Carol L. Schlitt:
Biography of a NY Personal Injury Lawyer
Carol L. Schlitt is an accomplished personal injury attorney living in Huntington, NY on Long Island. She is one of the best known woman attorney's in the personal injury field. Managing a solo practice, Carol has experience working as an attorney for the City of New York and in a private Manhattan law firm. She is married to Mark X. Cronin and they have three children, all boys, ranging in age for 14 – 20.
Growing Up
Born in Roselle, New Jersey, Carol grew
up in Montrose in Westchester County, New York. Her father worked
for IBM and other computer consulting businesses: her mother worked
for YAI, in a program that worked with the developmentally disabled.
Carol also worked with the developmentally disabled as a teenager.
She earned her undergraduate degree from the
College of the
Holy Cross (Worcester, Massachusetts) and her law degree from
St. John’s University.
Cutting Her Teeth at the New York City Law Department
Carol joined the
New York City Law Department while still in law school and
worked there from 1984 through 1991. During her tenure, Carol
handled the most complex and difficult cases. Her trial work saved
New York City hundreds of millions of dollars and her cases were
covered by the
New York Times, the
New York Post,
and the
New York Daily News. In recognition of her accomplishments,
she earned the award as the New York City Municipal Attorney of
the Year. The leadership at the Law Department assigned her
their most important road design, car accident, wrongful death,
medical malpractice, slip and fall and brain injury cases. Carol
looks back on those days with great fondness. "We were overworked
and understaffed, but the cases were large in value and importance.
It was thrilling to be so young and to work on such vital trials."
Entering Private Practice
Upon leaving the City Law Department,
Carol joined the prestigious Manhattan law firm of Acito and Klein.
Attracted by the quality of work performed and the focus on client
needs, Carol made her mark both in the trials she won as well as the
way she worked with clients. "Even in the mid-90's there weren't
many female trial attorneys, especially in the Bronx. I had to be
better than good to survive. It was a challenging and thrilling
time."
Carol handled a large caseload of both
defense and plaintiff cases. During her time there, she built a
large networks of contacts in the courts, the bar associations and
the insurance companies. "Much of this business depends on who you
know, and over the years, working for both the City and as a defense
lawyer, I got to know people throughout the system." Carol earned a
following of clients due to her personal approach and the supportive
manner she takes to ensure that her clients receive the best
representation possible. Most importantly, she earned a reputation
as a fierce trial lawyer, one known for insightful trial strategies
and impassioned and highly quotable summations. She spent much of
her time in the courtrooms of the Bronx and Manhattan, but her trial
work took her to Brooklyn and Queens as well as Long Island (Nassau
County and Suffolk County).
The Decision to Open a Solo Practice
Carol established her own law practice in
1997. Explaining her decision, Carol said, “I was tired of doing
both defense and plaintiff work. I wanted to focus on plaintiff
work, on standing up as the advocate for my individual clients. My
husband likens it to St. George fighting the dragon." She also
wanted to spend more time working with her clients. "At the City and
Acito and Klein, I had huge caseloads, I wanted to take fewer cases
so I could focus more on individual clients and their cases.
Starting my own practice created the best environment for me to work
one-to-one with clients from start to finish. I can give my clients
the individual attention not possible in larger law firms.”
In the last ten years, Carol has won many
significant victories for her clients throughout the New York
Metropolitan area (click
here to see some of her recent cases) and seen those cases
covered by Newsday, New York One, the New York Jury
Verdict Reporter and the New York Law Journal.
Carol is a member of the New York State
Bar Association, the New York State Trial Lawyers Association, the
Bronx Bar Association, the Brooklyn Bar Association, the Suffolk
County Bar Association and the American Trial Lawyers Association.
She is active in both the St. John’s University Law School Alumni
Association and the Holy Cross Lawyers Guild. Carol performs pro
bono legal services through St. Patrick's Trocaire House, donating
her time to help individuals and families who cannot afford legal
representation. "In a recent pro bono case, I helped a gentleman
with an SSI disability case. After we won the ruling, he shed tears
of joy and that meant as much as the biggest settlement could." She
contributes to the legal profession by volunteering as a Moot Court
Judge for Law School Competitions sponsored by the American Trial
Lawyers Association and teaching continuing legal education (CLE)
classes.
Family Life
Carol lives with her husband, Mark X.
Cronin, a writer, in
Huntington, New York. They have three sons ages
14 through 20. Her eldest son attends
Colby College in Waterville,
Maine. Her second son is finishing his junior year at
St. Anthony’s
High School while the youngest boy attends Finley Junior High.
Carol’s active in the Special Education PTA and the general PTA in
the Huntington School District. Carol’s an avid hiker, bicyclist and
runner who has completed both the New York City and the Disney
Marathons. While she works long and hard for her clients, Carol's a
whirlwind of activity outside of work; you might find her cheering
on her sons in their various sports activities, hiking the
backcountry trails in Yellowstone or entertaining friends and
family. She spent much of 2007 and 2008 working on the Barack Obama
Grassroots Campaign on Long Island serving as an Event Coordinator
and counsel during the petition drive. "It was my first political
campaign and it felt great to work so hard on a cause greater than
oneself."