Shelley Rossoff Olsen

Shelley Rossoff Olsen is one of New York’s most accomplished mediators of catastrophic injury, medical malpractice, labor law, insurance, and mass tort disputes. For over two decades, she has resolved thousands of cases, many of them the highest-stakes and most emotionally charged matters in New York litigation. Lawyers on both sides know her for closing the cases that seem impossible to close. They trust her to master the record, explain the law in plain terms, and keep working for as long as it takes.

Every negotiation starts with her conviction that a settlement exists and an instinct for where it lies. In multi-party matters, with carriers, excess layers, co-defendants, and lienholders at the table, she knows every moving part and who needs to move when. She listens for what parties mean beneath what they say and tells each side candidly what will come into evidence and how a motion, trial, or appeal will likely unfold. When pressure rises, she stays calm, lets people be heard, and reaches for humor to ease the tension. With an injured plaintiff or a grieving family, she slows down and brings real patience and compassion. Plaintiff attorneys often ask her to speak directly with their clients, confident she will earn their trust.

Her reputation began in the Supreme Court, New York County, where, as Senior Court Mediator, she treated every settlement as a priority. Rather than adjourning cases with pending summary judgment motions, she read the papers and gave parties a preview of the ruling, and the appeal, before either arrived. One judge praised her in a note as the court’s “Miracle Mediator,” a name that has followed her ever since.

Since 2010, her practice has centered on personal injury, wrongful death, and New York Labor Law cases, including matters that drew public attention. Her work includes hundreds of medical malpractice claims, from birth injuries to missed diagnoses, along with highly sensitive Child Victims Act, Adult Survivors Act, and elder neglect cases. She also handles insurance coverage and subrogation, product liability, professional malpractice, maritime, business, and employment disputes. For nine years, while maintaining her full practice, she also served as Special Master of the New York City Asbestos Litigation, managing thousands of claims through discovery and trial.

Her insight comes from experience in nearly every seat of a New York civil case. As an Assistant District Attorney in Nassau County, she found her footing as a trial lawyer and led the office’s trial bureau. She went on to try medical malpractice, labor law, lead poisoning, and premises liability cases for both defendants and plaintiffs, learning how each side evaluates a claim, works with experts, and builds its case. As a Principal Court Attorney in the Appellate Division, First Department, she saw from inside the court how New York’s appellate judges weigh the issues that decide cases. Together, these roles give her credibility in every room, and a realistic sense of how a case will play out if it does not settle.

Starting in January 2027, Shelley will bring the same preparation, candor, and determination to every session at Signature Resolution.