SACKS & SACKS, LLP was founded in the years after World War II by brothers Ira and Melvin Sacks, who had served with the American forces in Europe. A third, younger Sacks brother, Stanley, later joined the firm as well. From its inception, many Sacks & Sacks clients were union construction workers, and the firm developed a reputation for achieving strong results for workers injured in serious construction accidents. In the Sixties, the Sacks brothers crafted statutory language that was adopted by the New York State Legislature in 1969 and signed into law, greatly expanding the protection construction workers were afforded under sections 240 and 241(6) of New York’s Labor Law.
As young men, Ira’s sons, Evan and Ken, learned a great deal about construction work and the dangers that workers in the building trades faced day after day. After graduating from Hofstra Law School, Evan and Ken honed their litigation skills while working for the Sacks & Sacks firm. Following the death of Melvin in 1992, and Ira in 2001, the twins assumed the leadership of Sacks & Sacks, and guided the firm as it achieved even greater success representing those who suffered job-related injuries, often at construction sites.
With their deep knowledge of the construction industry and the Labor Law, Evan and Ken were able to assure that the firm’s clients were represented in the most effective way. They worked with their experienced attorneys in preparing cases for trial, and with their trial lawyers to develop winning strategies. The result was a string of remarkable jury verdicts, including a record-shattering $86,000,000 verdict in Orange County. Some two dozen severely-injured construction workers obtained verdicts or settlements in excess of $10,000,000, including five that topped $20,000,000. There are few, if any, law firms that could achieve that level of courtroom success.
Over the years, Evan and Ken worked with the New York State Trial Lawyers Association to fend off changes proposed by industry groups that would have eviscerated sections 240 and 241(6). Sacks & Sacks also coupled their remarkable success at the trial court level with a string of landmark appellate court decisions, including Runner v New York Stock Exch., Inc., 13 NY3d 599 (2009) and Gallagher v New York Post, 14 NY3d 83 (2010).
Since Ken Sacks’ untimely death in early 2022, Evan has led the firm, and has demonstrated his commitment to assuring that the firm’s clients, whether through settlement or jury verdict, receive the highest awards that excellent representation can provide.
