ken levinson

Ken Levinson Serving as Featured Speaker at Annual IAJ Convention

November 1, 2021 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

On Friday, November 5th, Levinson and Stefani Injury Lawyers’ own Ken Levinson will be a featured speaker at the Iowa Association for Justice’s 48th Annual Convention.

This hybrid event allows attendees to join either virtually or in-person, but will be held at the Downtown Des Moines Hilton. Other speakers include the New President of AAJ, Navan Ward of Atlanta, as well as IAJ’s Nick and Courtney Rowley, Lauren Fraser of New Jersey, and Karen Koehler of Seattle.

IAJ prides itself on gathering some of the most prominent speakers from across the state of Iowa and the country itself to discuss innovative litigation solutions and trial advocacy techniques.

Levinson will be sharing his ideas regarding focus group utilization methods and practices for the present day as compared to pre-COVID.

“I love teaching,” Levinson said of his participation in the convention. “I love helping fellow trial lawyers. I’ll be discussing how we’ve pivoted from focus groups and preparing our cases before COVID to how we do so now–by using Zoom more, getting input from other lawyers and participants, and using virtual focus groups along with surveys and other methods.”

Levinson noted that before the coronavirus era, many trial lawyers didn’t think much about other ways to hold focus groups–and they’ve now been forced to think outside the box.

“We used to only do focus groups in person,” he said. “We didn’t really consider any other method to test our cases and help our clients with focus groups. Now, we’ve made changes in the middle of COVID to do focus groups remotely and it’s been interesting; it’s easier, in a lot of ways, to find participants because sometimes they’re more comfortable at home.”

Not only is it easier to find participants, but focus groups can be held with more people than ever before when done virtually.

“We can do some interesting things online and get more people, because by definition, a conference room only holds so many individuals–but you can do a virtual Zoom focus group with around 50 people,” Levinson added. “A conference room size can be limiting. Now, we’ve been able to survey people and have them fill out questionnaires in real time, whereas in person, it’s a lot harder to do that. It’s been really seamless, especially when we need to show exhibits from our computer. We’ve done a lot of focus groups in jurisdictions and states far away, but from the comfort of my office in Chicago.”

For information on attending IAJ’s Annual Convention virtually, click here, or head here for details on joining the in-person event in Des Moines.

Ken Levinson to Speak on Innovative Trial Methods at Belli Society Seminar

October 7, 2021 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

This weekend, the Melvin M. Belli Society will be hosting its 73rd annual seminar entitled: In the Spirit of Belli: Cutting-Edge, New and Innovative Ideas for Your Cases and Your Practice, a three-day event in Atlanta for lawyers across the country to meet and immerse themselves in new and innovative methods of effective trial practices. On Sunday, the first full day of the event, Levinson and Stefani’s own Ken Levinson will be speaking.

Levinson’s lecture will focus on the top non-law books that trial lawyers should read–a discussion on the best non-law-focused literature for lawyers to up their game in reaching a jury in a particularly powerful way.

“I read a lot of non-law books–books on decision making, psychology, persuasion, storytelling, and other fields that I think help us as trial lawyers that aren’t necessarily in trial lawyer books,” Levinson explained. “I enjoy sharing what I’ve read so that we can use things like what a filmmaker does, for example, to help our clients. I really get a kick out of teaching other lawyers about things I’ve read or learned from other means.”

Understanding the nuances of effective storytelling is key during trial, Levinson noted.

“You could be in an artificial environment, in a movie theater, and within minutes you could be vying for the hero of the story or angry at the villain, and it’s really interesting how that emotion is played out,” he said. “You know consciously and intellectually that this is a story and a fake environment, but it can still get you emotionally invested. That has always fascinated me because in real life, sometimes lawyers don’t tell a proper story of their clients’ cases. They don’t use storytelling methods to get the jury engaged in a case, and that’s, I think, a wasted opportunity.”

In his talk, Levinson will discuss how to implement key takeaways from these kinds of books into the way a lawyer can powerfully affect a jury in any given case.

“Why not tell a compelling–yet truthful–story about our client’s struggles and what they’ve overcome?” he asked. “Storytelling can give us some techniques to make our clients’ true life stories as emotional and engaging as any fake story that we’re watching in a movie theater.”

The seminar takes place this Sunday and Monday at the Capital City Club Brookhaven in Atlanta.

Ken Levinson to Teach at AAJ’s 2021 Depositions College

June 4, 2021 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

Throughout the month of June, the American Association for Justice is hosting its Depositions College workshop, referred to this year as the ‘Depositions College: Implementing the Tools’ webinar. On the faculty lineup this year is Levinson and Stefani’s very own Ken Levinson.

Starting today, the online workshop will run each Friday in June from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time. During each session, participants will receive insight into a certain new deposition skill through lectures during four separate two-hour workshops, and then have the opportunity to unpack that knowledge with a faculty member in small groups.

There is a variety of new skills that will be focused upon during this month of workshops, including: dealing with difficult or evasive witnesses, techniques for deposing non-party damage witnesses, taking corporate 30(b)(6) depositions, and methods for deposing medical experts or DME.

Some other faculty members teaching at the event include Karen R. Roberts of Roberts & Roberts in Texas, Jason Penn of Berman, Sobin, Gross, Feldman, & Darby LLP in Maryland, Yvonne M. Flaherty of Lockridge Grindal Nauen PLLP in Minnesota, Thomas W., Dillon of Konicek & Dillon, PC in Geneva, Illinois, and Seth L. Cardeli of Levin & Perconti, also in Chicago.

Each day of the program will begin with a lecture on the day’s topic, followed by a presentation from a sponsor, a live question and answer session, and finally the small group workshop led by a faculty member. AAJ’s four-part webinar will be able to be credited for 12 hours of CLE credit.

To register for the webinar event or for more information on the program, visit AAJ’s website here.

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.

Ken appointed Treasurer of the prestigious AAJ Trucking Litigation Group

August 14, 2017 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

In more news, founding partner Ken Levinson has been elected to serve as Treasurer of the American Association for Justice Trucking Litigation Group, a prestigious leadership role that will continue through 2018. Ken’s appointment was made official during the AAJ’s annual convention in Boston. He previously served as part of the Group’s Advisory Board.

The AAJ Trucking Litigation Group is comprised of nearly 500 lawyers from around the country and is considered one of the top two most successful litigation groups of the organization. The Truck Litigation Group often addresses lax federal, state, and local enforcement of trucking laws that in turn have an adverse impact on victims of trucking crashes. The Group effectively serves as an oversight committee for the trucking industry and the laws that govern its safety standards.

With advancements in technology, the trucking industry continues to evolve at a startling rate. One of the big issues related to commerce and legislation is the advent of self-driving trucks, which experts agree is an inevitability. As an elected leader of the litigation group, Ken will work with the executive committee members to draft official stances on things like self-driving trucks and government oversight, among many other tasks. Ken and executive committee members will also prioritize the enforcement of current laws as they pertain to the protection of plaintiffs.

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 elected Chair of the AAJ Motor Vehicle Section

July 31, 2017 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

Serving a one-year term through 2018

Founding partner Ken Levinson has been elected Chair of the American Association for Justice Motor Vehicle Section, serving a one-year term through 2018. This comes on the heels of the AAJ’s annual convention in Boston, which welcomes thousands of trial lawyers each year for a series of seminars and networking events designed to help attorneys when representing clients.

The Motor Vehicle Section of the AAJ addresses federal no-fault issues and focuses on auto collision cases, truck safety, highway design, low speed impact, soft tissue injuries and premises liability. The section is comprised of experienced trial lawyers whose practice focuses on truck litigation and personal injury.

As Chair, Ken will oversee its members and bylaws. He will lead efforts to change and/or modify existing policy as it relates to the section’s goals and objectives, work with members to organize webinars and other informational programs related to injury litigation, and serve as representative during other AAJ events. Ken was formerly the Chair of the AAJ’s Trucking Litigation Group Education Committee, and currently serves as the Illinois Trial Lawyer Association’s Illinois State Delegate to AAJ. Ken is also a Co-Chair of the Chicago Bar Association’s Solo/Small Firm Committee and is frequently invited to speak as a faculty member at various trial lawyer programs throughout the country.