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Jay Stefani

Jay appointed Treasurer of the AAJ Sole Practitioner & Small Firm Section

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Managing partner Jay Stefani will serve a one-year term as the newly elected Treasurer of the American Association for Justice Sole Practitioner & Small Firm Section, one of several appointments that took place at the annual AAJ convention in Boston. Jay previously served as Parliamentarian.

The Sole Practitioner & Small Firm Section focuses on issues affecting practitioners in small firms, including how to best market their practice, increase referrals, and gain visibility. The Section also addresses staffing issues, employee benefits, and law firm management.

In his new role, Jay will work to promote the Section and its objectives by coordinating with executive committee members to organize legal education seminars, networking opportunities, and information related to pending cases of interest to sole practitioners. As the managing partner of a solo/small firm in Chicago, Jay has worked with several local organizations, including his alma mater, DePaul University, to educate young attorneys about the prospects of owning a small firm and beyond.

A leader for AAJ over the last several years, Jay is also a member of the Trucking Litigation Group, Motor Vehicle Collision, Highway and Premises Liability Section, and the Nursing Home Litigation Group. He also works with the Trucking Litigation Group’s Side Underride Guard Task Force (2015-present), advocating for improved trucking safety in cities across the country, most notably here in Chicago.

The AAJ provides trial attorneys with information, professional support and a nationwide network that enables them to most effectively and expertly represent clients. The mission of the American Association for Justice is to promote a fair and effective justice system—and to support the work of attorneys in their efforts to ensure that any person who is injured by the misconduct or negligence of others can obtain justice in America’s courtrooms, even when taking on the most powerful interests.

Ken and Jay head to Boston for annual AAJ Convention

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Founding Partner Ken Levinson and Managing Partner Jay Stefani will attend the American Association for Justice 2017 annual convention at the Hynes Convention Center, July 22-25 in Boston, Massachusetts. The annual AAJ convention welcomes thousands of accomplished trial lawyers from around the country for a combination of networking events and seminars to discuss the latest developments in trial advocacy.

As leaders of the AAJ’s Interstate Trucking Litigation Group and other sections, Ken and Jay will both moderate discussions related to trucking litigation and ways for lawyers to improve relationships with their clients. They will also touch on recent developments related to federal de-regulation and how trial lawyers must act to protect crash victims from special interests.

Ken currently serves as the ITLG section’s Chair of the Education Committee, Vice Chair of the Motor Vehicle Collision, Highway & Premises Liability Section, and Secretary of Motor Vehicle Collision, Highway, and Premises Liability Section. Ken is also the co-author of 2016-17 edition of Litigating Major Automobile Injury and Death Cases, a comprehensive litigation series published by AAJ Press/Thomson Reuters. Ken recently oversaw the successful $6.25 million settlement related to a wrongful death case involving a van owned and operated by a major trucking company.

Jay serves as Parliamentarian for the AAJ’s Sole Practitioner & Small Firm Section. He is a member of the AAJ’s Trucking Litigation Group, Motor Vehicle Collision, Highway and Premises Liability Section, and the Nursing Home Litigation Group. He also works with the Trucking Litigation Group’s Side Underride Guard Task Force, advocating for a federal mandate that would require all large trucks to equip their vehicles with protective side guards. He has been recognized by various publications, including the local Chicago Reader, for his advocacy.

Jay speaks at the NJAJ Boardwalk Seminar

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Managing Partner Jay Stefani

Levinson and Stefani Managing Partner Jay Stefani was invited to speak at last month’s New Jersey Association for Justice Boardwalk Seminar, one of the country’s largest legal seminars for trial attorneys.

During the seminar, Stefani spoke about issues related to discovery. His presentation included ways in which attorneys can utilize surveillance cameras to improve their odds of obtaining successful verdicts, as well as interpreting the effects of social media on prospective cases. He also spoke on issues related to unique damages in child injury cases and how to account for overlooked details during the discovery period.

Stefani has handled numerous cases stemming from personal injury matters over the past 12 years. The majority have required extensive discovery, including the recent $6.25 million settlement for the wrongful death of a father of five young children.

The 2017 Boardwalk Seminar welcomed more than 1,000 lawyers from around the country and featured 32 seminars over three days—a unique format designed to allow attorneys to move from seminar to seminar, hearing different topics as desired and thereby creating a seminar tailored to their specific needs.

In 2016, Jay was elected Parliamentarian for the American Association for Justice’s Sole Practitioner & Small Firm Section, serving a one-year term for 2016-2017. He is also a member of the AAJ’s Trucking Litigation Group, Motor Vehicle Collision, Highway and Premises Liability Section, and the Nursing Home Litigation Group. He also works with the Trucking Litigation Group’s Side Underride Guard Task Force (2015-present), advocating for improved trucking safety in cities across the country, most notably in Chicago.

Partner Jay Stefani talks with the Chicago Reader

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Partner Jay Stefani

Recent crash deaths have shaken the city’s cycling community to the core, and it may be time for lawmakers to start prioritizing ways to protect them, according to experts like our own Jay Stefani.

As reported by the Chicago Reader, four cyclists have recently been killed in incidents related to “right-hook” crashes that involve large trucks.

“The truck blocks your path, you’re stuck, and you fall under the massive vehicle. The rear wheels roll over your body, causing severe, likely fatal, injuries,” writes reporter John Greenfield, also editor at Streetsblog Chicago.

That sums up a nightmare scenario that has become increasingly problematic in big cities like Chicago, whose residents rely on bikes as a primary mode of transportation. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg, as Jay pointed out to Greenfield, specifically with regard to protective side guards—features installed on the sides of trucks that could potentially prevent these kinds of fatalities from happening at all.

From the article: “What makes the truck right-turn incidents all the more tragic is the refusal of lawmakers to require side guards,” [Stefani] said. “Sadly, to make them mandatory here, there needs to be a tipping point where enough people are fed up with the deaths.”

The U.S. continues to lag far behind European countries like the U.K., which have adopted stricter safety regulations and implemented the side guards that Jay mentions. Will Chicago’s City Council soon do the same? It seems obvious that they should.

Read the Reader’s complete coverage here.

Partner Jay Stefani appointed to AAJ’s Sole Practitioner & Small Firm Section

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Levinson and Stefani is pleased to announce that Jay has been elected Parliamentarian for the American Association for Justice’s Sole Practitioner & Small Firm Section, serving a one-year term for 2016-2017.

The Solo Practitioner & Small Firm Section is comprised of attorneys that focus on improving the stability of solo and small firms around the country, including how to market their practice and gain visibility by taking advantage of resources like blogging and social media.

Members pay particular attention to the use of technology as a way to increase productivity and navigate the financial obstacles of running a business. The group also addresses staffing issues, employee benefits, and law firm management.

This is one of four AAJ committees Jay serves on. He also sits on the Trucking Litigation Group, the Motor Vehicle Collision, Highway and Premises Liability Section and the Nursing Home Litigation Group. He also serves as a member of the Trucking’s Litigation Group’s Side Underride Guard Task Force, advocating for improved trucking safety across the country, most notably here in Chicago.