Alan J. Stern spent the early part of his career representing doctors, hospitals, municipalities, school districts, manufacturers, and large corporations in personal injury cases: then switched sides, taking that institutional knowledge into plaintiff representation, and has now advocated for injured individuals and families for more than 35 years from his firm at 500 North Broadway in Jericho, New York.
Introduction
Stern Law Firm is located at 500 North Broadway, Suite 159, in Jericho, New York 11753. Founded by Alan J. Stern in 1992, the firm has operated as a boutique personal injury practice for more than three decades, representing clients throughout New York State in accident, malpractice, and injury cases.
The firm’s model is explicitly boutique in character: rather than distributing clients across a large associate staff, Stern Law Firm provides each client with individualized attention from experienced attorneys. The goal at the firm is maximizing recovery for every dollar pursued, an orientation that reflects both a client service commitment and a practical philosophy about how personal injury cases should be built.
The firm’s attorney team includes Alan J. Stern, Elyse J. Stern, and Kim DeMeo. Together they handle a focused practice in personal injury law across New York State.
Contact the firm at 516-294-2664 or visit alansternlaw.com/
The Dual-Perspective Advantage
Alan Stern began his legal career on the defense side, representing the parties that personal injury plaintiffs typically sue. His clients in those early years included doctors, hospitals, school districts, municipalities, manufacturers, and large companies. Before founding Stern Law Firm in 1992, he developed a thorough understanding of how defense teams approach personal injury claims, what arguments they make, what evidence they prioritize, and where they are most likely to challenge a plaintiff’s case.
When Stern transitioned to plaintiff representation, he carried that knowledge with him. Attorneys who have only ever represented plaintiffs know their own side of the table. Stern knows both sides. This is not a minor distinction in personal injury litigation: understanding what the opposing defense team is likely to argue, how they evaluate cases, and where they identify vulnerabilities allows for case preparation that anticipates and addresses those arguments before they arise.
This background is especially significant in medical malpractice claims, where defense teams composed of experienced healthcare defense attorneys regularly contend with plaintiff lawyers who may have less institutional knowledge of the defense perspective. Stern’s career trajectory reversed that asymmetry.
Practice Areas
Stern Law Firm handles personal injury cases across a range of accident and harm categories:
Car Accidents: Motor vehicle collision claims require establishing the other party’s negligence, documenting injuries and their consequences, and pursuing full compensation including future medical costs and lost earning capacity.
Construction Accidents: New York’s Labor Law creates specific protections for construction workers, including provisions that impose liability on property owners and general contractors for certain types of construction site accidents. These statutes are complex and favorable to injured workers when properly applied. The firm handles construction accident claims under both common law negligence and the specific statutory framework that governs construction work in New York.
Maritime Injuries: Maritime injury claims, including those arising on navigable waterways, aboard vessels, or in maritime work settings, are governed by federal maritime law and separate statutes that differ materially from standard state tort law. The Jones Act, for example, provides remedies for seamen injured through the negligence of their employers that are distinct from workers compensation. The firm handles these cases.
Products Liability: When defective products cause injury, claims may be brought against manufacturers, distributors, and retailers depending on how the defect arose and how the product reached the consumer. Products liability cases often involve complex expert testimony about design standards, manufacturing processes, and warning adequacy.
Medical Malpractice: Medical malpractice claims arise when healthcare providers fail to meet the applicable standard of care and that failure causes patient harm. These cases require expert testimony from medical professionals who can establish what the standard required and how it was violated. Alan Stern’s early career representing doctors and hospitals in malpractice defense gives the firm an unusual vantage point on how these cases are approached from both sides.
Wrongful Death: When another party’s negligence or misconduct causes a fatal injury, the firm pursues wrongful death claims on behalf of surviving family members. New York’s wrongful death statute allows recovery for the pecuniary losses suffered by distributees of the estate, and the firm works to document and establish those losses fully.
Workers Compensation: The firm handles workers compensation claims on behalf of injured employees, pursuing the benefits available under New York’s workers compensation system including medical coverage and wage replacement.
Slip and Fall: Premises liability claims involving slip and fall incidents require establishing that a property owner knew or should have known about a hazardous condition and failed to remedy it within a reasonable time. These cases depend heavily on documenting the condition, the notice the owner had, and the circumstances of the fall.
Attorney Profiles
Alan J. Stern founded Stern Law Firm in 1992. Before founding the firm, he represented doctors, hospitals, municipalities, school districts, manufacturers, and large corporations in personal injury matters. That career history gives him more than 35 years of total legal experience, with a distinctive dual-perspective understanding of how personal injury claims are developed and defended. His work in medical malpractice specifically benefits from this background.
Elyse J. Stern brings an extensive background in business and real estate matters alongside her experience as a trial attorney. This combination of transactional and litigation experience broadens the firm’s perspective on complex damages cases where business interests and litigation outcomes intersect.
Kim DeMeo is a partner at the firm, contributing to the firm’s capacity to serve clients across its personal injury practice areas.
Location and Service Area
Stern Law Firm is located at 500 North Broadway, Suite 159, Jericho, New York 11753. The firm serves clients throughout New York State.
Phone: 516-294-2664
Website: alansternlaw.com/
Client Focus
Stern Law Firm’s boutique model means that clients are not processed through an intake system and handed off to rotating associates. Each client receives personalized attention from experienced attorneys. This approach is more demanding of attorney time but produces a different quality of relationship, one where the attorney handling the case is the attorney who knows the client, the facts, and the legal strategy in depth.
The firm’s focus on maximizing recovery reflects a substantive commitment rather than a slogan: personal injury settlements and verdicts vary significantly based on how cases are documented, built, and presented, and the difference between adequate and thorough case preparation can translate directly into dollars recovered for the client.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does Alan Stern’s defense background matter to personal injury clients?
Having spent years representing defendants in personal injury cases, Stern understands how defense teams evaluate claims, what arguments they use to reduce liability, and where they look for weaknesses in plaintiff cases. This knowledge allows the firm to anticipate and address defense arguments during case preparation rather than reacting to them at settlement or trial.
Does the firm handle maritime injury cases?
Yes. Maritime injury claims are subject to federal maritime law, which differs significantly from standard state personal injury law. The firm handles cases arising from maritime work, vessel injuries, and other waterway-related accident contexts.
What is the firm’s approach to medical malpractice cases?
Alan Stern spent part of his career defending doctors and hospitals in malpractice cases. This institutional knowledge of the defense perspective informs how the firm builds plaintiff medical malpractice claims, anticipating defense strategies and preparing arguments that address them directly.
Does the firm handle both workers compensation and personal injury claims?
Yes. Workers compensation and general personal injury claims follow different legal frameworks. The firm handles both, which is relevant when a workplace injury may also give rise to a third-party personal injury claim separate from the workers compensation proceeding.
What does “boutique-style” mean in practice for clients?
It means clients receive direct, personalized attention from experienced attorneys rather than being managed primarily through support staff or junior associates. The attorney responsible for the case knows the client and the facts in depth.
Closing
More than 30 years of plaintiff-side personal injury practice, a founding attorney whose career began on the defense side of the same cases, and a boutique model that prioritizes individual client attention over volume: these are the defining characteristics of Stern Law Firm. For personal injury, medical malpractice, construction accident, maritime injury, or wrongful death matters throughout New York State, contact the firm at 516-294-2664 or visit 500 North Broadway, Suite 159, Jericho, New York 11753. The website is at alansternlaw.com/