Serious Lawyers for Serious Cases

For over 10 years, I have been privileged to represent small businesses and individuals in the trial and appellate courts in their quest for justice. During this time, I have advocated for people who care deeply about their own cases, and who have demonstrated their appreciation of what our judicial system is - a forum for resolving disputes in a civilized manner, whether by trial to verdict or settlement - and their understanding of what it is not - a venue for seeking "greenmail" settlements for frivolous complaints or a lottery ticket.

By selectively limiting my client base to those small businesses and individuals with legitimate and significant claims and interests that require protection, I have been able to assure that each case is given the time and respect it deserves. I believe that this philosophy is directly responsible for generating our ever-growing bank of satisfied clients. But don't take my word for it; See our testimonials!

Our Web Site

In keeping with our philosophy that everyone has a fundamental right to straightforward answers about the law and their case, we have designed this site to educate and illuminate the public about important issues in litigation in our areas of concentration: small business and commercial litigation, personal injury claims resulting from accidents, defective products or exposure to environmental hazards (including mold and lead), and appeals.

We hope you find this site helpful and informative, and encourage you to check our site and blog periodically for new articles and opinions.

Three Legal Mistakes That Can Cost You Your Home - or More

1) You Fail to Timely Notify Your Insurer That You Have Been Sued

Nearly all insurance policies require you to inform the company of a lawsuit, or even an anticipated claim, "as soon as practicable." The courts have generally interpreted this provision as requiring that the insurer be given written notice of the claim within 30 days; otherwise, the insurer may correctly deny your claim. In order to best protect your interests, I suggest that you forward the insurer a copy of the suit papers both by fax (so you have a fax confirmation sheet) and by certified mail, return receipt requested to head off any claim by the insurer that they did not receive timely notice of the claim.

2) You Fail to Procure Enough Insurance to Protect Your Assets

For a difference of roughly $100-$200 a year, you can probably get an additional $200,000 worth of liability insurance; for roughly $300 a year, you can get a $1 million umbrella policy. Very often, people look to save a few dollars on their insurance, and purchase minimum policies that leave their assets, such as their home and bank accounts exposed. This is pure foolishness. Simply put, at these low prices, you cannot afford not to purchase this additional insurance.

3) "Since this Case is Frivolous, I Will Just Ignore it and it Will Go Away."

Ignoring the lawsuit will not make it go away - it will only make it far worse. You may not want to spend the money to hire a lawyer to defend your interests (again, this assumes that your insurer is not defending you), but if you don't, you will end up with a default judgment against you that prevents you from demonstrating that this claim is meritless. Further, you may end up with a judgment that clouds the title to your home, shows up on your credit reports, and the sheriff may levy on your bank accounts.

Choosing the Right Law Firm for Your Small Business

In general, there are four (4) reasons why you may want to hire a big law firm to represent your small business: (1) Resources. You need sufficient support staff to manage an antitrust matter, a complex merger and acquisition, or a litigation matter with documentary discovery that would fill a large conference room or two. (2) Interdisciplinary Expertise. You require the in-depth knowledge of counsel on a broad range of legal services to collaborate on matters requiring expertise spanning several disciplines, such as corporate and securities, mergers and acquisitions, securitization, intellectual property, funds and other pooled investments, bankruptcy and corporate reorganization, bank and commercial lending, public finance, real estate, tax and employee benefits, as well as trusts and estates.(3) Global Presence. You need a global network of law offices to provide integrated multi-jurisdictional and cross-jurisdictional legal services. (4) Big Firm Stature. You need the prestige of a big firm's name on an opinion letter to support the actions your company intends to take.

Conversely, if your needs do not fit into one of these categories, your money would probably be better-spent on a small law firm specializing in your business's needs. The reasons for specifically choosing a small law firm are several:

(1) Client Satisfaction is Critical to a Small Firm's Survival. Since, by definition, small law firms lack the "big name" distinction of a large law firm, the distinguishing characteristic for any small firm is its reputation for excellence in its particular areas of practice, and the personal attention the firm offers each client. Since each attorney's performance is judged on client satisfaction and results obtained rather than on the attorneys' annual billable hours that are charged to the firm's clients (including you), the small firms have a vested interest in assuring that the resolution of your litigation or other assignment is as expeditious and inexpensive as possible. (2) Seeing the "Big Picture." The day-to-day handling of your case is carried out by the partner in charge of the case, and therefore will always remain mindful and positioned to recognize the most cost-effective manner to achieve your goals. (3) No Duplication of Work Effort.You will never be billed for meetings between the partners and associates on your case, will rarely, if ever, be billed for more than one attorney appearing at a Court conference or deposition. Why should you pay to assure that the "head" knows what each "hand" is doing, or pay for two or more attorneys appearing when often only one of the attorneys will be allowed to speak on your behalf? (4) Learning on your Nickel.Since your case is being handled directly by the partner in charge, you will only pay your lawyer to complete the requested task; you will not incur the additional time and expense for educating a new attorney.

Three Deadly Sins That Can Ruin Your Mold Case

1) Failing to Get Appropriate and Timely Clinical Testing that Confirms a Mold Allergy

A 2006 peer-reviewed article published by the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology recommends that patients with a suspected mold allergy should undergo an accepted skin or blood test for IgE antibodies to mold antigens as part of a clinical evaluation for mold allergies. The findings in this article have been cited by other experts in the relevant medical fields as being necessary to demonstrate a mold allergy. Consequently, when a plaintiff was purportedly unable to support her claims that she sustained various allergic and neurological injuries secondary to mold exposure with these test results confirming her mold allergy, a New York County judge dismissed these claims without allowing them to go before a jury for consideration.

2) Failing to Get Appropriate and Timely Environmental Testing that Confirms the Presence of Injury-Inducing Mold

The scientific literature over the last several years has consistently noted that while exposure to certain fungi, or molds, can cause human illness through allergy or hypersensitivity, direct infection by the organism, or toxic-irritant effects from mold byproducts, not all species of mold have been correlated with these reactions. Therefore, simply showing pictures depicting apparent mold growth are insufficient to prove mold injury; you will likely need to show that specific species of molds, which have been scientifically linked to the particular injuries alleged, were present in sufficient amounts to cause these injuries.

3) Failing to Notify Your Landlord or Contractor About Potential Mold Problems in Your Home

One of the bedrock principles of the United States tort system is that a landowner may not be held liable for a dangerous condition on his property unless the claimant can prove that the owner either knew, or should have known of this defect, and that it existed for a sufficient length of time prior to the incident complained of to permit the owner's employees to discover and remedy it. This is commonly referred to as the "notice" doctrine. In that regard, there are reported cases from New York's appellate courts stating that even where a landlord is tacitly aware of discoloration of walls, and has knowledge of previous water damage from a flood, neither constitutes "notice" of a likelihood of mold growth. Consequently, the owner should be specifically notified of a mold condition in order to obviate this issue.