Partner, Litigation & Appeals,
Rivkin Radler LLP
Officer,School of Law Alumni Association,Nassau Chapter
President, Lymphoma Research Foundation,New York
Chapter
Paul V. Majkowski `94 is currently busy on many fronts, as a
partner in the Litigation & Appeals group of Rivkin Radler LLP,
as an officer in the Nassau Chapter of the Law School Alumni
Association, and as President of the New York Chapter of the
Lymphoma Research Foundation. Mr. Majkowski's practice at
Rivkin Radler focuses on mass toxic tort and product liability
litigation in various domestic and foreign forums, including the
defense of one of the manufacturers of the Vietnam War herbicide
Agent Orange, and Mr. Majkowski also has extensive experience in
the insurance coverage area.
In addition to serving the Firm’s clients and his alma
mater, Mr. Majkowski devotes considerable time to the Lymphoma
Research Foundation and its critical mission to eradicate lymphoma
and serve those touched by the disease. Lymphoma is a blood
cancer that attacks the body’s lymph system, and is categorized
into 6 types of Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and 61 types of Non-Hodgkin’s
Lymphoma. Lymphoma is the most common blood cancer
(afflicting over 500,000 Americans, with close to 75,000 new cases
expected this year) and the third most common childhood cancer, and
the incidence of lymphoma is increasing at a rate greater than that
of other more high profile cancers.
Mr. Majkowski’s connection to lymphoma is as a survivor of
Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, with which he was diagnosed in 1996.
Now in his thirteenth year of survivorship, Mr. Majkowski seeks to
make good on the blessing he received through his work with the
Lymphoma Research Foundation. Augmenting the work carried on
by the Foundation’s national staff in promoting lymphoma research
under the auspices of a world class Scientific Advisory Board and
in providing patient services, the Foundation works at the local
chapter level in four primary areas: increasing awareness about
lymphoma; assisting newly diagnosed patients and their families;
raising funds for research; and advocating for federal funding and
policy initiatives.
Mr. Majkowski has been the President of the New York Chapter since
its inception in early 2008, marshaling the Chapter’s growth, and
has been instrumental in the recent formation of a separate Long
Island Chapter. If anyone should be touched by the disease,
either directly or through a family member, Mr. Majkowski can be
contacted for assistance at newyork@lymphoma.org, or
paul.majkowski@rivkin.com.
While he was accepted to other law schools, Mr. Majkowski chose St.
John’s Law. At the time, he was working as a paralegal for a
number of St. John’s Law alums, and their camaraderie, legal
expertise and pride in alma mater led Mr. Majkowski to choose St.
John’s Law. During his tenure at the Law School, Mr.
Majkowski served as Editor in Chief of the St. John's Law
Review.
Mr. Majkowski tenders this advice to students looking for a
position and young attorneys, relating to attitude. “First,
the question is what can you do for the firm, not what is the firm
going to do for you. Second, you must demonstrate a zeal and
self-motivation for finding the right answer (that being the one
that benefits the client) – practicing law has some similarity with
doing a crossword puzzle or handicapping horse races, they all
satisfy a need to be right, which is its own reward.”