There are a plethora of books and resources to improve your technical skills. But among the countless tomes and guides on shelves these days, Rick Friedman’s On Becoming a Trial Lawyer provides a decidedly fresh perspective on the mechanics and traits necessary to become an effective trial lawyer.
Sgt. Levinson? Ken Instructs Lawyers at Nursing Home Boot Camp
Ken, a drill sergeant? No way! But he is very active in the American Association for Justice, and was honored to be invited to the faculty of Nursing Home Boot Camp. The 3 day program held in Denver, CO, earlier this month was designed to have experienced lawyers like Ken share their stories and strategies on handling clients’ cases against nursing homes.
The nursing homes are highly regulated, and in many states, nursing homes are owned only by a few very large corporations. If you or a loved one are injured in a nursing home – or worse – because the nursing home provided substandard care or was negligent, you want to be able to protect your rights and hold the nursing home, its staff, and its ownership accountable. There is a complicated web of corporate entities and laws to go through in order to accomplish this goal, and having a skilled attorney familiar with how nursing homes operate – for example, how they are staffed, their management structure, and their record-keeping – is extremely important. There are also medical issues that are more common in nursing home patients – like bed sores, elopement (dementia patients wandering away), and injuries from falling while unsupervised.
Handling nursing home cases for people who have been hurt as a result of nursing home negligence is no small undertaking. Ken was happy to teach other trial lawyers how to better litigate nursing home cases and strongly advocate for their clients.
Ken Opens National Conference on Helping Truck Crash Victims
Last week in Minnesota, Ken was thrilled to kick off the two day “Members Only” seminar hosted by the Trucking Litigation Group of the American Association for Justice.
The event, which draws top personal injury lawyers from across the country, focused on how truck drivers contribute to catastrophic accidents and taught attorneys what they need to do to provide the best possible representation to their clients in accidents involving truck drivers.
Ken was honored to be on the faculty of such an important program. He taught the lawyers there how to handle the nuanced issues that are part of a truck accident lawsuit. Some topics of discussion were:
- tractor-trailer driver qualifications;
- truckers driving in dangerous conditions;
- trucks carrying hazardous materials;
- “backing,” “under-ride,” and turning cases;
- how to best represent an injured truck driver as a client;
- conspicuity cases (safety issues when driving at night),
- the rules, regulations, and safety issues related to truck drivers’ driving time and sleep time (hours of service); and
- dealing with trucking companies’ typical excuses for causing a crash.
Ken and the other presenters spoke specifically about truckers and issues unique to people injured by a truck driver. Truck accident cases can involve more complex issues and technical rules compared to a car-verse-car crash case. This is largely because of the many federal requirements in place to monitor trucks and truck drivers so as to ensure the safety of the public. Still, the rules are often broken, and lawyers with knowledge of these different laws and issues particular to the trucking industry are more well-equipped to fight for victims of truck drivers’ negligence.
Art in Motion: Levinson and Stefani supports the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago’s annual fundraiser
Last night, the Levinson and Stefani team was proud and wowed at the annual Art in Motion event, a fundraiser hosted by the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago’s Associate Board and benefiting RIC’s amazing art therapy program.
The Fundraiser features a silent auction of art created both by local artists and participants in RIC’s art therapy program. RIC has a dedicated artist-in-residence, guiding RIC patients as they endeavor to relearn motor skills and coordination. The benefits of the program are much wider than that, though. The struggles addressed, and challenged, through creating these beautiful works of art help patients express the emotions they feel as they adjust to a new, challenging way of life.
At the fundraiser, RIC artists mingled with guests and even were painting throughout the evening. The art is installed in the lobby at Northwestern University’s Lurie Center Ryan Family Atrium, 303 E. Superior St., Chicago, Illinois, through June 18, 2015. We encourage anyone with the chance in downtown Chicago to visit the exhibit and see the amazing work of these talented artists, each with a unique story to tell.
More information about the event can be found on the Art in Motion Facebook page. Information about RIC can be found here.
Levinson and Stefani remains a dedicated sponsor of Art in Motion and RIC, and we are honored to support the renowned and consistently excellent Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. The work RIC puts in for its patients makes it one of the preeminent rehab facilities around, and we are already anticipating next year’s Art in Motion event benefiting this wonderful organization!
Nonprofit Spotlight Event: The TEARS Foundation Rock & Walk 2015
The TEARS Foundation is a strong, devoted organization operating in fourteen states and Puerto Rico, with the goal of helping families in one of the toughest times imaginable: after the loss of a baby. Yesterday was the annual Rock & Walk, an event to raise money for families benefiting from the Foundation’s support. Aside from financial support, the event lets them know that they are not alone in their time of need. During the event, the community comes together to walk – or rock in rocking chairs – for their bereaving friends and family members. We’ve profiled this excellent organization back in 2014, as one of our first Nonprofit Spotlights.
Levinson and Stefani is an annual supporter of the TEARS Foundation, and was a Presenting Sponsor of this year’s Illinois Rock & Walk. Despite the clouds and rain, the community joined the TEARS Foundation for this important event that serves a deep and special purpose to those families calling upon the Foundation’s support. Ken Levinson, the founding partner of Levinson and Stefani, spoke to the crowd of supporters at last Sunday’s event, which was held at the St. James Forest Farm Preserve in Warrenville, Illinois. Ken reiterated how honored we were to help support such a wonderful organization and that we will continue to do our part in the future. The event honored many of the children that attendees lost, and reminded the families they are never alone after such a tragic loss. For Ken, being asked to address those in attendance was a humbling moment.
If you’d like more information on The TEARS Foundation, the Rock & Walk, or how you can get involved, visit http://www.thetearsfoundation.org/ or contact Raquel Gorman or Dianne Umphress at (815) 546-4133.
Happy Birthday to Levinson and Stefani
Tuesday, June 2, 2015, marks our law firm’s one-year anniversary. The lawyers and staff of Levinson and Stefani enjoyed dinner in Chicago’s Chinatown neighborhood – a favorite spot of founding partner Ken Levinson (but to be honest, it really is a favorite of everyone’s)!
We are proud of our successes over the course of our first year, and are excited to work towards our goals for year two and beyond.
Here’s to many more anniversaries of client-first legal representation for injury victims and their families.