Frank M Ortiz

Frank M. Ortiz joined Meirowitz & Wasserberg in January of 2024 and is Of Counsel to the Firm. Frank will act as an advisor to the Firm regarding Litigation with an emphasis on Asbestos Litigation.

Frank graduated from Rutgers College in 1983 and New York Law School in 1986. From 1986 to 1989 he was an Assistant District Attorney in Manhattan completing 36 Jury Trials and many more Bench Trials, Hearings and Grand Jury presentations. In 1989 Frank was appointed as a Prosecutor for New York City’s Violent Predator Task Force.

From 1989 to 2003 Frank was an Associate and later a Shareholder in one of New York’s most successful Toxic Tort Law Firms. He was Trial Co-Counsel in New York’s first and largest Consolidation of asbestos cases for trial; the Brooklyn Naval Shipyard Consolidation. He was also Trial Co-Counsel for the New York Powerhouse Consolidation that followed and continued fighting for asbestos victims for over 10 years taking another dozen asbestos lawsuits to trial during this time. Frank acted as Plaintiff’s Co-Liaison Counsel to the Court during this time and was the co-drafter of the New York City Asbestos Litigation Case Management Order and every amendment thereof during these years.

From 2003 to 2008 Frank M Ortiz was an attorney at a boutique Plaintiff’s Law Firm in Richmond County, New York. While there he drafted, submitted and argued 77 Applications to the September 11, 2001 Federal Victim Compensation Fund for Staten Island families. During this time Frank was also Co-counsel for a Mass Tort Consolidation of hundreds of cases for people who became addicted to prescription opioid drugs. This was the first successful lawsuit against prescription opioid drug manufacturers in the country.

In  2008  Frank joined the largest Plaintiff’s Toxic Tort law firm in New York. At the time there was an 11 year backlog of asbestos cases in the New York City Courts. Frank was able to gather a team of lawyers, investigators  and paralegals and with a lot of hard work and determination, together they prosecuted and resolved thousands of asbestos lawsuits in the State and Federal Courts. By the time Frank retired in 2016 that 11 year backlog had been eliminated and asbestos related lawsuits were on the same schedule as all other serious cases. It was here that Frank met Sam Meirowitz and Daniel Wasserberg. In fact, Frank helped Sam try his first Civil Jury Trial in 2013. 

From 2016 to 2023 Frank was happily semi-retired, occasionally performing some litigation consulting, but mostly playing golf and enjoying his grandchildren.