Speaking

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.

Ohio Trial Lawyers to Host Ken Levinson as Presenter at Annual Convention

August 12, 2020 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

Ken Levinson speaking at past Ohio Association for Justice Convention

Ken Levinson will be speaking at the 2020 Virtual Annual Convention of the Ohio Association for Justice on August 13th.

Some of the most talented trial lawyers from across the United States will gather–virtually–to speak at this event hosted by Ohio trial lawyers. Levinson will be giving a presentation called “The Top Non-Law Books Trial Lawyers Need to Read,” which will include titles covering an array of subjects, from implicit bias, decision making, and strategy, to psychology and even the impact of Second City improvisation.

“I love sharing my favorite non-law books that can help trial lawyers,” Levinson said, explaining that he is also happy the convention has been open to “new and non-traditional presentations.”

“They were just so generous and open to letting me take this topic about non-legal books and run with it, and I can’t wait,” he said.

Other speeches given will include “Fun with Shrinks: Psychological Evidence in Personal Injury” by Jonathan Karon, “Hollywood Ethics: Do They Ever Get it Right?” by Charles Kettlewell,” and “Know When to Hold ‘Em–Know When to Shred ‘Em–Don’t Gamble with Client Files” by Gretchen Mote. Mote is the Director of Loss Prevention at Ohio Bar Liability Insurance Company, and Joseph Caliguiri, who will be presenting “Ethics and the Practice of Law: What Would You Do for $357?” is Disciplinary Counsel at the Supreme Court of Ohio.

With this year’s annual convention being virtual for the first time, Levinson said there are both pros and cons to the new set-up.

“It will certainly be more challenging with a virtual conference and less in-person interaction,” he said, “but a positive is that since attorneys don’t have to travel, we can have more attendees.”

There were also be a safety session dedicated to trucking during the convention, with presentations including “Strategies to Maximizing the Catastrophic Truck Case” by Peter Kestner, and “Accident Reconstruction in Trucking Cases: Initial Perception, Actual Perception, and Reaction,” by James Crawford.

“I’m teaching other lawyers that do what I do how to better represent their clients,” Levinson continued. “The key is that we’re all in this together in order to be better for our clients.”

The plenary speaker highlight will be “Hidden Damages That Can Add Millions to Your Cases” by Steven Gursten.

The event will be hosted on Zoom from August 12th to the 14th, and qualifies for half of necessary biennial CLEs while giving attendees opportunities to network with plaintiff’s attorneys from around the country.

For information on registering, please click here.

DePaul Law: Preparing to Practice

October 4, 2017 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

Jay Stefani at DepauL Law Seminar — Partner Jay Stefani participates in DePaul Law ‘Writing for Success’ panel last year.

They don’t teach business in law school.

That’s a common refrain we hear from lawyers all the time.

Fortunately, they do now. At least DePaul law does. According to their website:

Preparing to Practice (P2P): This year-long, required, 1L course prepares law students to more competitively and competently enter the professional world. P2P introduces 1Ls to the legal profession and provides an overview of the professionalism skills critical for success. For eight weeks each semester, students learn from Law Career Services (LCS) facilitators and practicing attorneys, mostly DePaul Law alumni. Students meet in assigned sections, watch online video modules, attend networking events, participate in mock and informational interviews, and work closely with their LCS advisors.

This Thursday, Jay will contribute to P2P speaking to students on a business of law panel discussing running/managing a law firm, marketing, etc.

We tip our hats to DePaul. In our view, more law schools should be providing business of law curriculum to students. Too many law students and young lawyers are admitted to the practice without even basic foundational business knowledge. For many of these young lawyers, this lack of preparation leads to a premature exit from the practice. Furthermore, lawyers who are ill-prepared from a business standpoint, can unwittingly subject their clients to negative consequences arising from poor business decisions.

Part of our firm’s ongoing commitment to the profession is preparing the next generation of lawyers for practice.

If you’re a law student, and have questions about running/managing a law firm, or anything else related to practicing, please don’t hesitate to ask in the comments below. We’ve been in your shoes. Now we’re here to give back.