Levinson and Stefani Injury Lawyers

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Levinson Teaches Trial Lawyers About Visuals and Animations in Trial

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Ken Levinson Presenting to Trial Lawyers
Ken Levinson Presents to a Group of Lawyers at the American Association for Justice Winter Convention

A very big thank you to my friends at the American Association for Justice for inviting me to speak at the Winter Convention in Palm Springs!  I certainly enjoyed the escape from the Chicago snow!

My presentation to the trial lawyers was about successfully using demonstrative evidence to tell our clients’ stories at trial.  In particular, I showed the group of attorneys how and why animation and other visuals work to better communicate with a jury.

One of my favorite examples of using demonstrative evidence is in a personal injury trial, where the jury listens to a doctor talk in great detail about a patient’s surgeries.   Instead of doctor relaying a dry, dense operative report, we have the technology to create 3D animations of the medical procedure being performed.  In addition, the animation can incorporate the image of the injured person – even the location of the injuries, if in a car or at a park, for example. Showing a jury this information in an exciting, new way helps to build credibility and show the seriousness of your client’s injuries.

Thanks again to the AAJ, and to all the great lawyers at the Convention!

Levinson to Speak to Trial Lawyers at National Convention

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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

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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!

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

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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.

Building My Dream Firm

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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!

Teaching Lawyers to Help Children with Playground Injuries

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Ken Levinson - Playground Injuries and Children
Ken Levinson speaks to the New Jersey Association for Justice about children and playground injuries

As a child injury lawyer, I often am called to help parents whose children have been injured on playgrounds.  Last week I was fortunate to be invited to speak to the New Jersey Association for Justice so I could teach other trial lawyers about handling playground injury cases.  Thank you to my friends at the NJAJ for having me.

Playgrounds aren’t just swing sets and teeter-totters set atop sand and gravel, or at least they shouldn’t be.  Did you know that practically each part of a playground (even where each play piece is located) is based on standards and guidelines set by an international organization and promoted by the U.S. Government?

Child injury cases can be very different from adult injury cases.  The injuries, treatment, and impact are not the same.  For example, a child’s injury might take many years to heal, or require specialized medical care that an adult wouldn’t need. What might seem a minor problem for an injured child at first glance could actually be a major problem later in life.  In addition, communicating with injured children is sometimes more complicated than when speaking with an adult, who because of his or her age can provide more detailed information about what happened and the injuries.

My presentation provided strategic information to other attorneys fighting to secure justice for injured children and their families.  I shared tips on how to protect the scene of an injury, who to contact when investigating a playground injury, and where to look for rules and regulations governing playgrounds.

Those rules and regulations are very detailed and specific as to each element of a playground – from surfacing material, to height, length, and angle measurements of various pieces of play equipment, to distances between pieces of equipment.  And, all of this still depends on what age group the playground caters to.

Ultimately, it is imperative that a judge or jury understand the importance of these rules and regulations, and their basis in keeping our children safe. That’s why I travel to groups of lawyers and provide tactical tips on how to best serve child injury victims in court.