Attorney Highlight – Alexander Krasnitsky

My name is Alex Krasnitsky. I grew up in the City of Brotherly Love, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I work out of the Cherry Hill, New Jersey office of Mintzer Sarowitz Zeris Ledva & Meyers LLP.

What Is Your Background?

I went to undergrad at Villanova University College of Commerce and Finance, graduating with a degree in finance and a minor in accounting. I had actually decided to go to law school well before I went to college, sometime in my high school years. Immediately after college, I proceeded to Emory University School of Law in Atlanta, Georgia, receiving my JD from there. Upon coming back to the tri-state area, where all my friends and family are, I knew that I wanted to litigate.

I began working at a plaintiff’s firm doing litigation work, which is fantastic experience that I’ve been able to take with me where I am now doing defense litigation. It’s always helpful to know how the other side works and what happens on the other side. Shortly after leaving there, I worked for a law firm in Philadelphia, again, specializing in litigation, but it was more in the commercial setting. I then came to MSZL&M, where I’ve been at their Cherry Hill, New Jersey office for going on about 17 years, practicing insurance defense litigation.

What Areas of Practice Do You Focus On?

The areas of practice that I specialize in include premises liability, restaurant, retail and hospitality, including Dram Shop cases, as well as motor vehicle work including trucking, and commercial and private auto. Likewise, I represent defendants in various construction accidents and other construction related matters. And also defend clients in professional negligence and product liability cases.

What Is Your Most Memorable Case?

I was at MSZL&M, only about a year, a year and a half. We had a large brain injury case going to trial in what is still the most plaintiff friendly County in New Jersey. I was going to assist a much more senior attorney at trying a case, and I was going to second chair the case. That was my first real trial experience at the time. We tried a case for a number of weeks and at some point throughout the trial, my colleagues said that I was being very helpful and suggested that I take the direct examination of this expert, and take the cross examination of another expert, which at the time was a little unnerving. I like to think that I did well, and ultimately, we prevailed after multiple weeks of trial and ended up winning that case. 

One of the reasons the case is memorable to me is that a couple of years later, the case finally proceeded on appeal to be heard by the appellate division. My colleague who was no longer with the firm moved out of state. It basically fell upon me to do everything with the appeal. Review the brief of the plaintiffs, write the response to brief, and most importantly, again, as a still relatively young attorney, go argue the case before the New Jersey Appellate Division. Which again, was a little unnerving, but I remember the experience very well and I’m happy to say that we prevailed on the defense of that case at the appellate level as well.

What Do You Like About Being an Attorney?

One of the things I like about being an attorney is that it’s a very logical process and I really appreciate that. When we handle a case, we do it in a very methodical and logical manner. And then, we try to think, what little thing can we sprinkle into that case that maybe gives us a leg up on the other side? The fact that we’re doing things very methodically is what I appreciate. We can sometimes get a little emotional about the case, and that’s not a bad thing. It’s not necessarily a good thing in every case, but it is something that is favorable when it’s appropriate, and we can use it to our advantage.

Another thing that I really like about the practice of law and our legal system in the United States overall, is that, as my daughter says, in the olden days, people used to settle things with fights and duels. Whereas in today’s modern society, litigation and trial is the process by which we resolve disputes. I think a lot of folks who are not attorneys, maybe don’t think about that. I appreciate that that’s where our society is currently, and that’s really something that makes me feel good about being an attorney and doing what I do.

What Is Your Greatest Accomplishment?

I already mentioned a case where I tried as a young attorney and then defended on appeal before the Appellate Division as still a relatively young attorney. And that one definitely comes to mind. A couple of years afterwards, I got to try the first case that I tried entirely by myself. I’ll be frank – as still a relatively young attorney, especially your first trial or maybe it’s your second trial, and it’s still a little unnerving. It’s on your shoulders, and you have all the responsibility. I’m happy to say that I prevailed in that case. We received a defense verdict for the client and that case, and I remember very clearly the attorney on the other side of me, an attorney who I know, much better now and is senior to me, came up to me after the trial, and he said, Alex, you tried a very good case. That stuck with me and that means a lot to me. Along the same lines, there’s an attorney who’s not with us at this office anymore, who, some years ago said to me, Alex, you’re a very aggressive attorney. I’ve thought about that over the years and I like to think that I am an aggressive attorney. I’d like to think that I know when to use that element appropriately and timely, and really vigorously defend my clients.

What Do You Like About Living in Philadelphia?

Philadelphia is  just a fantastic city. I’ve lived here for most of my life and traveling is one of my favorite things to do. I love to travel to other cities and other countries, but Philadelphia offers many of the aspects that I always look for when I travel elsewhere. A lot of American history can be found here in Philadelphia, from the founding of this republic, and so on. We’ve got great culture and Art. The Philadelphia Art Museum is one of the best, if not the best in the country. I’m not the biggest foodie, but I know folks who love the restaurant scene in Philadelphia.

Have I mentioned the Philadelphia sports teams? Anybody who lives in Philadelphia will tell you that the Philadelphia sports teams are the best and obviously, they would be correct! Philadelphia has so much to offer. It’s a really great place to live, and a great place to raise a family. It is also fantastically located with New York being an hour and a half away, Baltimore and Washington DC being a little further away. So you can explore other parts of the Northeast very easily while living in Philadelphia and enjoying what that city has to offer.

What Is A Fun Fact About You?

I love to travel, I absolutely live to travel. Outside of spending time with my family, that’s probably my most favorite thing to do. I love to travel to and explore other countries, other cultures and really understand what they’re all about. I’m a huge car guy. I fix cars, I restore cars, I race cars. There’s really nothing about cars that I don’t enjoy. If anyone’s familiar with MSZL&M, you should be familiar with the MSZL&M photography calendar which myself and my partner Larry Sarowitz put together to send to our clients. Feel free to contact me for one now or towards the end of the year. This is a calendar of our photography, and we really enjoy doing that, both Larry and I. I realized at some point later in life that one of my grandfather’s who is unfortunately not with us anymore, that he was a photography hobbyist. I don’t think I knew this back when he was still alive when I was younger, but I’d like to think that love for photography, I got that from him.

I have a bunch of other hobbies. I ski, snowboard, and have been scuba diving since I was a young teen. That may all encompass what I’m trying to get to. What’s not in my profile is, I really love to learn, which can be explained by some of these hobbies that I just listed. No matter what the subject is, I’ll find a new subject that I find fascinating, and then, I’ll devote probably too much time to be frank, but a lot of time to learning as much as I can about it. That becomes a thing that I enjoy and understand and can refer to, for whatever reason, at some point in my life, so it’s just this insatiable thirst for knowledge. I just keep finding new things that I want to know about, and that’s been true throughout my life.

What Career Opportunities Are Available To Attorneys At The Firm?

As an attorney, who joined this firm very early in his career, just a couple of years or so out of school, who has been with the firm for about 17 years now, and who’s now the managing partner of the MSZL&M Cherry Hill, New Jersey office, I think I’m exceptionally qualified to speak about the opportunities available at MSZL&M.

First and foremost, people need to know that we are a litigation firm. People who come here, and people who work here are litigators. If you’re a young attorney coming in, that’s fine. We will teach you how to become a litigator. We’re not an office where you’re going to spend hours per day sitting and going through stacks and stacks of documents, and never being able to speak to the opposing counsel, or a client or a definitive position or see the inside of a courtroom for a motion to trial. That is not who we are. We are litigators, we are courtroom attorneys.

If you’re a young attorney coming in, and as I said, we will teach you what you need to know to become a litigator. If you’re a more senior attorney, then you’ll know how to do that. In a relatively short period of time of joining our firm, you can expect to be assigned cases for which you will be primarily responsible. That doesn’t mean you can’t come to myself or one of the other partners and ask questions or discuss or consult, but, you are going to be the attorney responsible for handling that case, you are going to take it through discovery, you’re gonna take it through depositions, arbitrations, and if need be, you will ultimately be the one trying the case. I think that’s a great thing. Any attorney who’s interested in becoming a litigation attorney, I can assure you with 100% certainty that MSZL&M is the place for you.