Firm News

In firm news, Levinson and Stefani has recently made a donation to Equal Justice America’s summer fellowship program–an effort to provide stipends to law students who work, typically for free, in summer jobs at legal assistance organizations.

“Law students have numerous opportunities through law school to work and learn the profession,” said Jay Stefani, the firm’s managing partner. “Legal aid agencies, unfortunately, can’t compete with private firms in terms of pay–and law students have bills to pay. Places like EJA allow interested students to earn a stipend while volunteering their time helping others.”

For Stefani, specifically, this program hits close to home as he participated in a similar program to be able to work at Legal Aid Chicago (then called the Legal Assistance Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago) following his second year of law school. The firm’s donation is also specifically for students at Depaul Law School, Stefani’s alma mater.

“At Legal Aid Chicago, I learned invaluable lessons in terms of helping others and understanding the importance of being an advocate for my clients,” Stefani explained. “Without a stipend, I literally could not have afforded that experience.”

Stefani said the desire to donate to this program comes from the firm’s motivation to help people, and that while the firm focuses on bringing help to the injured, they “want to make sure to support legal assistance organizations that help people in so many other ways.” Additionally, the ability for these programs to carry on aiding students pursuing these jobs is vital in continuing the cycle of helping others throughout the legal profession.

“I think a lot of people go to law school because they realize the power and access lawyers have–and how that allows them to help others in profound ways,” said Stefani. “Unfortunately, the financial reality of law school–loans, needing to pay living expenses during those school years–often prevents those same people from pursuing their dreams. Organizations like EJA help remove the financial barrier.”

Additionally, Stefani explained that he empathizes with law students struggling to afford costs of living while studying, as well as with the feeling of unfairness that can accompany seeing more-privileged students being able to accept unpaid internships without a second thought.

“As someone who worked and paid my own way through college and law school, I am keenly aware of making decisions based on income and not necessarily on personal goals,” he explained. “I know full well that there are law students from lower-income backgrounds who have a strong desire to give back to their communities. Unfortunately, the financial burden of law school, and the student loan payments that come afterward, hinders many of them from being able to follow through on that dream.”

Equal Justice America, whose main objective is to help students and lawyers work for legal aid programs throughout the United States, has sponsored fellowships for more than 4,500 law students, given over $11,500,000 in grants, and helped provide more than 1,600,000 hours of free legal service.

On August 14th, Ken Levinson will be giving a presentation for ProVisors, titled “Supercharging Marketing and Business Development Efforts in the COVID Era.”

ProVisors is a networking organization of advisors that aims to accelerate brand and referral network growth in order for businesses and firms to reach their goals. ProVisors is a group of professionals, called ‘Trusted Advisors,’ who are thoroughly vetted before being invited to join the organization. Advisors help brands ensure they have solid networks of trustworthy professionals who can bring results that will surpass clients’ expectations.

Many of these professionals are attorneys, Levinson said, in addition to financial planners, consultants, bankers, and many others. In his presentation, Levinson will address important topics such as the ability to say positive during this time of pandemic and how to use “extra” time for productive planning, as well as to find new and creative ways to continue developing business strategies.

“For instance, I usually have lots of firm dinners and sporting events where we keep in touch with attorneys who we have relationships with,” Levinson said. “In my opinion, it’s all about trust-based relationships and being honest.”

Levinson said during the era of COVID-19, he has found new ways to stay connected with those in his network, utilizing video-chat technology to have virtual happy hours, wine tastings, and even movie nights.

These kinds of online meetings and social events “can be used by other businesses and a variety of law firms,” he said. ”It’s important to not let our practices wither, even in difficult times.”

The details of Levinson’s presentation will include: five specific actions firms should take to raise their profiles right now, a step-by-step guide to building a marketing infrastructure for sustainable client and prospect outreach, tips for one-on-one networking strategies during the pandemic, creative ways to make connections on video calls and conferences, ideas for standing out when you are communicating virtually, and guidance on distributing compelling and original content that is easily digestible with everything going on today.

Also contributing to the presentation will be Jocelyn Brumbaugh of The Brumbaugh Group, which gives marketing strategy techniques for boutique law firms, as well as some of the most-renowned law firms across the globe. Brumbaugh has led law firm communication efforts for many years, including those of Baker McKenzie and Foley & Lardner. She was also Citadel’s vice president of communications.

Sammy Azzouz will bring another perspective to the event as the founder of personal finance blog, The Boston Advisor. Azzouz is also President of Heritage Financial Services and has over two decades of financial advising experience.

“This shows that a variety of ideas and people can offer universal advice to help your business,” Levinson said.

Levinson and Stefani’s very own Ken Levinson will be speaking at the New Jersey Association for Justice’s annual Boardwalk Seminar on August 6th.

The seminar, which will take place virtually this year, will feature 29 different programs over the course of three days. All programs are sectioned off into 90-minute webinars, which will allow viewers to choose which webinars to attend based on their individual interests.

The Boardwalk program hosts many top trial lawyers from across the country as guest speakers, in addition to over 1,000 attendees from all over the East Coast. Attendees often return year after year because of how well-known the program is in regards to bringing in such great educational resources for lawyers.

“They set the standard very high with their talented staff and top trial lawyer volunteers,” Levinson said.

Levinson’s address, which will take place during the trucking-centered portion of the seminar, is called “Direct of Trucking Plaintiff Expert,” and will focus on the topic of the importance of expert witnesses at trial. When presenting an expert witness during a trucking case, “witnesses help a jury understand some of the complexities of these cases,” Levinson said, “like reconstructing a multi-vehicle truck crash, or how a professional truck driver should operate an 80,000 pound truck in specific circumstances.”

Other segments of the seminar include presentations such as “Commercial Driver’s License Manual and Industry Customs: How to Use Them” by Joseph A. Fried, “Unique Approaches to Deposing the Truck Driver” by Eric Fong, and “Investigative Tools for Trucking Cases” by Jordan M. Jones.

“The key to successful trial lawyer programs is that the best and most successful attorneys in the country provide real-life and practical guidance for lawyers to best help their clients,” said Levinson, saying this guidance should include “things attendees can use in their law practice and in their cases right away, like trial tactics–the best ways to prepare and present their cases at trial.”

Levinson’s presentation begins at 3:00 pm, and he said he loves speaking at events like this seminar “because the audience is engaged and interested, and I always learn from other speakers and attendees.” He also explained that he finds it especially beneficial to see how his fellow truck crash attorneys handle the complex issues that arise during challenging cases.

‘Trucking 2020: From Intake to Trial’ will take place online Thursday, August 6th from 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM, and has been approved by the Board on Continuing Legal Education of the Supreme Court of New Jersey for 10.80 hours of CLE credit toward certification in civil trial law.

For event registration, please click here.

Ken, Jay, and Dan attended this year’s American Association for Justice’s Annual Convention. Though originally scheduled to be held in Washington, D.C., COVID-19 dictated a change in plans. Instead, the yearly gathering of trial lawyers from across the country went fully virtual.

Spread across nearly a week, approximately 1,200 attorneys gathered in a multitude of Zoom meeting rooms for business meeting, seminars, and virtual networking events. The seminars provided countless hours of learning about changes in the law, along with new strategies, tips, and tactics to better serve individuals and families impacted by careless individuals and companies.

This was Dan’s first AAJ convention, and though it was different than past events, it was certainly worthwhile. “I was excited to attend my first AAJ conference, albeit virtual” commented Dan. “So many great lawyers sharing knowledge and experience to help each other better serve their clients — it really shows the level of camaraderie in the field.”

Ken and Jay have attended numerous AAJ conventions over the years and their commitment to the organization and what it represents really shined as both were elected to leadership positions again this year.

Ken, who holds leadership roles with AAJ as a member of the Board of Governors, was voted Chair-Elect of the Trucking Litigation Group (TLG) of AAJ. The group provides education and support resources for its members, who represent individuals and families impacted by truck crashes.

Ken was also appointed to the Appointed to Law Schools Committee (LSC) and the AAJ Press Advisory Board (PAB). The LSC helps run the law student trial advocacy competition, which helps mentor law students and awards scholarships. The PAB coordinates publishing Trial Magazine and books for trial lawyers, while providing assistance and peer review services for AAJ authors.

Jay was elected Chair-Elect of AAJ’s Sole Practitioner and Small Firm Section, which provides education and support for solo and small-firm trial lawyers in the areas of firm management and marketing.

Ken and Jay are in line to become Chairs of their respective groups at next summer’s AAJ Annual Convention, which is slated to be held here in Chicago.