Legal Career

-         Primarily practice civil litigation, working on complex personal injury cases, including products liability, industrial accidents, etc. Work includes all aspects of litigation practice including: drafting and filing complaints, motion practice, all phases of discovery (reviewing documents, including medical records) and arguing before trial courts over discovery disputes, motions for summary judgment, etc. Extensive experience in taking depositions, preparing clients for deposition, deposing corporate representatives, defendants and adverse witnesses. 

​

-      Developing a case from inception to final trial preparation and, if necessary, trial including both bench and jury trials. Work includes interviewing and retaining expert witnesses for all aspects of a case, including accident reconstruction, product design and failure, medical experts and life plan experts, among others and preparing experts to be deposed or to take an expert’s deposition.  Many civil cases are resolved short of trial and sometimes without litigation. Extensive experience in negotiating with insurance companies to resolve cases. Successfully mediated many cases and achieved good results for clients.

​

-          Other aspects of practice include wills and trusts, business law and assisting clients with business plans, such as helping clients understand how different governmental entities are involved with permitting processes, etc. Also, have had many clients who simply need good counsel from time to time on various matters, both personal and business related.

 

 

NOTABLE CASES

​

-          Gas explosion at a Public Housing Project; represented over 100 families, with over 200 individuals, including minor children, concerning a gas explosion which leveled housing units and caused extensive damage. This case was hotly litigated over a considerable period of time and included many, very contentious discovery battles, dozens of depositions, extensive discovery by both sides including tens of thousands of pages of documents, and obtaining discovery responses from each individual client. The case was eventually mediated and a confidential settlement proposal was made by the defendant, which then had to be presented to the Court, since minor plaintiffs were involved and to the clients. The settlement process also involved working closely with the Court appointed Guardian Ad Litem and a Pro Ami Hearing to obtain Court approval for the settlement of the minors claims.

​

-          House fire, total loss, insurance company refused to pay; represented a family who lost their home due to a fire, along with all of their furnishings and belongings. The total amount of the loss was well over seven figures.  The insurance company denied payment on the basis of arson.  The accident site had been altered considerably in the months prior to being retained but was able to establish the point of origin of the fire and develop evidence that proved the fire was not started by arson. After extensive discovery, successfully mediated the case and obtained a substantial settlement for our clients.

​

-          Wrongful death accident involving an 18-wheeler truck; represented a mother for the death of her only son in an accident involving an 18-wheeler. There was no contact between the truck and the vehicle in which our client’s son was a passenger. The driver of the truck stopped to report the accident but did not give his name or that of his company to the 911 operator. His description of the location of the accident was so poor that our client’s son bled to death before EMS arrived. The only description of the defendant was the name written on the side of his truck observed by a convenience store clerk. Prior to being retained to represent her, the client had hired multiple law firms and they all eventually declined to represent her. Based on the information provided by the convenience store clerk a suit was filed against the truck company. Satellite tracking information was obtained as to the location of a truck operated by the company that proved the company’s truck was in fact at the scene at the time the accident occurred. Through witness testimony it was established that the truck driver came into the travel lane of the clients vehicle. Further developed a very damaging theory of liability against the driver for failure to properly report the accident. Retained an emergency room doctor as an expert witness and he testified that the client’s son would have survived had the driver accurately reported the location of the accident. Also established that he basically fled the scene, further implicating him. This case was mediated twice before a successful resolution was obtained. A settlement was obtained from every insurance company offering coverage for the accident.

​

-          Seat back failure, minivan, rear impact collision; represented a family in a minivan that was hit from behind. The mother was sitting in the driver’s seat and the collision caused the seat back to fail and her 4-year-old daughter, sitting immediately behind her, sustained a massive brain injury that left her permanently impaired. A suit was filed against the driver of the car that struck the client’s minivan and the manufacturer of the minivan. Through extensive discovery, was able to show knowledge on the part of the manufacturer as to the potential for seat back failure in a rear impact collision, along with knowledge of the danger such a failure would pose to a rear occupant. Retained an expert witness who put forward a suitable alternative design and testified that the alternative design was available at the time of the design and manufacture of the minivan. Retained a life care plan expert who developed a very detailed plan to care for the needs of the child throughout her life. This case was mediated and successfully settled with the involvement of a Guardian Ad Litem and the approval of the Court at a Pro Ami hearing.

​