Block O’Toole & Murphy Partner Daniel P. O’Toole has been named New York City’s 2026 “Lawyer of the Year” in Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs by Best Lawyers®, a recognition only granted to one attorney per year in each region and practice area.
Best Lawyers® is the oldest peer-review publication in the legal profession, and it has been a trusted source for lawyers and potential clients alike since 1981. Its thorough attorney review process was designed to accurately survey opinions of top lawyers regarding the skills of their peers.
Each year, Best Lawyers® receives over 13 million evaluations across 76 countries and 150 different practice areas. The top-rated attorneys in each region are named to the Best Lawyers® list, while the attorney with the single highest peer rating is given the prestigious Lawyer of the Year award.
About Daniel P. O’Toole
During his impressive 30-year career as a trial lawyer, Mr. O’Toole has tackled the toughest personal injury cases head-on. He regularly handles cases involving construction accidents, motor vehicle accidents, and premises liability accidents, taking on powerful companies and other entities to find justice for clients who have been unfairly harmed due to negligence.
In this pursuit of justice, Mr. O’Toole has returned some of New York’s most significant landmark results, including a $110,174,972 jury verdict for a paralyzed cyclist – the largest reported non-medical malpractice verdict in New York State – and a $32,756,055 verdict for an injured veteran, which is believed to be Suffolk County’s largest personal injury verdict. Last year, he also settled a case for $65,000,000, making it the largest published personal injury settlement in New York State history.
Mr. O’Toole also serves at the Co-Chairman of the New York State Trial Lawyers Association (NYSTLA) Labor Law Committee, which exists to preserve and enact laws that protect construction workers’ safety.
Outside of the courtroom, Mr. O’Toole contributes heavily to various charities and educational programs. He and Partners Jeffrey Block and Stephen Murphy have raised over $10,000,000 for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital at the firm’s annual New York City Wine Tasting event.
Additionally, Mr. O’Toole and his wife, Claire, are regular donors to The Institute for Educational Achievement in New Milford, New Jersey and Pony Power Therapies in Mahwah, NJ. They are also strong advocates for education access, having contributed millions of dollars to scholarships at Fordham University School of Law, Georgetown University, the University of Scranton, Boston College, and variety of New Jersey Catholic schools.
The Best Lawyers® Methodology
Best Lawyers® created its review process to assess attorneys through those who know their professional skills best: their peers.
Attorneys are typically nominated by fellow lawyers – they cannot nominate themselves or pay to be included in the review. Once nominations are submitted, current Best Lawyers® honorees provide feedback on the candidates in their region and practice area, ranking how likely they are to refer a case to the nominee. The more likely an attorney is to refer a case to the nominee, the higher the nominee’s rating.
Best Lawyers® then collects the feedback and conducts an eligibility check to verify that all nominees are in good standing with their local bar associations and ethics committees. This rigorous process helps ensure that only the most trusted, qualified, and reputable attorneys make the list each year.
Block O’Toole & Murphy Lawyers on the 2026 Best Lawyers® and Ones to Watch Lists
Block O’Toole & Murphy is proud to have 11 attorneys named to the New York City 2026 Best Lawyers® and Ones to Watch lists. Both awards recognize lawyers for outstanding professional work at a private practice.
In addition to Mr. O’Toole, our 2026 New York City “Best Lawyers” awardees include:
- Partner Jeffrey A. Block in Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs and Product Liability Litigation – Plaintiffs
- Partner Stephen J. Murphy in Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs
- Partner Joseph Donahue in Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs
- Partner David L. Scher in Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs
- Associate Christopher Soverow in Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs
Mr. Block and Mr. Murphy were previously granted the Lawyer of the Year award in 2023 and 2022, respectively.
Our 2026 New York City “Ones to Watch” awardees include:
- Partner Frederick Aranki in Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs
- Partner Michael J. Hurwitz in Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs
- Partner Christina Mercado in Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs
- Partner Joshua Stern in Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs
- Partner Pawel Wierzbicki in Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs