its growth, says founding partner Jennifer Wilcox Darger. The firm was founded by two women and two men, and its current ownership remains half women. Half its attorneys are women, and its team includes attorneys and staff from diverse racial, ethnic, and religious backgrounds, as well as members of the LGBTQ community.
“Our people are our strength at DEYB, and we are committed to promoting a diverse and inclusive work environment as the firm grows,” Blau says. “Our team’s diversity of backgrounds and experiences leads to new and creative ways to meet the challenges our clients face, and to provide them with the best possible work product,” adds founding partner Judy Yavitz.