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Who

Slotnick made his name defending the seemingly indefensible, like notorious '80s subway shooter Bernard Goetz. These days he's a partner at Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney.

Backstory

Slotnick attended City College and NYU Law before founding his downtown firm, Slotnick, Shapiro & Crocker, in the '60s. He gravitated toward controversial cases from the start, but he only became a household name in 1984 when he represented "subway vigilante" Bernie Goetz who was accused (and later convicted) of shooting four black teenagers who attempted to mug him on the No. 2 train. Slotnick went on to rep plenty of other notorious perps in the '80s and '90s: There was Vincent "Chin" Gigante, a Mafioso affiliated with the Genovese crime family, as well as his brother, Louis Gigante, a priest who was also alleged to have criminal ties. Slotnick represented Bronx politician Mario Biaggi who was convicted of bribery and obstruction of justice, and Vyacheslav Kirillovich Ivankov, once one of the most powerful members of the Russian mob. Slotnick also took on the case of Abe Hirschfield, the nutty real estate investor who was accused of plotting to kill his business partner, Stanley Stahl. In 2005, Slotnick combined his legal practice with the much larger law firm of Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney.

Of note

In recent years, Slotnick has generally shied away from the messy, high-profile criminal cases he made his name with, focusing instead on comparatively tame commercial litigation, contract negotiations, and divorce proceedings. He represented June Gumbel in her divorce from Bryant Gumbel; Iris Cantor in her legal brawl with Howard Lutnick over control of Cantor Fitzgerald; and the late Anthony Quinn in his divorce proceedings. (Pleased with the result, Quinn sent Slotnick a 600-pound bronze statue as a thank-you.) More recently, Slotnick represented casino magnate Steve Wynn in his suit against Lloyd's of London, alleging that the insurer failed to pay for damages Wynn caused when he accidentally put his elbow through a painting by Picasso; in another art-related case, Slotnick defended Renaissance Art Investors, one of many parties to sue Larry Salander's recently-imploded Salander-O'Reilly Galleries.

He does some pro-bono work, too. Slotnick and his son, Stuart, have represented several servicemen who have sued the government to prevent their deployment to Iraq. In the nearly half-dozen cases the Slotnicks have taken up, the government has avoided trial and issued the soldiers honorable discharges.

Close call

In 1987, an assailant wielding a spiked club attacked Slotnick outside of his office. The attacker escaped on a motorcycle and the attorney suffered a broken wrist. Slotnick now holds a permit to carry a firearm.

No joke

Don't confuse this attorney Barry I. Slotnick with the other attorney Barry I. Slotnick. Yes, there are two of them. The other one is a partner at Loeb & Loeb where he chairs the firm's entertainment litigation practice.

Personal

Slotnick and his wife, Donna, live in Scarsdale.

For the record

Slotnick occasionally gets credit for coining the legal canard, "If the district attorney wanted, a grand jury would indict a ham sandwich," although disbarred Judge Sol Wachtler is also sometimes credited with the saying, too.