Firm News

Jay & Dan Speak at Chicago Bar Association Tech Review

January 12, 2021 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

Managing partner, Jay Stefani, and associate attorney, Dan Terleckyj, were panel speakers for the Chicago Bar Association’s Law Practice Management and Technology Committee & Solo/Small Firm Committees’ Annual Tech Review on December 17, 2020. The webcast focused on new technology to assist firms during COVID, as well as recommendations and looking forward to 2021 and beyond.

Jay is the vice chair of the Chicago Bar Association’s Solo & Small Firm Committee. Dan is the current co-chair of the Law Practice Management and Technology Committee.

Ken Levinson named Top 100 Illinois Super Lawyer for 2021

January 9, 2021 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

Levinson and Stefani’s own Ken Levinson has been named not only a Super Lawyer–but a Top 100 Illinois Super Lawyer for 2021.

Super Lawyers, a rating service branch of Thomson Reuters, rates outstanding lawyers “from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high-degree of peer recognition and professional achievement,” according to Super Lawyers’ website. The service uses peer nominations, peer evaluations, and its own independent research for selection.

Levinson has been named a Super Lawyer every year since 2010, and has also been named a Top 100 Illinois Super Lawyer for 2012, 2016, 2020, and now, 2021.

“Each candidate is evaluated on 12 indicators” of achievement and recognition, says the Super Lawyers site. “Selections are made on an annual, state-by-state basis. The objective is to create a credible, comprehensive and diverse listing of outstanding attorneys that can be used as a resource for attorneys and consumers searching for legal counsel.”

Not only does Levinson continue to be named a Super Lawyer and Top 100 Illinois Super Lawyer out of around 95,000 attorneys throughout Illinois, but Levinson was the only Top 100 Illinois selection who concentrates nearly exclusively on truck and auto crash injury cases–which make up over 95% of the firm’s overall cases.

After evaluating research and peer evaluation, Super Lawyers uses a patented selection process to recognize top Illinois Lawyers who receive the highest point totals. These particular lawyers are then further recognized throughout the lists of Top Illinois Super Lawyers.

Nominations for Super Lawyer candidates come from either a managing partner survey, a peer nomination, third party feedback, or Super Lawyer Research Team identification.

Then, through independent research, a candidate’s professional achievement and peer recognition are evaluated based on 12 indicators– including transactions, experience, awards, scholarly lectures, and pro bono and community service.

Then, candidates with the highest point totals from these first two steps serve on the Blue Ribbon Panel for peer evaluation–Blue Ribbon Panel members proceed to evaluate other candidates within their own primary areas of practice.

Finally, a representative number of small, medium, and large firm attorneys are chosen for final selection, with only 5% being selected as Super Lawyers. These lawyers are deemed to be the “best of the best” attorneys, and Super Lawyers limits lawyer ratings to those who can be hired and retained by the public, as the entire Super Lawyers system is meant to be a helpful lawyer-selecting tool.

Levinson and Stefani Help With Publication of New Edition of Auto Injury Case Litigation Book

January 9, 2021 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

The 2020-2021 Edition of Litigating Major Automobile Injury and Death Cases has just been released, and Levinson and Stefani have contributed to the book.

Litigating Major Automobile Injury and Death Cases is divided into two separate volumes and aims to give plaintiff attorneys proper guidance in regards to major automobile injury and death case representation. It also provides specific strategies for using the least expenditure of effort in order to win the largest damage awards as possible.

Volume 1 of the book, Law and Forms, explains how an attorney can build the best possible case by “incorporating litigation strategies that undermine expected defense strategies and affirm [the] case.”

Volume 2, Forensic Science, is medical reference-based and offers data regarding injury mechanism topics. These are meant to “prove causation and damages for a variety of crash types and crash injuries, including epidemiology, injury risk by crash type, injury pattern analysis, biomechanics, and more.”

Levinson and Stefani took the initiative to contribute a section written by Louisville-based attorney Jay Vaughn, who specializes in remote depositions. Vaughn was able to add guidance on this topic in an effort “to help practitioners during the pandemic working remotely,” which will also be “for use even when things get back to normal,” explained Ken Levinson.

In this particular contribution, Vaughn details certain technology basics, a ‘Best Practices’ checklist, court reporter instructions, the sharing and usage of exhibits, and deposition notice samples for Zoom.

The book also features tools such as focus group, trial consultant, and juror interview guidance; ways to construct the best visual aids and prepare effective presentations for a jury; procedures that give step-by-step guidance from a client’s first meeting all the way to a winning judgment; legal resource references for litigating a case to a favorable verdict; air bag, seat belt, and other auto safety-related technical articles; and scientific articles to help attorneys obtain expert and opposing expert critical testimonies.

To purchase an individual volume or the full set of the latest edition of Litigating Major Automobile Injury and Death Cases, click here.

Ken Levinson Organizes Strategic Planning Webinar

January 4, 2021 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

In current Levinson and Stefani firm news, our own Ken Levinson has organized a prominent upcoming event for small law firms.

“As Co-Chair of the Chicago Bar Association Solo and Small Firm Practitioners Committee, I planned and put together our next meeting and speaker,” Levinson explained.

On January 5th, the lunchtime virtual lunchtime program titled “The One Page Strategic Plan: Business Planning Made Simple” will take place.

“Strategic business planning is a key component to growing your firm,” said Levinson in regards to the program description. “Unfortunately, it can be time-consuming to create and can become obsolete as situations change.”

The webinar will detail the One Page Strategic Plan as a way to help viewers learn to utilize strategic planning in a manner to help their firm grow more quickly and more effectively.

The overarching goal of this online event is to give participants tools in order to: determine their particular areas of focus for the next year-to-18 months; create a solid foundation in regards to firm marketing; identify their firm’s weaknesses, strengths, opportunities, and potential threats; and to understand what can make them really stand out as attorneys.

Levinson’s chosen speaker for this event is Alay Yajnik, a law firm growth expert who specializes in aiding solo and small firm lawyers in learning the best possible business strategies and practices for their firms. In doing so, Yajnik believes that implementing these techniques will allow lawyers to work fewer hours, have more free time, and make more money on top of it all.

The first book to be written on hiring for lawyers, Staffing Up: The Attorney’s Guide to Hiring Top Talent, is written by Yajnik, who has also run a 100 million-dollar business and has built, from the ground up, an additional five million-dollar business.

Additionally, Yajnik, who holds an MBA in finance and marketing, currently serves as Hoge Fenton’s Business Development and Marketing Advisor–Hoge Fenton is a San Francisco-based firm employing 40 attorneys. Yajnik also founded Lawyer Business Advantage and hosts the Lawyer Business Advantage podcast.

For information on attending this webinar, click here.

Levinson and Stefani Donates to Equal Justice America’s Fellowship Program

October 8, 2020 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

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.

Illinois Supreme Court Commission Invites Ken Levinson to Speak on Professionalism to New Law Students

August 20, 2020 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

On August 19th, Ken Levinson spoke on behalf of the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism.

After presenting at this event for the past five years, the annual 1L Law School Professionalism Orientation Program has become one of Levinson’s favorite experiences outside of the firm.

“I talk to local law students on their first day of law school about civility, professionalism, and ethics,” Levinson said. “Over the years, I have kept in touch with many of the students–many are now lawyers–to guide and mentor them.”

The orientation program took place in a fully-virtual capacity for the first time ever, and consisted of virtual discussion on the Pledge of Professionalism, administered by a judge. Some of the schools who are participating took part in small group discussions facilitated by practicing attorneys, and all volunteer facilitators received 1.5 hours of professional responsibility CLE credit.

“My hope is people have gotten used to using Zoom and that the students are more used to it,” Levinson explained. In his discussion, he will focus on ethical dilemmas for lawyers and ask students for feedback on what they think a lawyer should do in certain situations. “Because it’s their first week of law school, they are surprised about some of the rules.”

Before the facilitated sessions took place, the Commission hosted Zoom training for all volunteer facilitators, which is set to last between 20 and 30 minutes. These training periods helped volunteers prepare for the hour-long small-group sessions where they facilitated their own sessions for the beginning law students.

“A lot of the time, something will come about up about evidence within social media, or even a text on your phone, and the question becomes: If someone comes to you with a case or a crime, can you advise your client to delete, say, a Facebook post?” said Levinson.

Many tech-savvy law students will often say the post should just be deleted, “but you cannot destroy evidence, or advise a client to destroy it, even if it’s hurtful,” Levinson continued. “So, we had a discussion as to why, and it’s really exciting to look the brand-new law students in the eye–they’re just so excited for their new profession and they’re ready to learn.”

Levinson will be facilitating a conference for the incoming law students of John Marshall Law School at the University of Illinois at Chicago.