Firm News

Levinson to Speak to Trial Lawyers at National Convention

February 23, 2015 by Ken Levinson Leave a Comment

Showing – rather than telling – members of the jury is not as easy as it may seem. At the American Association for Justice Winter Convention, I will be showing other trial lawyers how to better connect with juries by using visuals beyond text and photographs.

If you’ll be there, I welcome you to attend the Advocacy Track: Demonstrative Evidence CLE program on Wednesday, February 25, 2015. My presentation, Using Animations & Other Visuals to Tell the Story, will show attendees creative, effective ways to present persuasive visual evidence at trial.

Levinson Shares Persuasion Strategies with Fellow Attorneys

February 5, 2015 by Ken Levinson Leave a Comment

Ken Levinson Presents to Corporate Attorneys — Ken Levinson Speaks to Corporate Lawyers at Golan & Christie in Chicago

I was honored to trek my way through a snowstorm so I could spend the lunch hour with Barbara Yong and her colleagues at the law firm of Golan & Christie. I always enjoy sharing my experiences as a trial lawyer, especially teaching fellow attorneys – though the pressure is on when the subject is “Persuasion and Communication for Lawyers.”

We covered topics such as how to make powerful word choices, engage in strategic decision-making, and using psychology and storytelling to advocate for our clients.

I can tell from our discussion during my presentation that this group is made up of fine attorneys. Plus, I even learned a thing or two about corporate law. Overall, it was a wonderful and educational time!

Locks of Love: A Fun, Kid-Friendly Way to Help

February 4, 2015 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

Monica Singh Locks of Love — Attorney Monica Singh’s Locks of Love Donation: Before and After

When Levinson and Stefani attorney Monica Singh needed a haircut, she decided to make it worthwhile. Thanks to the public non-profit organization Locks of Love, 12 inches of human hair is now available to financially disadvantaged children suffering from long-term medical hair loss. Many of the children that Locks of Love help suffer from the medical condition alopecia areta, which has no known cause or cure. Locks of Love makes high quality, natural looking hair prosthetics from hair donations, and provides hairpieces to children under age 21 around the United States and Canada.

A majority of Locks of Love’s donations come from children, and all of them go to children and young adults. These donations provide not only the donee with confidence to face the world and their peers, but the donor swells with pride knowing a simple act of kindness helps someone in need. Each donation is acknowledged by Locks of Love with a certificate, and the organization’s website shows off many of the before and after pictures of donors and donees.

Partner Jay Stefani’s young daughter has also donated to Locks of Love in the past. Jay remarked that they were surprised she had enough hair to donate at such a young age, and now her certificate is proudly displayed in her room.

Monica bravely parted with 12 inches of her hair, but Locks of Love only requires 10 inches as the minimum donation. There are numerous participating salons, and, in fact, if you tell your stylist you would like to donate to Locks of Love, many salons will cut your hair for free and mail your donation in for you, too!

You can learn more about the Locks of Love organization by clicking here. We hope you’ll take some time to check out this great organization and how it is helping to make childhood dreams come true.

As always, please feel free to reach out if you have any questions about Locks of Love or donating.

Levinson’s $43M Day Care Child Abuse Verdict Sends Loud Message – Protect Children & Ensure Safety

December 18, 2014 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

On Monday, Ken Levinson secured a $43,000,000.00 verdict in a day care child abuse case against a day care employee who sexually abused a six year old girl at the day care. Levinson won the verdict in St. Clair county, Illinois, which is near St. Louis, Missouri. A verdict of this size should shed light on day care child abuse while making a loud statement: if day care owners and operators are not going to protect and ensure the safety of the children in their care, they will be held fully accountable for the harms they cause or allow to be caused to children.

Our hope is that the verdict will help make sure daycare owners/operators do complete background checks on anyone who may have contact with children and will properly monitor their employees to protect every child trusted with their care. Let’s make sure that this type of betrayal of trust stops.

In a 2012 report detailing child maltreatment, the Children’s Bureau (Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Administration for Children and Families) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, noted that four-fifths (78.3%) of child abuse victims were neglected, 18.3 percent were physically abused, 9.3 percent were sexually abused and 8.5 percent were psychologically maltreated. Of the victims who were sexually abused, 26.3 percent were in the age group of 12–14 years and one-third (33.8%) were younger than 9 years.

The historic verdict, although uncollectible, represents vindication for victim and the victim’s family. But who knows – as one juror pointed out during the trial, an incarcerated defendant could win the lottery.

While this was a tragic, troubling, and traumatizing event, hopefully it provides hope for other day care child abuse victims, and sends a strong message to day care centers across the nation.

Jay Stefani Discusses Nursing Home Cases at the CBA

December 12, 2014 by Jay Stefani Leave a Comment

Jay Stefani speaks on Nursing Home Lawsuits — Jay Stefani Offers Tips to Lawyers About Nursing Home Cases

I was honored to speak at the Chicago Bar Association (CBA) recently about nursing home abuse cases. I enjoyed the opportunity to share tips, strategies, and experiences with the Tort Litigation Committee’s member lawyers.

Insurance companies and corporate defense lawyers work very hard to prevent nursing homes from being held responsible when their carelessness injures the elderly or disabled. Wrongdoing in a nursing home, whether by doctors, nurses, or staff, can cause immense pain for patients and families. And the well-funded corporations behind the nursing homes will be aggressive in their defense. This is why it’s so important to choose an experienced nursing home attorney if you or a loved one has been harmed. You and your family should have somebody you trust working for you, who knows the ins and outs of nursing home litigation.

Building My Dream Firm

December 2, 2014 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

Ken Levinson Attorney

It’s rare that an attorney (or anybody, for that matter), stays at the same job with the same company for the entirety of his or her career. Our career arc covers most of our lives, and plays as significant a role in our personal development as much as our professional development. If you go home at night questioning whether you are passionate about what you do, or unable to envision your hard work now leading to your “dream practice,” it might be time to consider making a change. Of course, this is not an easy, or even welcome, decision. It is very personal and life-changing, and going through with the change requires hard work and planning. But it is a decision that must be made.

After leaving my old law firm after 18 years to start Levinson and Stefani, I was invited by Susan Cartier Liebel, the Founder & CEO of Solo Practice University, to speak on my experience. Today, my lecture, From Big Law to Solo – Guest Lecture with Ken Levinson, is available online at Solo Practice University and is free to listen to.

In the 44 minute lecture, I discuss how to leave a law firm graciously, gratefully, and without burning bridges so that your experience is a positive one. The discussion touches on some of the following subjects:

Why you should leave your firm
Tips for leaving and starting up new
Getting your “planning” team together
Ethical issues facing a partner leaving a firm
Client retention
Avoiding litigation and other distractions

Listen now or download the lecture to play back on your phone or iPod. I hope you find the conversation helpful in your journey to your dream firm. Best of luck!