Picture of Michael A. Bottar

Michael A. Bottar

Associate

Mr. Bottar's practice is limited to the trial of medical malpractice, birth injury, brain and spinal cord damage, product liability, workplace accident, and wrongful death actions, with an emphasis on the prosecution of matters involving traumatic brain injuries (mild, moderate and severe), failure(s) to diagnose, infectious diseases, construction site accidents, and defective implants, prosthetics and medications. 

Mr. Bottar is a life member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum.  He is a member of the New York State Academy of Trial Lawyers, and sits on its Membership Recruitment Committee.  He is also a member of the Onondaga County Bar Association, New York State Bar Association, Northern District of New York Federal Court Bar Association, American Bar Association and the American Association for Justice.

In addition to counseling clients at Bottar Leone, PLLC, Mr. Bottar has devoted considerable time to pro bono counsel through inMotion, Inc. the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. and Human Rights First - a nonprofit, nonpartisan international human rights organization - which recognized him in 2005 as part of a team of attorneys that secured political asylum for a Sierra Leonian refugee.

Mr. Bottar is also active in the Syracuse community.  He is a past-member of the Board of Directors of Contact Community Services (a non-profit human services agency that provides mental health, behavioral and safer school programs to individuals, schools and school districts throughout central New York), and the Advisory Board of the Central New York Chapter of the Arthritis Foundation.  He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Syracuse Law Alumni Association and is actively involved in the Onondaga Historical Association.

While in law school, Mr. Bottar was a member and executive editor of the Syracuse Law Review, which published his Note entitled "Robbing Peter To Pay Paul: Medicaid Liens, Supplemental Needs Trusts and Personal Injury Recoveries on Behalf of Infants In New York State Following the Gold Decision."  In addition to the Law Review, Mr. Bottar was a member and competition co-director of the Syracuse University College of Law Moot Court Honor Society, was inducted into the Order of the Coif, the Order of Barristers and the Justinian Honorary Law Society, and received the law school's Robert W. Miller (Trial Advocacy) Award, the Robert M. Anderson (Scholarly Publication) Award, and the Moot Court Team Award.

Prior to joining Bottar Leone, PLLC, Mr. Bottar was a litigation associate with the New York City office of White & Case, LLP, one of the five largest law firms in the world (2,000 attorneys in 35 offices in 23 countries).  He was also a litigation associate with Bond, Schoeneck & King, PLLC, the largest law firm in Syracuse, New York.

Mr. Bottar resides in Manlius with his wife, Tiffany, a licensed physical therapist, and their son.

Education

J.D., Syracuse University College of Law
summa cum laude

B.A., Colgate University

Jurisdictions Admitted to Practice

New York
United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
United States District Court for the Northern District of New York
United States District Court for the Western District of New York

Professional & Bar Association Memberships

Contact Community Services
Board of Directors

Syracuse University Law Alumni Association (Chair, Local Programs Committee)
Board of Directors

New York State Academy of Trial Lawyers, Membership Recruitment Committee

Honors and Affiliations

  • Million Dollar Advocates Forum
  • Onondaga County Bar Association
  • New York State Academy of Trial Lawyers
  • New York State Bar Association
  • Northern District of New York Federal Court Bar Association
  • American Bar Association
  • American Association for Justice (formerly the Association of Trial Lawyers of America)
  • Order of the Coif
  • Order of Barristers 
  • Justinian Honorary Law Society
  • Member and Executive Editor, Syracuse Law Review
  • Member & Competition Co-Director, Syracuse University College of Law Moot Court Honor Society
  • First Place & Best Oral Advocate, 10th Annual Edmund H. Lewis Appellate Advocacy Competition
  • Recipient, Robert W. Miller (Trial Advocacy) Award
  • Recipient, Robert M. Anderson (Scholarly Publication) Award

Publications

  • Note, Robbing Peter To Pay Paul: Medicaid Liens, Supplemental Needs Trusts and Personal Injury Recoveries o­n Behalf of Infants In New York State Following the Gold Decision, 53 Syr.L.Rev. 175 (2003).

Prior Experience

  • White & Case, LLP, New York, NY (Associate, Commercial Litigation Department)
  • Bond Schoeneck & King, PLLC, Syracuse, NY (Associate, Litigation Department)

Recent Recoveries

  • $1,700,000.00 Recovery (New York State Supreme Court, Oneida County)
  • $1,312,778.00 Recovery (New York State Supreme Court, Onondaga County)
  • $750,000.00 Recovery (New York State Supreme Court, Onondaga County)
  • $500,000.00 Recovery (New York State Supreme Court, Oneida County)