Michael Burg J.D. is one of America’s leading trial lawyers, a best-selling author, legal expert and founding shareholder of Burg Simpson Eldredge Hersh & Jardine. A legal champion for victims of corporate and individual malfeasance, negligence, overreach and abuse, Burg began his career fighting for the underdog and has gone on to successfully litigate some of the country’s most high-profile cases of the past four decades. Under Burg’s leadership, Burg Simpson Eldredge Hersh & Jardine has expanded to more than 60 attorneys across seven cities. A national leader in mass tort and class action litigation, the firm has won more than $1 billion in verdicts, judgments, and settlements on behalf of its clients. During his 43-year career, Burg has been a vigilant consumer watchdog, representing thousands of individuals and helping their families overcome catastrophic injuries and immense hardship. He has taken on big pharma in multiple, dangerous drug mass tort cases including Fen-Phen, Yaz/Yasmin, Ortho Evra, and Pradaxa. Burg stood up to corporate greed fighting against UBS for knowingly selling risky mortgages to investors, creating the blueprint for many similar actions by states, municipalities, government regulators and other aggrieved investors. More recently, Burg filed a sweeping action against 28 California wineries to stop them from selling toxic wine contaminated with arsenic and he is representing the victims of a fraudulent scheme to illegally sell human body parts of their loved one’s bodies that were supposed to be donated for scientific and medical education and research.

Ms. Burgess is an experienced trial attorney who emphasizes health care, medical malpractice, product liability, professional liability, employment law, personal injury and municipal liability in her practice. She has tried cases in state and federal courts, on issues ranging from complex medical negligence claims, to police use-of-force and constitutional claims, and has argued appeals in Arizona’s Appellate and Supreme courts, and before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. In 2013 she prosecuted a murder-for-hire case as a special prosecutor for the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office resulting in a conviction on all counts, and in 2014 she prosecuted a high profile fraud matter, also as a special prosecutor. She serves as a Judge Pro Tem in the Maricopa County Superior Court, and also acts as a mediator for settlement conferences. In the healthcare field, Ms. Burgess counsels and represents individual physicians and chiropractors, as well as hospitals, group homes, behavioral health providers, nurses and paramedics. In addition to litigation, she handles representation of healthcare providers before their licensing boards and provides counseling to clients to help them avoid litigation when possible. Ms. Burgess also regularly represents public entities, in various tort and civil rights litigation matters. She has handled cases involving public transit, accident, roadway design, police and detention officers’ use of force, civil rights, employment, personal injury, prison break and wrongful death claims for various municipalities. She has been an expert witness regarding notice of claim issues. Ms. Burgess, a firm Shareholder and Director since 2000, is a member of Sanders & Parks’ management team, serving as the firm’s Secretary/Treasurer for 12 years before being elected the firm’s President and Managing Shareholder in 2023. She earned her Juris Doctor from Georgetown University Law Center, in 1991. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in American Studies, cum laude, from Wellesley College, in 1988. While at Georgetown, she was a member of the Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics. She was admitted to practice law in the State of Virginia in 1991, and Arizona in 1993. Following law school, Ms. Burgess was an associate attorney in Washington, D.C., where she focused on health care and corporate transactional practice. Before joining Sanders & Parks, she spent a year as Judicial Clerk with the Honorable Susan A. Ehrlich of the Arizona Court of Appeals, Division One. She is licensed to practice law before the United States Court of Appeals, Fourth and Ninth Circuits. Ms. Burgess has been recognized for her legal skills by her peers. Since 2013, she has been selected as a “Super Lawyer” in the area of healthcare law, and has been named to Arizona’s Top 50 Lawyers on a number of occasions. She has also been selected as one of Arizona’s top 25 women attorneys. AZ Business Magazine listed Ms. Burgess as one of the top 100 lawyers in Arizona in 2015-2018, and she has been selected as one of Arizona’s Business Leaders. She was recognized as a Woman of Achievement by In Business Magazine. She has also been ranked as one of the top healthcare attorneys in Arizona by Ranking Arizona magazine. She is rated “AV Preeminent” by Martindale-Hubbell, has been recognized as a top healthcare attorney nationally, and has appeared on CBS as a legal analyst/expert.

CRAIG A. BURGESS is a senior trial attorney and a founding partner of Arciero McMillan & Burgess, PC. He has successfully represented a variety of medical and dental professionals–including doctors, hospitals, large medical groups, dentists, podiatrists and nurses—against claims in both state and federal court. In addition to defending local physicians and hospitals, Craig’s work as a litigation attorney also includes cases of license suspension, license removal, probationary periods and letters of reprimand. Craig attended the University of South Florida in Tampa, Florida, graduating with honors in 1998. He earned his law degree from Stetson University College of Law in 2002 focusing on Healthcare Law and Medical Jurisprudence. While in law school Craig clerked for the United States Navy, Naval-Air Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, as well as for the 13th Judicial Circuit, Tampa, Florida. In 2002, Craig started his career with an Orlando, Florida based firm where he represented both large construction companies and small family owned citrus farms against liability, employment, and compensation claims. In 2007, Craig returned to the Hudson Valley, where he grew up, to begin his career as a litigation attorney. In 2019, he co-founded Arciero McMillan & Burgess, PC. Craig is a member of the New York State Bar Association, New York Medical Defense Bar Association, and the Florida Bar Association. He is admitted to practice in all New York State Courts, as well as the Federal District Court of the Southern District of New York. He is also admitted in all Florida State Courts, as well as the Federal District Court of the Middle District of Florida. Craig has been named to Super Lawyers and given an AV rating, the highest rating, by Martindale Hubbell. Craig has lectured physicians and health professionals and hospital staff on electronic medical records (EMR) documentation. Craig currently serves on the Executive Committee of the Dutchess County Bar Association and is a past board member of the DCSPCA.

Attorney D. Shawn Burkley is ready to help you with virtually any legal challenge affecting your livelihood, your business, your freedom and your future. Whether incarcerated or facing off against the government to protect your fundamental rights, just trying to navigate the legal system can be an intimidating and confusing experience. Let us guide you through the process. Our focus is your freedom, your due process rights, and fairness for you.

Our Principal Attorney, Louis R. Burko, was born in Brooklyn and raised in Staten Island, where he currently resides. He is the second generation of the Burko family of lawyers to work at the firm. Mr. Burko began his legal career as a law clerk at Severance, Burko, Spalter, Masone & Laurette PC in 1992 before spending time working as a Licensed Workers’ Compensation Representative. After receiving his Juris Doctorate degree from the Brooklyn School of Law in 1999, Louis began practicing law. He became the firms principal in 2005 and currently is head of our Social Security Disability practice. Mr. Burko has years of experience handling claims with the Social Security Administration and can help you with your initial application and appeals, if necessary.