Firm News

Academy of Truck Accident Attorneys (ATAA) Annual Symposium

September 17, 2019 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

We believe that everyone deserves justice. It’s why we do what we do. In addition to helping our own clients pursue justice, we are committed to helping other attorneys provide the best representation possible for their clients too. In living up to this value, Ken recently had the privilege of speaking to some excellent attorneys at the Academy of Truck Accident Attorneys (ATAA) 2019 Annual Symposium.

Over 350 truck crash injury lawyers attended the program. Ken spoke on the following topics:

Unique Issues When Representing The Truck Driver Plaintiff

Many people may be under the impression that our firm dislikes truck drivers. It’s actually the opposite. We understand the tremendous demands that are forced upon over the road truckers. In fact, many of our cases involve truck drivers who are seriously injured or killed by operators who are placed on the road by unsafe trucking companies who fail to properly train their employees. Oftentimes, unsavory companies skirt safety measures so they can undercut their prices. This places responsible truck drivers and the rest of us at risk.

And most of the time, the only thing that can take a truck off the road is another tractor trailer. Passenger cars can be akin to a speed bump to an 80,000 pound tractor trailer. We’ve learned many lessons helping truck drivers and their families. We are always honored to share our knowledge with other truck crash lawyers.

Utilizing Focus Groups In A Truck Crash Case

Focus groups are a powerful tool in helping truck crash survivors obtain justice. Ken offered advice on the logistics of setting up a focus group and covered issues of participant recruitment, location, time, forms, and more. Lawyers and their staffs can greatly enhance their chances of a fair recovery for their clients by conducting focus groups. We highly recommend testing theories and important facts of a case with non lawyer focus group participants to see if you’re on the right track. We usually find that focus group members add tremendous insights in your trial preparation.

Hispanic National Bar Association Hosts Event at Richard J. Daley Center

July 18, 2019 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

(From left to right: Hon. Dan Trevino, Hon. Sandra Ramos, Hon. Mark Lopez, Hon. Elizabeth Rivera, Sandra, Hon. Diana Rosario, Hon. Rosa Silva, and Hon. Andrea Weber)

We would like to thank the Hispanic National Bar Association for hosting a wonderful event yesterday, July 17, 2019, at the Richard J. Daley Center in Chicago. Our very own Client Relations Specialist, Sandra Marceleno, had the opportunity to attend the HNBA Court Visit in Cook County and had an incredible time.

At this event, attendees were able to visit the Hon. Andrea Weber’s courtroom and observe her preside over a criminal trial. After the trial, attendees then had a chance to meet the Hon. Sandra Ramos and other Latinx judges and attorneys in her courtroom. The judges and attorneys shared their experiences with the attendees, discussing how their careers in the legal industry began, what motivated them to choose the careers they did, and giving advice to everyone interested in pursuing a career in law.

“Hearing from someone as successful as these judges, who share a similar background as me, has motivated me to continue my pursuit of a legal career.” – Sandra

The event wrapped up with a lunch at the Daley Center where people were able to sit and have more in-depth conversations with Latinx judges. Overall, the event was an incredible experience where Latina women planning to go to law school were given the opportunity to closely observe a day in court.

The Hispanic National Bar Association is a nonprofit organization that focuses on representing the interests of Hispanic legal professionals in the U.S. Organizing and hosting events such as this court visit are only one of the ways in which the HNBA opens up doors for anyone in the Hispanic community interested in law. Here in Chicago, the HNBA hosts several events for its community each year. For more information, please visit https://hnba.com/.

Congratulations to Our Founding Partner, Ken Levinson, on Being Named a Committee Chair of the Chicago Bar Association Once Again!

July 9, 2019 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

Ken has just received the congratulatory plaque from the Chicago Bar Association.

Our firm would like to congratulate Ken on becoming the Chair of the Chicago Bar Association – Solo & Small Firm Practice Committee for the seventh year in a row! Ken is coming up on a decade of leadership and being chair of the committee. He is always looking to help and serve this wonderful community.

The CBA’s Solo & Small Firm Practice Committee is known for hosting an educational lunch-and-learn once a month throughout the year. At these lunch-and-learns, a variety of topics are covered to help small or solo practices. These topics can range from how using technology can help clients and firms to ethics. The sessions will have training available to attorneys to help serve them in making sure that they are up to date with the updated rules of professional responsibility, especially with technology and other often-changing issues. These lunch-and-learn sessions also delve into how attorneys can best market their small or solo practices and help provide guidelines on how to run them more professionally. Additionally, the committee has invited judges to speak at some of these sessions, giving attorneys the opportunity to hear the advice these judges have to give, as well as being able to sit in on some round-table discussions. This is just a glimpse into what the committee has in store for the upcoming year.

“I feel it’s not only important, but an obligation in this wonderful profession to help other attorneys, especially younger lawyers starting out in practice.” – Ken Levinson

These monthly meetings hosted by the Solo & Small Firm Practice Committee are also incredible opportunities for all attendees to meet each other, learn more about their practices, and be a community that can help and serve one another and the clients. It also allows provides a space where attorneys can discuss different approaches to coping with the stress that often comes with practicing law and support each other. Additionally, in the spring, the committee will host a half-day educational program, where there will be speakers who will provide lawyers with some incredible tips and guidelines for the best way to improve their practices.

Ken & Jay Speak at New Jersey Trial Lawyers Association

May 21, 2019 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

Ken and Jay recently spoke at the New Jersey Association for Justice’s2019 Boardwalk Seminar. The seminar, held annually in Atlantic City, New Jersey, is consistently one of the largest educational gatherings of trial lawyers in the country, drawing over 2,000 attorneys. Ken and Jay, while always seeking to hone their skills by learning from some of the top trial lawyers in the nation, pride themselves in their commitment to speak at these seminars themselves.

“We really feel a responsibility to helping not only our clients, but all the people affected by the carelessness of others. With that, Jay and I try to help teach other lawyers whenever we have the opportunity,” said Ken.

Trying the Truck Case

Ken first presented at the “Trucking 2019: Big Rigs, Big Wrecks” session. He stressed how important it is for lawyers representing individuals and families in truck crash cases to realize the differences between trucking cases and automobile cases. One of the initial reasons, is the injuries tend to be more catastrophic given the typical tractor-trailer on the highway weighs roughly 40 times as much as a standard sedan. Ken highlighted the importance of helping clients navigate the often difficult medical path ahead of them.

Ken also stressed that truckers are professional drivers, usually working for large, sophisticated corporations. These drivers and truck companies are regulated by well-established federal safety rules, put in place to protect everyone on the roadways. In that vein, he spoke about the importance of educating judges and juries on those rules and the differences between “regular” drivers and professional drivers. For example, in hazardous weather conditions, professional truck drivers are required to not only exhibit “extreme caution,” but they are not allowed to drive once the weather becomes unsafe.

How to Handle Difficult Client Issues

Ken’s second presentation at the seminar was at during the “Intake to Verdict: Maximizing Your Client’s Claim” session. Ken quickly set the stage by clarifying that “difficult client issues” did notmean “hard to deal with.”

“Every client has challenges that we, as lawyers, have to be sensitive to,” Ken explained. Some clients are vulnerable, whether due to age, injuries, or any of a myriad of factors. Ken continued, “Our clients often have complex needs when they come to us: they’re overwhelmed with medical bills, they’ve lost income because they can’t work, or the family may need help navigating the probate system after a death.” Specifically pertaining to medical issues, Ken stressed the role lawyers play in helping clients find the right medical specialist, sorting out health insurance issues, and even guiding them through the often long and arduous road to recovery ahead of them.

“First and foremost, we must always remember that while we are experienced veterans of the litigation process and the court system, this is a new and frightening experience for the people we represent. We are here to help – and that extends beyond just ‘winning the case,’” Ken concluded.

Case Management Systems: Choosing the Right One, Maximizing Their Use and Automating Your Practice

At the “Technology for Litigators” session, Jay discussed the many options lawyers have for case management systems. He walked through the criteria that should be used to help choose the right CMS, but also how to leverage its various functions to improve efficiency and productivity at the law firm. Jay was able to utilize his trials and tribulations as managing partner of Levinson and Stefani Injury Lawyers for the past five years. He provided numerous examples of what works, what doesn’t work, and how each firm and attorney may have different needs and wants.

“As trial lawyers, we are always focused on serving our clients and getting the best results we can. Sometimes, though, it’s easy to forget that part of that is running an efficient office – and in doing so, we can better help our clients,” Jay said. The presentation included topics such as building checklists and processes into the CMS, as well as using document generation to more quickly push cases against insurance companies and their corporate lawyers.

Ken and Jay are always thrilled to help whenever they can. If you have a seminar where either of them could be of assistance, please do not hesitate to reach out!

AAJ Student Trial Advocacy Competition 2019 Recap

March 12, 2019 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

STAC Judges

The future looks bright for this next generation of trial lawyers! Our firm is proud to have been the Chicago Regional Coordinator of the AAJ Student Trial Advocacy Competition 2019 held at the Richard J. Daley Center. This year, over 200 teams from law schools nationwide competed in 14 regional competitions in the hopes of making it to the National Finals to be held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The weekend was filled with several rounds of impressive advocacy from 16 teams overall. We would like to congratulate the winner, Loyola University Chicago Law School, for its great achievement as well as all of the other teams for such outstanding performances. Our own founding partner, Ken Levinson, acted as presiding judge for one of the semi-final rounds (pictured above). As coordinator for the second year in a row, we are proud to help provide such a platform for law students to grow in trial advocacy.

We would also like to thank everyone involved in making this competition a possibility, especially those who were willing to take the time out of their busy lives to volunteer this weekend. Your generosity is greatly appreciated!

Ken Speaks to Select Group of Trucking and Traumatic Brain Injury Lawyers

December 4, 2018 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

Founding partner, Ken Levinson, was honored with an invitation to help teach other trial lawyers at a private program for attorney members of the American Association for Justice last week in our nation’s capital. Ken shared his knowledge and experience advocating for victims of serious truck collision and traumatic brain injury cases with his fellow practitioners in conferences held on Friday and Saturday.

Ken taught other trucking attorneys about his experiences running focus groups in Chicago. In one example, he discussed a serious injury resulting from a tractor-trailer crash. Ken detailed ideas and strategies to help a severely injured young man hold a driver and trucking company accountable for their careless actions.

Through his talk, Ken helped other lawyers by testing themes that would resonate with a jury and to craft arguments that would most effectively help to obtain a fair result for their injured clients. He shared exhibits, videos, photos of the crash scene, as well as examples of truck safety rules and regulations that were helpful in telling the young man’s story and how to best express to a jury how the defendants’ careless acts led to his condition. He also showed the approximately 80 lawyers in attendance video clips demonstrating how participants of his focus group reacted to his presentation and what they thought of the case.

On Saturday, Ken spoke to a group of trial lawyers about effectively representing clients in traumatic brain injury cases. Specifically, he shared his experience helping another lawyer with a case in a rural, conservative county, where even after the wife of a brain injury victim testified at a deposition, the insurance company offered no money for her husband’s tragic and avoidable injury.

After spending the day with the victim’s family and learning about what they have gone through and what they have been dealing with since this awful crash, Ken shared his experience with his colleagues of how he was able to help the family’s attorney, despite no offer to settle from the defense, to present the family’s testimony at trial in a more effective way leading to the jury awarding a record setting verdict in the case, by truly learning their story and helping share it effectively on the client’s day in court.