With a statesmanlike bearing in the courthouses of New York and Long Island, and a record to match it, Marvin Salenger has long been one of the region's - and the nation's - finest trial attorneys. Tall, charismatic and with a warm smile, Salenger is truly a fixture of his profession: a full-time trial attorney who will spend days in court, aggressively pursuing the interests of clients that range from the victims of medical malpractice to classic "slip-and-fall" personal injury cases. He's been included in the "Best Lawyers in America" publication every year since 2005, and was chosen by NY Magazine as one of New York's top lawyers.

Salenger has an energy that's hardly diminished in over four decades of practice, peers say. And barely a bridge burned: Salenger is not only popular and well-liked among rival trial lawyers - but opponents admire him as well. "I'm proudest of the fact that I remain friends with 99 and 9/10s of all the adversaries I've faced." Rivals say Salenger is successful because he simply gets people: He recognizes that, beyond the law itself, it is people - judges and jurors, their backgrounds, dispositions, even their moods - that often decide a case. "He's one of the most politically astute attorneys I've ever known," says a rival.

Salenger is a Brooklyn native through and through, attending Brooklyn College at night while teaching social studies during the day. Almost from the beginning Salenger was trying cases, first low-stakes accident cases, and later medical malpractice and major tort claims. Today his caseload involves virtually all six- and seven-figure stakes. Salenger has practiced with his partner Robert Sack for more than 30 years, a remarkable level of stability in a profession now known for regular upheavals.

Salenger's trial record includes such major cases as that of a Colombian immigrant who was beaten up by police when he tried to provide testimony of a car accident that involved a police vehicle. Another case involved a new mother whose premature release from the hospital led to her death; he represented the family, including her surviving newborn twins.

Today Salenger, Sack, Kimmel & Bavaro has eight attorneys and a staff numbering over a dozen, with offices in the Woolworth Building in Manhattan and in Woodbury, Nassau County. Salenger, an enthusiastic golfer, also enjoys traveling - "exotic places mostly." He and his wife live in East Northport.