Michael is president of the New York State Academy of Trial Lawyers, the largest statewide trial bar in the nation.
He is an accomplished courtroom advocate who brings more than 20 years of experience to the prosecution of medical malpractice, wrongful death, construction accident, and other complex personal injury actions throughout the State of New York. Well-known for his expertise, Michael is frequently retained by injured attorneys, physicians, nurses, and other professionals pursing claims for stroke, heart attack, birth injuries, surgical errors, cancer misdiagnosis, and liability under the Federal Tort Claims Act.
Michael is a graduate of Colgate University and is a summa cum laude (top 2%) graduate of Syracuse University College of Law where he is an adjunct professor of law, co-authors the "Civil Practice" chapter of the Syracuse Law Review’s Survey on New York law, and served on the law school's Board of Advisors for over a decade.
Michael has been selected by his colleagues for inclusion in the oldest peer-reviewed publication in the legal profession, The Best Lawyers In America®. For the areas of plaintiff's medical malpractice, product liability and personal injury, he is the youngest attorney in central New York listed in Best Lawyers®, and is the only attorney in Syracuse listed in all three fields. Mr. Bottar was honored by The Best Lawyers In America® as:
- 2024 Syracuse Product Liability Lawyer of the Year,
- 2023 Syracuse Product Liability Lawyer of the Year,
- 2022 Syracuse Medical Malpractice Lawyer of the Year,
- 2021 Syracuse Product Liability Lawyer of the Year,
- 2019 Syracuse Medical Malpractice Lawyer of the Year,
- 2019 Syracuse Product Liability Lawyer of the Year, and
- 2017 Syracuse Product Liability Lawyer of the Year.
Every year since 2013, Michael has been recognized in Upstate New York Super Lawyers®, a publication with membership limited to the top 5% of lawyers in each state, and was selected for its "Top 50" lawyers list for 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019 and 2018.
According to TopVerdict, Michael secured one of the top 20 medical malpractice settlements in the United States for 2020 and, having personally recovered more than $150,000,000 for his clients, he has earned life membership in the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum. He has also been recognized annually since 2013 by The National Trial Lawyers as one of the "Top 100" trial lawyers in New York State.
Michael had provided continuing legal education on nearly 50 occasions to thousands of attorneys in Syracuse, Albany, Rochester, Buffalo, New York City and throughout Long Island. In addition, he has been invited to speak by the Association of Justices of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, and was selected to serve as a faculty member for the New York State Bar Association Advanced Trial Academy.
In 2016, Michael was recognized by the New York Daily Record as an Attorney of the Year for his "professional accomplishments, exceptional character, integrity, ethics, and commitment to clients and community." He also has achieved an AV® Preeminent™ rating from Martindale-Hubbell, the organization's highest rating for legal ability and ethical standards, and holds the title of Senior Fellow in the Litigation Counsel of America, a trial lawyer honorary society with membership limited to less than one-half of one percent of lawyers.
Michael is a past member and executive editor of the Syracuse Law Review, which published his note titled "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." His article, which addressed the complexities of personal injury settlements, has been cited as an authority by the Practicing Law Institute (twice), American Jurisprudence Proof of Facts, the American Law Institute, and the American Bar Association’s Real Property Trusts and Estates Law Journal. In addition to the Syracuse Law Review, he is a past member of the Syracuse University College of Law Moot Court Honor Society, and was inducted into the Order of the Coif, the Order of Barristers, and the Justinian Honorary Law Society.
Michael began his legal career as a litigation associate with the New York City office of White & Case, LLP, one of the largest and most prestigious law firms in the world (41 offices in 28 countries), with professional highlights including defending a French bank on trial for fraud, advising Fortune 500 companies on various liability matters, and conducting Foreign Corrupt Practices Act investigations in Buenos Aires, Brussels, Paris, Hong Kong and Shanghai. Immediately prior to joining Bottar Law, PLLC, Micheal was a litigation associate with Bond, Schoeneck & King, PLLC, then the largest law firm in Syracuse, New York.
Michael is also a founding donor in support of Syracuse University's newly-constructed law school, where the Lorraine and Anthony V. Bottar Lecture Hall is named in memory of his grandparents. He was born and raised in Syracuse, New York, and presently resides in Manlius with his wife, Tiffany, a physical therapist, and their children. He is an avid road cyclist.