In a poll conducted by New York Magazine, lawyers and judges were asked to answer this question: "Who Are Manhattan's Most Powerful, Talented, and Fearsome Prosecutors and Defenders?" The survey resulted in this statement:

"Goldberg is a lawyer's lawyer, a defense attorney whom colleagues and prosecutors alike cite as exemplary of the mix of qualities that make a lawyer effective."

The consensus, as reported in the survey, was that:

"Goldberg is the best pure trial lawyer in town."  

In Zuckerman's Vengeance Is Mine (MacMillan Pub.) the author wrote "Goldberg held a reputation as the city's best and brightest trial lawyer. He had mastered a style of cross-examination that left witnesses gasping for breath; he had an energetic, courtly manner with a jury and a style of summation of such eloquent fury that one could almost lose sight of anything his opponent had proven."