Bob Haig’s practice focuses on commercial and other types of civil litigation in federal and New York state courts at both the trial and appellate levels.
A veteran litigator and proven advocate, Bob has been described in published articles as “one of the nation’s foremost commercial litigators,” “one of the country’s leading commercial litigators,” “one of New York’s most preeminent commercial litigators,” “a brilliant commercial lawyer,” “a noted litigator and legal scholar,” “a noted expert, author and lecturer in the area of Commercial Litigation,” “a great advocate,” “a knowledgeable and experienced practitioner” and “indefatigable.” Other published articles have described Bob as "a well-respected, nationally known expert on business and commercial litigation,” “a renowned litigator and legal scholar,” “a pre-eminent expert on commercial and business litigation,” “a highly regarded authority on New York Commercial Law,” “the well-known and highly-respected litigator,” “a lawyer’s lawyer,” “one of the true greats of our profession,” and “the incomparable Robert L. Haig.”
An article published in 2012 noted that Bob has “held a variety of positions over the past three decades that have placed him at the center of commercial litigation in New York State.” An article published in 2017 stated that Bob “is a renowned litigator in his own right and he has had extensive experience in federal courts.” Another article published in 2017 stated that “There are few business litigators in New York who have garnered the respect among judges, outside counsel, and inside counsel as Bob Haig.” Furthermore, an editorial in
The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel described Bob as “a prolific legal scholar and outstanding practitioner.” An article published in 2021 noted Bob’s “prodigious ability to rally busy professionals around a common, civic-minded cause.” Another article published in 2021 stated that Bob’s “contribution to the profession cannot be overstated” and that he “has earned a place in the legal pantheon for his efforts.”
Bob has been at the forefront of the national and international trend toward the creation of business courts (he has helped to create business courts in 21 states and eight foreign countries). An article in
The Business Lawyer in 2020 described Bob as “a driving force behind business-court development in the United States.” An article in the
New York Law Journal in 2021 stated that Bob “has been at the forefront of promoting commercial courts for decades and has been an outstanding commercial litigator all his professional life.” Another article published in 2021 stated that “Haig is a nationally recognized expert on business courts” and an article published in 2022 stated that “Robert L. Haig is one of the principal architects of the modern development of business courts in the United States.”
Bob was the co-chair of the Commercial Courts Task Force established by Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye in 1995 to create and refine the Commercial Division of the New York State Supreme Court (the nation’s first general trial court devoted exclusively to business litigation). He is now the chair of the Commercial Division Advisory Council established by Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman in 2013 to advise him on an ongoing basis about all matters involving and surrounding the Commercial Division, as well as to keep him apprised of developments in the business world that may affect the court system.
On November 16, 2008, Bob was inducted as an Honorary Charter Member of the American College of Business Court Judges in recognition of his efforts to develop business courts in New York and many other states and countries. He was also honored in the December 22, 2014 issue of the
National Law Journal as a “Top 50 Litigation Trailblazer and Pioneer” for his work on business courts.
Bob has written and lectured extensively on various litigation and dispute resolution topics. He is the editor in chief of the two definitive treatises on business litigation in federal and New York state courts: the fourteen-volume, 17,000-page treatise titled “Business and Commercial Litigation in Federal Courts” and the ten-volume, 13,000-page treatise titled “Commercial Litigation in New York State Courts.” In addition, Bob is the editor in chief of the definitive treatise on relationships between inside and outside counsel for corporate clients: the seven-volume, 12,000-page treatise titled “Successful Partnering Between Inside and Outside Counsel” (among the authors of this treatise are the Chief Legal Officers of more than 100 major corporations). Bob is also the principal author of the
Corporate Counsel’s Guide, published by the New York State Bar Association, as well as of numerous articles and book chapters. He has served as a member of the Board of Advisers to Business Laws, Inc.’s
Law Department Management Adviser, as a member of the Board of Editors of Matthew Bender & Co., Inc.’s
Federal Litigation Guide Reporter, and as a member of the Editorial Advisory Board of
Today’s General Counsel.
In 1991, Bob became the only New York lawyer to receive the Award For Excellence in Continuing Legal Education from the Association of Continuing Legal Education Administrators. On May 7, 1995, the New York State Bar Association’s Commercial and Federal Litigation Section presented Bob with the Section's first annual Robert L. Haig Award for Distinguished Public Service. The Section has named this Award after Bob, and presents it in his name each year.
New York State Commission on Judicial Nomination, member
New York County Lawyers Association, president, 1992–1994
New York Bar Foundation, president, 2003–2006
New York State Bar Association Executive Committee, member, 1991–1994
New York State Bar Association, Committee on Federal Courts, chair, 1985–1988, Commercial and Federal Litigation Section, founder and first chair, 1988–1990, Committee on Multi-Disciplinary Practice and the Legal Profession, chair, 2000, Task Force on the Evaluation of Candidates for Election to Judicial Office, co-chair, 2018–2019
Association of the Bar of the City of New York, Committee on the Judiciary, chair, 1989–1992, Council on Judicial Administration, chair, 1996–1999
American Law Institute, member
National Center for State Courts Lawyers Committee, member of executive committee
Atlantic Legal Foundation, director
American Bar Foundation, life fellow
New York Bar Foundation, life fellow
Appellate Division, First Judicial Department, Departmental Disciplinary Committee, member, 1995-2016
Committee for Modern Courts, director
New York County Lawyers Association, Annual Dinner chair, 2007-2019
New York County Lawyers Association, Conspicuous Service Award, 2021.
New York Bar Foundation, Lifetime Achievement Award, 2020.
Puerto Rican Bar Association, Law Firm Diversity Leadership Award, 2017.
New York County Lawyers Association, Boris Kostelanetz President’s Medal, 2013.
Listed in New York Super Lawyers, 2006-2021.