How to win at winning the lottery 9:17 AM ET Tue, 26 Feb 2019 | 01:13

What is the first thing you would do if you won the lottery?

A New York attorney who says he has represented more than 30 lottery winners has two words of advice: "Stay quiet."

"You want to make sure you don't tell your family and your friends that you're this new multimillionaire," self-proclaimed "lottery lawyer" Jason Kurland told CNBC's "American Greed." "I know it's something you're going to want to do but you really need to keep quiet."

Kurland says those early days after the drawing are critical. You only get the one chance to do it right.

"The time between the time you know you won and claiming (your prize) is your last chance of normalcy," he said. "So that's the time you're going to want to assemble your team of professionals: lawyers, financial planners, accountants. And you don't want friends and family coming out of the woodwork asking for handouts before you've even come forward to the world."

Kurland has represented some of the biggest lottery winners in history. It is a tiny niche in the legal profession, but one he finds fascinating.

"Everybody plays the lottery, whether you're from a rich neighborhood or poorer neighborhood, all over the country, young, old, married, single, lot of children, grandchildren, everybody comes," he said. "Watching them each grow into their new life is very exciting."

As different as every winner is, Kurland says their stories have common threads that are important to know about should you hit it big.