Craig   Blau


Craig is a founding partner of Darger Errante Yavitz & Blau LLP. Previously, Craig was a partner at one of the largest international law firms in the world. He also chaired the product liability department at another major New York City law firm.

Craig has been recognized by his peers as one of the top-rated attorneys in the nation and selected to Super Lawyers® and Best Lawyers in America® in 2024 in the area of mass tort litigation. Craig has been inducted into the prestigious Marquis Who's Who of Top Lawyers, has appeared four times in Forbes and twice in New York Magazine for his firm's creative strategies in mass tort and product liability litigation, and was interviewed by Wealth & Finance International in 2016 when DEYB was named "Best Boutique Litigation Firm in the USA". Craig and his firm have also received the highest ranking by U.S. News & World Report - Best Law Firms - twelve years in a row.

Craig has nearly 30 years of experience representing Fortune 500 companies in complex product liability and multiparty mass tort litigation. He serves as national, regional and local counsel defending premises owners and manufacturers and distributors of consumer and intermediary goods and equipment, including building and construction materials, electrical products, automotive parts, molding compounds, safety products, and pharmaceutical products.

Craig has substantial experience with medical and other expert testimony and evaluation, and extensive experience with depositions and all aspects of discovery, motion practice, trial preparation, and litigation in multidistrict mass tort. His experience also includes crafting individual as well as complex group settlements, drafting case management orders for courts, consolidations and class actions.

Craig's firm serves as court-appointed defense liaison counsel in the New York City Asbestos Litigation.

Insights & News

  • Included in the 2024 edition of The Best Lawyers in America® for Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions
  • Selected to Super Lawyers® 2019-2023
  • Interviewed, Boutique Litigation Firm Tackles the Tough Business Issues, As Seen In...Forbes May 31, 2019
  • Interviewed, New York Magazine Leaders in the Law presents 2018 New York's Leading Lawyers, July 3, 2018
  • Interviewed, Award-Winning Boutique Is Best Known for Mass Tort Litigation, As Seen In...Forbes February 28, 2017
  • Interviewed, New York's Leading Lawyers 2017, New York Magazine
  • Interviewed, Best Boutique Litigation Firm - USA, Wealth & Finance International Magazine, July 2016
  • Interviewed, Success Breeds Success, New York Leaders in Law, February 2016
  • Interviewed, Creative and Cost-Effective Strategies in High-Stakes Litigation, As Seen In...Forbes May 6, 2013
  • Speaker, "Motions in Limine," HB Litigation Conferences 13th Annual National Asbestos Litigation Conference, October 7-8, 2010
  • Speaker, "Discovery/Pretrial Preparation," HB Litigation Conferences Northeast Judicial Forum on Asbestos, December 3, 2009
  • Book Chapter, "Limiting Product Liability and Addressing Mass Tort Litigation," Inside the Minds: Strategies for Limiting Product Liability, Aspatore (February 2008)
  • Interviewed, "High court agrees to hear product liability dispute: Drugmaker claims constitutional protection," Business Insurance (October 1, 2007)
  • "A Relief in Tort Law for 'Deep-Pocket' Defendants," New York Law Journal (Sept. 17, 2004), co-authored with Sandra Steinman

Experience

  • 2011 - Darger Errante Yavitz & Blau (partner)
  • 2008 - Reed Smith (partner)
  • 1998 - Anderson Kill & Olick (partner)
  • 1996 - Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom
  • 1994 - Law Clerk, Honorable Malcolm Muir, U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania

Education

  • J.D., Northeastern University School of Law
  • B.A., cum laude, State University of New York at Binghamton

Court Admissions

  • New York
  • New Jersey
  • Pennsylvania
  • US District Court, Southern District of New York
  • US District Court, Eastern District of New York
  • US District Court, Middle District of Pennsylvania

Affiliations

  • American Bar Association
  • New York State Bar Association
  • Defense Research Institute