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Attorney Profiles

Shayne, Dachs, Sauer & Dachs, LLP represents individuals on Long Island and throughout the New York Metropolitan area in all types of personal injury,  and insurance law cases. Find out more about the firm’s lawyers by clicking their names below to review their personal bios:

New York area law firm specializing in all types of personal injury, and insurance law cases

If you or someone you know needs assistance with a personal injury, or insurance matter, contact the law firm of Shayne, Dachs, Sauer & Dachs, LLP for a free consultation with an experienced and knowledgeable lawyer. You can reach us by phone at (516) 747-1100 or toll-free at (866) 351-8524, or via our convenient contact form. Allow us to put our experience and expertise to work for you!

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Brian J. Sauer

Brian J. Sauer


Brian J. Sauer is a magna cum laude graduate of C.W. Post College (LIU) and a graduate of New York Law School (1978). After three years at the firm of legendary attorneys F. Lee Bailey and Aaron J. Broder, he went on to practice for five years at one of Long Island’s largest and most prestigious defense firms before joining Shayne, Dachs in 1984.

Mr. Sauer has been an arbitrator with the Nassau County Supreme Court Early Neutral Evaluation System, Nassau County District Court system, and the American Arbitration Association. He is a member of the Bar Association of Nassau County, the New York State and American Bar Associations, the Nassau-Suffolk Trial Lawyers Association (chairman 2001–2002), and a diplomate of the American Board of Professional Liability Attorneys. He has also lectured extensively for the New York State and Nassau County Bar Associations on civil lawsuits in general and labor law actions specifically, as well as on radio, TV, and before legal and civic groups and local high schools on various topics including “Insurance—What You Should Know,” “How to Choose an Attorney,” “How to Handle a Personal Injury Lawsuit—Discovery Through Trial,” and such additional topics as evidence and damages in personal injury lawsuits.

Mr. Sauer has also been a moot court judge and member of the mentor program for the Nassau County Bar Association. He was a member of the Trial Advocacy Institute Program at Touro Law School. He has also qualified as an expert witness in the Supreme Court of the State of New York in jury trials involving questions of labor law and the Civil Practice Law and Rules. He is also counsel to the Cold Spring Hills and Heights Civic Association and a Park Steward in the Town of Huntington, NY.

Mr. Sauer is AV® Preeminent Rated by Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Review RatingsSM, the highest rating for legal ability and ethics. ability and ethics. He has also recently been named and recognized as among “Long Island’s Top Legal Eagles” (Personal Injury Law) by Long Island Pulse Magazine.

 

Practice areas:

Jonathan A. Dachs

Jonathan A. Dachs


Jonathan A. Dachs is considered one of the leading authorities on insurance law and appellate practice (among other areas) in New York. A graduate of Columbia College of Columbia University (1980) and the New York University Law School (1983), he is admitted to practice before all New York state courts, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and the United States district courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York. He joined Shayne, Dachs in 1987, after spending the initial three years of his legal career at the distinguished New York City firm of Chadbourne & Parke.

Mr. Dachs is a member of the Nassau County and New York State Bar Associations, and a former member of the Board of Directors of the New York State Trial Lawyers Association. He was the 1995 recipient of the Outstanding Young Lawyer Award from the New York State Bar Association’s Tort Insurance & Compensation Law Section. In recognition of his “outstanding contributions to the practice of law in the field of insurance.” Most recently, he was honored to received the 2018 John E. Leach Memorial Award from the New York State Bar Association’s Torts, Insurance and Compensation law Section, in recognition of his “outstanding service and distinguished contributions to the legal profession.”

Mr.Dachs lectured frequently on such topics as Uninsured and Underinsured Motorists insurance, Dram Shop liability, legal writing, civil practice, and appellate practice before such groups as:

He has taught seminars on Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist insurance to Supreme Court and Civil Court judges from all parts of the State at judicial seminars and conferences, and has prepared the written training materials on that topic for judicial seminars for Appellate Term judges.

A prolific writer, he is co-author of a regular column in the New York Law Journal on “Insurance Law” and the author of a chapter entitled “Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Protection,” which appears in New York Insurance Law (LexisNexis/Matthew Bender & Co., Inc.), supplemented annually. He has also authored a chapter entitled “Uninsured Motorist (UM), Underinsured Motorist (UIM), and Supplementary Uninsured Motorist (SUM) Coverage in New York—Pre and Post-Regulation 35-D,” which appears in Weitz on Automobile Litigation & The No-Fault Handbook (NYSTLI). From November 1989 to November 1992, he served as co-editor-in-chief of the New York Negligence Reporter, published by Matthew Bender, and he has for the past several years been a regular contributor to the New York State Bar Association’s Trial Lawyers Section Digest.

In August 2016, he published a 500+ page treatise, entitled New York Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Law & Practice (Lexis Nexis/Matthew Bender), the second edition of which was published in August 2017. See book review and order form . In addition to the extensive collection of articles he has co-authored in the New York Law Journal, Mr. Dachs has authored many other published articles, including annual reviews of uninsured, underinsured and supplementary uninsured motorist case law in the New York State Bar Journal since 1994, as well as numerous articles that have appeared in the New York Negligence Reporter, Trial Lawyers Quarterly, and Trial Lawyers Section Digest.

Jonathan Dachs is AV® Preeminent Rated by Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Review RatingsSM, the highest rating for legal ability and ethics. In addition, Mr. Dachs has been named and recognized among “Long Island’s Top Legal Eagles” (Personal Injury Law) by Long Island Pulse Magazine , and has been designated a New York Metro “Super Lawyer” (Appellate Practice), as one of the top 5% of attorneys in the New York Metropolitan area since 2010.

 

Practice areas:

  • Personal injury
  • Insurance law/coverage claims
  • Appeals
  • Uninsured/underinsured motorists coverage
  • Civil litigation
  • Arbitration and mediation

Kenneth J. Landau

Kenneth J. Landau


Kenneth J. Landau is a graduate of the Bronx High School of Science (1973), Herbert H. Lehman College (CUNY) (1977) and Buffalo Law School (1980), and has been with Shayne, Dachs, Sauer & Dachs, LLP since 1982. A member of the Nassau County and New York State Bar Associations, he has served as past dean of the Nassau Academy of Law, overseeing continuing legal education programs for lawyers associated with the Nassau County Bar Association, the largest suburban bar association in the country. He has also moderated, chaired, and lectured at various programs on professional ethics, negligence law, and law office management, and is a two-time recipient of the President’s Award for outstanding contributions to the Bar Association. In addition, he is a frequent lecturer to community and professional organizations on such topics as “Anatomy of A Lawsuit,” “Choosing and Using A Lawyer,” “Protecting Yourself If You Have An Accident,” and “Give Yourself An Insurance Checkup.” Mr. Landau is also a past president of the Jewish Lawyers Association of Nassau County, Inc.

Mr. Landau is also a frequent contributor and author of a series of articles entitled “Negligence Corner” in The Nassau Lawyer, and is the host of a weekly radio show called “Law You Should Know” (WHPC 90.3 FM), broadcast every Monday at 4:00 pm, Tuesday at 12:00 pm, Sunday at 7:00 am, or at itunes.ncc.edu.

Mr. Landau is AV® Preeminent Rated by Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Review RatingsSM, the highest rating for legal ability and ethics. In addition, Mr. Landau has been named and recognized among “Long Island’s Top Legal Eagles” (Personal Injury Law) by Long Island Pulse Magazine.

 

Practice areas:

Neil T. Shayne

Neil T. Shayne

(1932–1998)
Neil T. Shayne, a founding partner of the firm and a beloved leader of the plaintiff’s bar in Nassau County and New York State, graduated from Brooklyn Law School in 1954. He served the public as chair of the Nassau County Democratic Judicial Screening Committee, and served the profession as dean of the Nassau Academy of Law, a member of the Board of Directors and chair of the Committee on Professional Ethics of the Nassau County Bar Association, a member of the Committee on Character and Fitness for the Second Judicial Department, chair of the Board of Editors of the Trial Diplomacy Journal, and a long-time columnist for the New York Law Journal (“Economics and the Law” and “Insurance and No-Fault Law”).

In addition, Mr. Shayne was a long-standing and valued leader of the Tort and Insurance Practice Section of the American Bar Association, serving as council member and chair of the Trial Techniques Committee, a was a valued member of the Professionalism Committee, the Plaintiff’s Involvement Ask Force, and the Long Range Planning Committee.

Mr. Shayne was recognized as a frequent, informative, and highly entertaining lecturer, and a prolific writer, who gave his time freely as a mentor to younger lawyers, and who promoted opportunities for women, minorities and plaintiffs’ attorneys within the bar associations, politics, and the judiciary.

He taught many courses for various lawyer groups, including the American Bar Association, Practicing Law Institute, American Management Association, and the Bar Association of Nassau County, and was an adjunct faculty member of the New York School for Social Research. He was chairman of the Board of Editors of the Trial Diplomacy Journal and is listed in Who’s Who in the World and Who’s Who in America. He authored many articles on personal injury, law office management and ethics and lectured in more than 30 states.

So beloved was Neil T. Shayne that after his death, the Lawyers Lounge in the Nassau County Supreme Court was named after him. He is greatly missed, but will always be remembered.

Norman H. Dachs

Norman H. Dachs

(1933-2014)
Norman H. Dachs was a founding partner of the firm. He practiced law for 61 years, having graduated from Brooklyn Law School
at the early age of 21, Mr. Dachs was admitted to practice before all New York state courts and the United States District Courts for the Eastern and Southern Districts of New York, and the U.S. Supreme Court.

Universally recognized as a premier authority on all aspects of personal injury and insurance law, Mr. Dachs was one of the original featured columnists for the New York Law Journal, and co-authored the “Insurance and No-Fault Law” and “Insurance Law” articles from 1973 to 2014. In addition, he was a contributing author to many books, including Schwartz, Louis E., Trial of Automobile Accident Cases (Matthew Bender, 1958); Making a Personal Injury Practice Profitable (PLI, 1972); and No-Fault and Uninsured Motorist Automobile Insurance (Matthew Bender 1984). He also served as co-editor of several legal publications, to which he also contributed lead articles, including Course Handbook, “Art of Evaluating Personal Injury Cases” (PLI, 1972); the New York State Bar Association’s “Trial Lawyers Section Digest” (1989–1993) and the New York Negligence Reporter (Matthew Bender, 1989-1993).

In 1978, Mr. Dachs was selected by the Superintendent of Insurance of the State of New York to be one of the original American Arbitration Association No-Fault Master Arbitrators, a capacity in which he served until his death. He has also served as a Special Professor of Law at the Hofstra Law School.

A highly skilled appellate advocate, Mr. Dachs has been involved in some of the most well-known, important and widely-cited cases in New York’s legal history, including the following:

  • Seider v. Roth
  • Figliomeni v. Bd. of Ed. of City of New York
  • Lalomia v. Bankers & Shippers Ins. Co.
  • Heitner v. GEICO
  • Nicastro v. Park

He lectured extensively at the following:

He also lectured at judicial seminars and various individual insurance company seminars on all areas of personal injury and liability insurance law, including no-fault, and uninsured and underinsured motorists coverage.

Mr. Dachs was AV® Preeminent Rated by Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Review RatingsSM, the highest rating for legal ability and ethics. Indeed, Mr. Dachs was specially recognized by Martindale-Hubbell for having achieved an AV rating for over 35 years. In addition, Mr. Dachs was named and recognized among “Long Island’s Top Legal Eagles” (Personal Injury Law) by Long Island Pulse Magazine.

Moe Levine

Moe Levine

(1908–1974)

Moe Levine is considered and remembered as one of the finest trial lawyers of his generation—incomparable in technique and unmatched in style. Educated at the College of the City of New York and Brooklyn Law School of St. Lawrence University, he was admitted to the New York State Bar in 1929. He continued to practice until his death in 1974. One of the original members of the Inner Circle of Advocates, he was also a fellow of the International Academy of Law and Sciences, and served for over ten years as a director of the New York State Association of Trial Lawyers.

One of the most successful trial lawyers of his day in America and one of the most sought-after lecturers of his time on trial techniques, Moe Levine possessed a gift of unequaled oratory skills and was a master of rhetorical devices. He had the unique ability to mesmerize juries, judges and trial lawyers alike. His love of medicine, wide readings in religion, philosophy and literature, and his deep and profound understanding of the human condition all came through in his speeches and writings, with awe-inspiring effect. Thousands of trial lawyers have listened to, or read, and learned from his model summations and lectures over the years, and continue to do so even now, more than 36 years after his death. Indeed, it has been said, “A trial lawyer who has not read Moe Levine is like a poet who has not read Shakespeare.” Many of Moe’s most famous lectures and summations have been preserved and published in a new book, entitled Moe Levine on Advocacy (Trial Guides, LLC, 2009). His work, which is as relevant today as the day it was written, continues to inspire, influence and educate the trial lawyers of today.