The personal relationships I develop with my clients are the most satisfying aspect of my work. Even though it’s heartbreaking to work with cancer victims — most of whom are very sick and will at some point pass away — it’s my responsibility to help them because this is their time of true need. They were only doing their jobs, yet they fell prey to one of the asbestos cancers — and it happened because irresponsible companies chose to gamble with their health. They won’t get back their health, but as their attorney I can help give them peace of mind in knowing that their families will be financially secure. And I’m glad that I can make the process of suing less intimidating. Being able to make people’s lives a little better at a terrible time, that’s the aspect of being a lawyer that makes me most proud.

At Weitz & Luxenberg, Ms. Burshtyn has to date helped win for asbestos-exposure victims a combined total of $62 million in verdicts (in one case alone, $37 million on behalf of a boilermaker’s widow and a steamfitter’s daughter; in another, $25 million on behalf of a brake repairman). She also has helped secure substantial sums in settlement of a number of other cases (most recently, on behalf of 12 mesothelioma victims suing 50 companies).

A member of the American Bar Assn. and the New York Bar Assn., Ms. Burshtyn is admitted to practice law in the states of New York and New Jersey, privileges she has enjoyed since 2000. Ms. Burstyn received a juris doctor degree from Fordham University School of Law in 1999. During her time there, she was a member of Fordham Law Women and the Phi Alpha Delta International Law Fraternity, participated in the William Hughes Mulligan Moot Court Competition, and served on the staff of the Fordham Intellectual Property, Media & Entertainment Law Journal. Ms. Burshtyn is a 1996 magna cum laude graduate of State University of New York, Albany, where she majored in political science.