Rachel L. Shkolnik

Bar Admissions

• New York

Education

• St. Thomas University School of Law, J.D.
• The University of Georgia, B.A.

Awards and Honors

• Lawyers of Distinction, Recognizing Excellence in Personal Injury Law, 2020
• Nationally Ranked Top 10 Under 40, National Academy of Personal Injury Attorneys ( NAOPIA), 2020
• New York Metro Super Lawyers®, Rising Stars, 2019-2023
• Top Attorneys 2020, Outstanding Young Women Lawyers in the New York Metro Area

Professional affiliations

• American Association for Justice
• Brooklyn Women’s Bar Association (BWBA)
• New York State Trial Lawyers Association
• New York Bar Association

Publications

• Elmiron Litigation: Emerging Torts, Mass Tort News (May 27, 2020)
• Anatomy of a Personal Injury Lawsuit, Co-author along with Attorney, Julie Kane, a Direct Examination Chapter pending publication

Speaking Engagements

• Panelist, Hot Topics: Elmiron, Paraquat, Paragard, Asbestos, Southern Baptist, Mass Torts Puerto Rico (May 4, 2023)
• Featured Speaker, HarrisMartin’s Webinar Series: The Elmiron MDL – Hear from the Leadership Counsel (March 5, 2021)
• Presenter, Mass Tort Webinar: Elmiron, CAMG January Webinar Series (January 21, 2021)
• Presenter, “Elmiron Eye Damage Litigation”, HarrisMartin’s Webinar Series (October 28, 2020)
• Speaker, “Elmiron: Legal Optics and Overview”, CAMG Webinar (May 13, 2020)

Media Appearances

Meet The Diverse Set Of Attorneys Leading The Elmiron MDL, Law360 (January 27, 2021)

Diverse Atty Group Proposed As Lead Counsel In Elmiron MDL, Law360 (January 14, 2021)

NJ’s the Place For Eye Damage MDL, Patients Say, Law360 (September 25, 2020)

Napoli Shkolnik PLLC and Levy Konigsberg LLP File Elmiron Lawsuit Alleging Failure to Warn On Behalf of “Patient Zero” in Published Eye Injury Study

As Covered By:

Court Appointments

• Plaintiffs’ Executive Steering Committee, In re: Elmiron (Pentosan Polysulfate Sodium) Products Liability Litigation, case number 2:20-md-02973, in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey

Pro Bono

• As non-certified Legal Intern at Miami-Dade Public Defender’s Office, Rachel worked with assistant public defenders in the Domestic Representation Unit; assisted with bond hearings, arraignments, soundings, trials, and court calendar; interviewed clients, witnesses, and victims; conversed with Spanish speaking clients; and researched and drafted motions.
• As a judicial intern to the Honorable Judge Jorge E. Cueto Rachel attended daily motion calendar and trials in the Civil Division, offered advisory opinions to matters before motion calendar, and discussed trial with judge and staff.

Other Experience

• As a certified legal intern, Rachel appeared in court under the supervision of licensed attorneys to represent indigent clients for change of pleas, arraignment, sounding, preliminary hearings; wrote and argued motions; direct examined witnesses during motion hearings; maintained trial matrix; and wrote memoranda for several legal issues.
• Rachel was a law clerk at Colson Hicks Eidson where she drafted pleadings, pretrial motions and other legal memoranda in a variety of complex litigation cases; attended a trial, deposition, and mediation; researched and wrote legal memoranda for several litigations on issues including wrongful death claims, Chinese drywall, corporate law, and workers compensation. Furthermore, she had the unique opportunity to co-author along with Attorney, Julie Kane, a Direct Examination Chapter pending publication in a book.
• Prior to attending law school Rachel was a paralegal for Weitz & Luxenberg, P.C. where she was responsible for all aspects of a mass tort products liability litigation; prepared document binders; worked on document review; prepared trial attorneys for depositions; performed medical research; analyzed all potential clients’ medical records to determine their cases whether they met litigation requirements; organized deposition schedules; as well as scheduled and prepared attorneys for client, doctor, and witness depositions.