Registering for this webinar will grant you access to watch all parts. 

In this 3-hour program, the creator of the Speed Trial, Joe Fried and the creator of the Depositions Are Trial Methodology, Sach Oliver, merge together for the perfect combination in trucking cases. Learning these techniques guarantees better results for trucking victims. What is the most common truck wreck fact pattern? What is the more complex case? 5 witnesses? 40 witnesses? These techniques work on all types of cases.

The Speed Trial – preparation for the speed trial

The foundation for efficiency and clarity,

Involvement and planning with in-house staff,

Analysis of evidence for elements required for prima facie case for all legal theories (for each party). including punitive damages. The trucking rules that apply.

Coordination/timing of discovery/document requests, experts, jury research.

Determining Messaging, Key Words, and Deliver of the Truth in the most efficient manner with extreme clarity.

Identification of key areas of inquiry for the driver and the 30(b)(6) witness

Choosing and creating exhibits and visual aids for use with the driver and 30(b)(6) witness’ deposition

Taking the driver deposition to nail down critical speed trial facts

Taking the Trucking 30b6 deposition to nail down critical speed trial facts

Editing key video clips required for prima facie elements.

Editing expert clips required for prima facie elements

Practical Trucking Teaching and Instruction Speed trial: Jury Selection, Opening, Direct and Cross Exams, and Closings.

Joe Fried

Sach Oliver

TLU Live Vegas 2024 REPLAY - The Perfect Combination for Trucking Cases: Speed Trial and Depositions Are Trial Methodologies Combined PARTS 1 to 3

Throughout his 30-year legal career, Ben Rubinowitz has made his mark as a leading trial lawyer combining hard work and dedication with his remarkable courtroom skills and presence. Mr. Rubinowitz began his career as a prosecutor, where he honed the trial skills that would become his hallmark. From there, he began serving as a trial lawyer representing severely injured plaintiffs in personal injury cases, eventually joining 

 in 1989. For the past 16 years Mr. Rubinowitz was featured in New York Magazines' article on "Best Lawyers in New York". For the past 2 years Ben has been recognized in the New York Times as one of the "Top 10" lawyers in the New York Metro area, as evaluated by New York Super Lawyers. Ben was honored by being elected to be a member of the prestigious Inner Circle of Advocates. The Inner Circle of Advocates is limited to 100 members considered among the best plaintiffs attorneys in the United States and also to be "lawyers of excellent character and integrity."

Ben's meticulous approach to the preparation and trial of cases has produced 28 verdicts and over 180 settlements in excess of one million dollars in cases arising out of car accidents, premises accidents, 

, medical malpractice, civil rights violations and products liability. Mr. Rubinowitz has a thorough grasp of the nuances of complex issues. This, coupled with his ability to translate complicated information into clear terms for a jury, has left an indelible impression on all those who have witnessed him in action--including even defendants' medical experts that he has cross-examined. In addition to his skills as a trial lawyer, Mr. Rubinowitz has successfully argued appellate cases before the Appellate Division and the highest court in the State of New York, the Court of Appeals.

Ben B. Rubinowitz

I am a partner at Panish | Shea | Ravipudi LLP, an adjunct professor at Loyola Law School, and the father of three boys. I am so lucky to be married to Smitha who is an amazing mother and the CEO of USC Care Medical Group, the physician group of Keck Medicine of USC. My wife understands and appreciates my passion for teaching so much so that she was cool when I worked to schedule our Trial College at the time that best worked for everyone – despite it starting the day after my 20-year wedding anniversary! I made the mistake a while back of asking Smitha what my top five qualities were that made her want to marry me. Much to my surprise and disappointment, my sense of humor did not make the list! She is right, I am not funny, but that doesn’t stop me from trying. I love the Buffalo Bills, “Dad Jokes”, and taking selfies (especially with my Snapchat filters).

Rahul Ravipudi

I grew up in Birmingham, MI. I am the youngest of eight children and attended an all-boys catholic school my whole life until I went to college at the University of Michigan. I went to night school at Detroit College of Law. My dad, my uncle, two of my brothers, and sister were lawyers. My first job was cutting lawns at age 10. I started working for my brother as a house painter at age 12. When I was 16 I started my own painting business and continued throughout high school, college, and law school, and a few years after until I was 32. I practiced criminal defense for eighteen years in Michigan until ten years ago when my roommate from the Trial Lawyers College, Nick Rowley, encouraged me to move to LA to become a PI lawyer. The California Bar took me four tries. I moved to Las Vegas this past March. I have recently taken up pickle ball, skiing and golf. I also think I'm competitive at connect four, backgammon, chess, and ping pong.

Dan Ambrose

I was born in San Diego, California. I was the 4th of 5 kids and the first son. My Dad was a doctor but as a young man he was part of the fight for the establishment of Israel and it was always his dream to live there. My family emigrated to Israel when I was 5 years old. We lived there through the 1973 war after which we moved back to the United States – first to New York and then to Atlanta. After losing several friends in high school to DUI related crashes, I became a police officer. I investigated many crashes and testified in court a fair amount. I saw first-hand the difference that a good lawyer can make. I attended the University of Georgia School of Law, followed by a federal court clerkship and then entered private practice. I was appointed to serve part-time as a magistrate judge, while working full-time as a trial lawyer. Unlike lawyers who do lots of things at the same time, I have always specialized. I spent the first few years of my practice handling mostly birth trauma cases. I then happened into a case where a woman burned alive following a survivable rear impact crash. This led to me specializing this unique aspect of automotive product liability for about 10 years. I told Ford that I would stop suing them if the fixed the problem with the Mustang and while it took a while they finally did.

After some soul searching, I decided to focus on truck crash cases. At the time, lawyers focusing on truck crash cases was not a thing. I have done my part over the last 18 years to make it a thing. I have spent countless hours developing best practices for handling these cases. Knowing that I could only handle a small number of cases and wanting to have a big impact on highway safety, I set out to train lawyers all over the country on how to best handle truck crash cases. I have served in leadership of just about every organization in the Country for lawyers who handle truck crash cases. I am Co-founder of the Academy of Truck Accident Lawyers and the National Board of Truck Crash Lawyers (an NBTA sub-board responsible for Truck Crash Law obtaining ABA recognition as a legal specialty). Most recently I authored “A Law Enforcement Guide to Truck Driving Safety Standards” and I have worked hard to be the best human being I can be, the best husband and father I can be, and the best lawyer I can be. It is a work in progress. At this point in my life, I am trying to pay things forward. Closing in on 1000 days without missing on the Peloton!

In 2016, at the age of 37, Benjamin P. Cloward became the youngest lawyer in the history of the State of Nevada to be awarded the prestigious “Trial Lawyer of the Year” by the Nevada Justice Association. That same year, he became the youngest member of the Nevada, Las Vegas Chapter of ABOTA (American Board of Trial Advocates), and at the time was also the youngest person in the State of Nevada to be Board Certified as a Personal Injury Specialist. He has received many additional recognitions including being AV-Rated by Martindale-Hubbell and receiving a perfect 10.0 by 

. He has been featured in several magazines in Nevada for his accomplishments and hard work.

Just recently, in February of 2020, Ben obtained a 

, which is believed to be the largest ever negligent security for wrongful death in the State of Nevada and was the 2nd largest wrongful death verdict in the entire United States in 2020. Other verdicts Ben has obtained include a 

 in 2016 on behalf of a family whose disabled son Harvey was allowed to choke to death on a paratransit bus. That verdict was upheld in a unanimous decision after four years of contentious appellate litigation with the final judgment ballooning to nearly 

. The defense in that case never formally offered a single penny. After obtaining the verdict, Ben continued working on the safety issue that led to Harvey’s death and with the help of many other people got “Harvey’s Law” passed in Nevada in 2017, which required certain training for all paratransit bus drivers to ensure others were protected. In 2016, Ben also obtained a 

 for a family whose life had been altered by a drunk driver that injured the mother and killed the daughter. He also obtained a 

 for a client who was significantly injured from a fall which resulted in a moderate brain injury. Ben has obtained multiple soft-tissue, low visible property damage jury verdicts including a 

 in 2014 and several 6 figure verdicts where Ben obtained verdicts over 

 greater than the defense offers prior to trial. Other notable results on behalf of his clients include a 

 against Jacuzzi Luxury Bath, dba Jacuzzi, Inc. and First Street for Boomers & Beyond, Inc. Also, he recently obtained an 

 verdict against FedEx Ground Package Inc. In addition to obtaining significant jury verdicts, Ben has also been involved in settling over thirty cases for values ranging from $1 million to $10 million as noted above. He has tried to verdict cases in both State and Federal Court in Utah and Nevada.

Benjamin P. Cloward

, a national law firm dedicated to representing real people against insurance companies, the government and big corporations. He has a history of service as a military medic having served both in the United States Air Force and Army.

Accomplishing a bachelor’s degree in Social Psychology by the age of 19 while on active duty, Nick went on to get a law degree, starting law school at 20. Nick is a proud father of his sons and daughters and the husband of Trial Lawyer and author Courtney Rowley.

Nick Rowley

Born and raised in Hawaii, Bibi Fell still has a hint of the Islands in her smile. Welcoming for jurors, it often causes her to be underestimated by opposing counsel, much to their peril. She started her own law firm despite a series of personal challenges over the last 2 years, including a cancer diagnosis in her 4-year-old daughter. With her daughter now cancer-free, she is back to the courtroom and sharing her skills with others. Bibi combines an ability to craft a persuasive argument with incredible trial preparation. She is a master storyteller who uses visuals to drive the story. She loves spending time with all of her girls and the doctor who helped saved the life of her youngest daughter.

Bibi Fell

David DeRubertis

I was named after Satchel Paige the baseball player. People often ask me why there is not a “t” in my name and the truth is that my parents were afraid I would be called a satchel bag at school. I was raised in the small town of Viola, Arkansas and give the credit of my success to my wonderful parents, Eddy and Jeanie Oliver. I basically drove my mentor, Frank Bailey, nuts until he agreed to hire me. The first three phone calls to Frank’s office resulted in failure because the office manager simply told me, “Mr. Bailey was not hiring.” I brainstormed magic words with my parents and called back a 4th time asking if I could just spend “5 minutes with Mr. Bailey.” Thank goodness Frank agreed. In those 5 minutes, Frank determined I had great potential and hired me to trim the boxwoods and plant begonias in the firm’s garden. I told Frank that I would do whatever he wanted me to do for little or no money under one condition… If Frank went somewhere on a case for any reason, he must take me with him. We have been together ever since. I am married to Codi Oliver who is a pediatric occupational therapist. We have two daughters, Reesa and Reagan. One of our favorite things to do is ride horses together on our ranch in beautiful Northwest Arkansas. I am passionate about my faith and discipling men to be their best.

 is a nationally recognized attorney, legal entrepreneur, and founder of Atlanta Personal Injury Law Group, and now the Managing Attorney for Sweet James in Georgia. A native of Poughkeepsie, NY and the eldest of three daughters, Jennifer was inspired early on by her entrepreneurial father.

She earned her undergraduate degree in Business Management with a concentration in Finance and Marketing from Marist College. During college, Jennifer was involved in a serious car accident that required a six-month recovery. The legal challenges she faced during that time ignited her passion for the law. A few years later, the tragic loss of her high school sweetheart in a motorcycle crash further strengthened her resolve to help others navigate the aftermath of life-altering events.

Jennifer moved to Atlanta, Georgia, where she enrolled in Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School’s evening program while working full time as a personal injury paralegal. After earning her law degree and passing the bar, she founded Atlanta Personal Injury Law Group in 2013. Over the next decade, she built a powerhouse team of over 35 employees and 6 attorneys across multiple locations in Georgia.

Her firm became known for combining personalized client care with tech-driven efficiency to maximize case value and streamline the legal process. Under her leadership, the firm experienced exponential growth and earned national recognition, including consecutive placements on the 

Inc. 5000 List of Fastest Growing Companies in the U.S. between 2022-2024.

In 2025, Jennifer merged her firm with Sweet James, a leading personal injury brand, and assumed the role of East Coast Managing Partner. Through this partnership, she continues to lead and grow a premier legal team while expanding the Sweet James footprint across the eastern United States.

Her work has earned numerous accolades, including the 

 in 2023 and is a sought-after speaker on topics ranging from legal operations to entrepreneurial leadership.

In addition to leading her firm, Jennifer actively coaches personal injury attorneys and law firm owners nationwide. She shares her insights on law firm growth, intake, marketing strategy, and leadership.

Jennifer is deeply committed to giving back to her community. In 2025, she established the 

 through the Georgia Association for Women Lawyers Foundation to support women attending law school in Georgia. She also contributes to initiatives like 

, which provides school supplies to students in need, and regularly sponsors community programs and college scholarships.

She has held several leadership positions, including Past President of the Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School Alumni Association and currently serves as President of the Georgia Association for Women Lawyers Foundation. She remains an active member of the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association and other professional organizations that champion access to justice and advocate for plaintiffs’ rights.

Outside of her professional life, Jennifer is a devoted mother of three. She enjoys traveling, staying active, listening to business podcasts, and spending meaningful time with her family. A lifelong learner and visionary leader, she is committed to empowering others while continuously evolving

Jennifer Gore

Dale K. Galipo obtained his J.D.from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law in 1984. Mr. Galipo has since earned a reputation as one of the top civil rights attorneys in the nation. With the formation of The Law Offices of Dale K. Galipo in 1991, Mr. Galipo began specializing in personal injury cases and soon thereafter, he started obtaining multi-million dollar jury verdicts on personal injury cases. During the 1990’s, Mr. Galipo also handled numerous criminal cases and was dubbed “The Strikes Man” by the Daily Journal for multiple jury acquittals in “three strikes” cases. From 1995 thru 1996, Mr. Galipo obtained six consecutive jury acquittals on major felony cases.

In 2002, Dale Galipo started to specialize in civil rights cases involving police misconduct and excessive force and shortly thereafter, Mr. Galipo began obtaining multi-million dollar jury verdicts for victims of police misconduct and police abuse. In 2012, Mr. Galipo was awarded the Defender of the Constitution Award by the Inland Empire Chapter of the Federal Bar Association and was more recently the Honoree for the MLK award presented in his name at the UC Davis School of Law. In the last eleven years, he has prevailed in over 50 Jury trials and has obtained over 100 seven-figure verdicts and settlements.

With approximately twenty published opinions in civil rights cases, Dale Galipo has also been selected to the Southern California’s SuperLawyers list every year. Having been awarded the CAALA Trial Lawyer of the Year 2020 and also the CAOC 2020 Consumer Attorney of the Year, he is often asked to speak about his civil rights practice, most often on how to successfully try a civil-rights case. As an active member of The Inner Circle of Advocates and as a Fellow of The American College of Trial Lawyers, Mr. Galipo has gone to trial and won more cases against the police than any other attorney in the country.

Dale Galipo

I’m a tax lawyer who originally planned to be a trial lawyer. Now I serve as Tax and Settlement Counsel to plaintiff firms, focusing on settlement language and arrangements that plaintiffs use to keep far more of their winnings.

As an aspiring trial lawyer at NYU Law I clerked in the U.S. Department of Justice’s Federal Tort Claims Act Section. Everything changed when NYU cancelled my 2L Evidence Course and I switched to a Tax Policy Course. In it I wrote my Law Review Article on a critical plaintiff tax issue raised during my clerkship: the strategic use of Qualified Settlement Funds. To do so I interviewed plaintiff lawyers and advisors across the country, many of whom later became my clients.

I obtained my Tax LL.M at NYU Law and then served as a Fellow in the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Tax Policy. While at the Treasury I focused on plaintiff tax issues in addition to transactional, trust, and international taxation, which would later help me vet and build arrangements used at settlement today.

After my time at the Treasury I joined a Northwest Law Firm and focused my practice on plaintiff and plaintiff firm taxation. I now serve on the ABA TIPS Plaintiffs’ Practice Committee and Chair the Society of Settlement Planners’ Legal Committee. I write and speak on the subject in a Forbes Column, for trial lawyer audiences, and on CNN, Fox News, and CNBC.

Through my law firm Structured Legal I advise plaintiffs and plaintiff firms. Through my consulting firm Structured Consulting I build new settlement arrangements with trust companies, insurance companies, and other financial institutions.

Using my past experience advising nonprofits I worked with other plaintiff supporters to build the Plaintiff Fund, a 501(c)(3) charity that allows plaintiffs to raise medical funds from their community without losing government benefits.

An extra sentence in the settlement agreement can dramatically increase what a plaintiff keeps. Even in tax-free cases you can save your client from significant taxes – for example, by preserving millions in future medical expenses deductions, or by securing valuable tax subsidies.

This is a presentation for trial lawyers, not financial advisors. How can you issue-spot for tax opportunities (and risks) at settlement? And what steps can you take at engagement to protect you and your client from missing them?

The settlement agreement is your best tax tool. You can force the IRS to bear the burden of proof on audit. You can dramatically reduce the risk of audit. And you can memorialize facts needed to secure tax benefits.

To do so we’ll discuss how to spot potential taxation before signing and flag opportunities to avoid it. We walk through the use of the settlement agreement to effect and protect tax-saving strategies.

We’ll also walk through tax-subsidized and tax-advantaged arrangements. Each “solution” solves a unique problem. What is the “plaintiff double tax”? How can you avoid it? How can you settle while still preserving structured settlement options?

Lastly, we’ll cover the plaintiff firm’s ethical obligations on tax and financial issues. What if you don’t spot these issues? Can you exclude them from your scope of representation? What should you know when referring clients to settlement advisors?

No one expects you to become a tax lawyer. But your team may be in the best position to spot tax opportunities and risks. We’ll walk through what to watch for.

Jeremy Babener

I started Dudley DeBosier Injury Lawyers in 2009 with my partners, Steven DeBosier and James Peltier. The firm now has over 50 attorneys and 200 team members, representing thousands of clients each year. Additionally, I am the CEO of cj Advertising, an advertising agency that is a full service agency exclusively for plaintiff firms. Cj Advertising represents over 70 brands across the U.S. I frequently speak across the country on the topics of law firm management, marketing and technology. I am also a management coach to many of the top firms in the country and I have worked with over 200 plaintiff firms in the past 15 years.

Chad Dudley

Michael Alder

I was born and raised in warm, sunny, Sherman Oaks, Ca. As a child, I loved to dance. Anywhere, anyhow, life was a stage, and I loved performing. Despite my distaste for cold weather, one day in 1997, I strapped into a rented snowboard and fell in love. Like dancing, but on jumps and handrails.

By the following fall, I moved to South Lake Tahoe to attend community college at night, and ride during the day. Almost immediately I was competing on the women’s professional slopestyle snowboard circuit and gaining sponsorship support.

After many years traveling, competing, coaching, and training year-round, I was ready to pass the torch to the next generation of kick assery girls who were just slaughtering it out there. On to law school I went.

People often ask, “Wasn’t it hard to go from Professional Snowboarder to Trial Lawyer?” The answer is an easy, “NO!” It’s almost identical. Nothing beats the feeling of standing on top of your run, about to drop in, all eyes on you, legs shaking in fear and excitement, visualizing the countless practice runs in your head, laser focus, adrenaline pumping, wondering why you keep putting yourself through this! Swearing that you’ll never do it again…. Then you drop in and everything around you just stops, and you’re in your moment. And somehow, it’s absolutely silent. And then you land, and the world comes back, and you sit down and think…. Man, I love this! Can’t wait to do that again!

Today I love sharing my passion for adventure and adrenaline with my ex-pro-freeskier husband and my 3 & 6-year-old boys. Between zoom meetings and trial prep, you'll find us riding dirt bikes while RV camping, skiing or snowboarding, and cheering from the little league or soccer fields.

Sarah Havens

Michael Sanchez

Jordanna Thigpen

I grew up in Vancouver, British Columbia. I first came to the U.S. in 1994 for college, where I played baseball for Pepperdine University for four years (I was a catcher). I had big plans of playing professionally after college, but none of the 30 MLB teams shared my vision. I chose being a lawyer because the idea of trying cases resembled the competition in baseball—and I also figured there’s less chance of breaking my thumbs or aggravating my knees in a courtroom. Just before law school, I married my college sweetheart Marni (who swam at Pepperdine) and we celebrated our 26th anniversary in August. We’re an adoptive family with three daughters. Our middle daughter has cerebral palsy and is deaf (and non-verbal) so we’ve all learned sign language (ASL) as a family. (Unanticipated perk: Being able to sternly parent misbehaving children from 50 feet away without making a sound.)

David Sugden

Al Foeckler

Tim Felice

I was born in Poland and lived there until the end of second grade, when my family emigrated to what was then West Germany to escape communism. We lived in West Germany for two years before being granted political asylum in the U.S. – my dad’s ultimate goal – and got on a plane to St. Louis. I went on to college at Tulane University and law school at Loyola Chicago. I then hit the trial lottery and went to work for a Chicago defense firm that each year tried the most cases of any law firm in the state, and had a culture built around trying cases. I tried over 100 civil jury trials to verdict, and in 2006 was recognized by the Cook County Jury Verdict Reporter for having tried the 2nd-most jury trials in the state of Illinois. In 2012, I moved to New Orleans for an opportunity to do plaintiff’s work exclusively. Two years ago, I had my first 8-figure verdict, in no small part thanks to what I learned at TLU and from the great trial lawyers Dan Ambrose put me in touch with.

I fought in the Chicago Golden Gloves boxing tournament in the light-heavyweight and heavyweight divisions between 2005 and 2011. Since moving to New Orleans, I’ve taken up competitive pistol and rifle shooting and compete regularly across the country in the Elite Men’s division of The Tactical Games and currently hold an A-class ranking from the United States Practical Shooting Association in Carry Optics pistol. I live in New Orleans with my wife and three daughters, ages 8, 6, and 4.

Przemek	Lubecki

Ricardo Echeverria

I grew up in Ohio, with 3 sisters and a brother. Growing up,basketball was my life, but I decided not to play in college. I went to Ohio University, where my father, my mother, my older sister, and my older brother all went before me. I studied abroad in London and traveled Western Europe. After college I wanted to move to a big city, so it was LA, NY, or Chicago and I was sick of freezing my ass off, so it was LA. I chose Southwestern Law School because it had the only 2-year program in the country at the time. Then when I started, I decided I wanted to study abroad again and travel during the 1stsummer and work at the DA’s office for a summer so I switched to the 3-year program. I studied abroad in Madrid in law school and traveled again. I worked in the Los Angeles DA’soffice my second summer and I did my first jury trial in law school. I got a conviction on a domestic abuse case with a recanting victim. I was hooked on trial work. I love competition, public speaking and helping my clients obtain justice while making the community a safer place for us all. After law school, I started with a construction and family law firm, but hated it, so I was going to start my own firm when the firm we shared office space with asked me to join them. I said yes, the partner gave me the Reptile book, and we went to a seminar. I started working with Don Keenan on a couple cases and he became my mentor in 2010. I was an instructor with Keenan Ball Colleges since the beginning and that has since transitioned to the Keenan Trial Institute, where I’m the Dean of Closing Arguments. I have taught most of the KTI courses but now focus on teaching Trial and Closing. I am currently licensed in AZ, CA, IL, and TX, but handle cases across the country. I love to learn from anyone and everyone since I believe everyone knows something I don’t. I read and watch as much as I can on trial work, psychology, and neuroscience. I also still love to travel and have been to Australia, New Zealand, and Japan, and I’m now up to over 40 countries total visited. I’m married and we just welcomed our first child, a boy, to the world at the end of 2022. Being a father is the best, and I love that as well.

Ryan Skiver

My parents divorced when I was a very impressionable 6-years-old, and my mom could not afford a divorce lawyer. After hearing about the difficult situation that my mom was trying to escape from, a solo practitioner decided to help my mom 

. Ever since, I’ve wanted to be a lawyer so that I could help people in need. A couple of decades later, I find myself doing exactly the kind of work my 6-year-old self hoped I would be doing. As the cherry on top, I get to work with my family, which is a great joy that I do not take for granted.

Brittany Sanders Robb

I grew up working in Coachella at my father’s swap meet clothing store, where I learned how to speak Spanish and work my ass off to earn the privilege of playing the Street Fighter Arcade next to my dad's store. I bring a Street Fighter mentality into every trial, unfortunately or fortunately. At my last trial, that mentality helped me earn a $51.3 million verdict while almost landing me in jail during trial! I can stay calm during a firestorm and also create a storm when things are eerily calm.

Mohamad Ahmad

I was born and raised in Irvine, California. I am the oldest of three boys. My father was a lawyer. We were always active, playing sports, going to the beach, whitewater rafting, and camping. I continued playing sports through two years of college. After graduating from the University of Arizona, I oversaw the construction and lease-up of a 300-unit apartment complex. I then attended Chapman University School of Law. During law school, I clerked in the Orange County District Attorney’s Office and with a film financier focusing on bridge financing. I started my legal career at a defense firm and became a partner at a regional commercial litigation firm before joining a top plaintiff firm in Las Vegas. I joined Panish |Shea | Ravipudi LLP and have the privilege of working with an incredibly talented team pursuing justice for individuals and families. I now have three sons of my own and love coaching their flag football and baseball teams.

Colin Cavanaugh

Maxey Scherr

Michael Kelly

I was born in New York and lived there until my parents lost everything in the winter of 79-80 and moved us to Florida. We first lived in a campground in South Florida. Working our way back from a tent to an RV, to a townhouse was a character-building experience for our whole family. I am proud of those humble beginnings, and they steeled in me a mantra to never take things for granted and that with hard work anything is possible. I grew up for the most part in Ponce Inlet, Florida surfing and playing sports. I attended the University of Florida, obtaining my BSBA in Finance and Juris Doctorate degrees with honors. I went to law school to be the CEO of a Fortune 500 Company. Along the way, I took Trial Practice and fell in love with the Courtroom and being a trial lawyer. I worked as an insurance defense attorney for over 7 years, defending car crash cases, medical malpractice cases, insurance claims, etc. In 2001, I switched sides and started my own firm representing those injured and killed at the hands of others. My crusade into trucking and CMV crash cases started in 2008 when I signed up my first real trucking case. I represented the family of a beautiful 19-year-old girl killed by a tractor pulling double trailers down a little county road in Florida. The truck driver was illegally driving the county roads between Jacksonville and Tampa, but logging the miles like he drove I-95 to I-4, so he could run one more trip without being over hours in his logbook, even though he clearly was. What was worse, the local terminal managers for the over 5,000-unit national motor carrier were training its drivers to do this! I dove into the applicable regulations and laws, I was relentless in written discovery and depositions, and consulted the pioneer trucking attorneys like Joe Fried. At the conclusion of that case, we were able to: 1) tell the family exactly what happened and why; 2) obtain a substantial recovery for her family; 3) educate the trucking company of the improper training and company sanctioned hours of service violations; and 4) get the large national motor carrier to agree to never drive tractors pulling double trailers on the county roads of Florida again. I was hooked. The greatest reward in handling trucking cases is when you can get safety measures changed or improved and knowing that there are potential clients you will never meet because you prevented future crashes and saved their lives. Since that case, I decided to jettison all other types of PI cases and for the last 8 years have handled almost exclusively tractor trailer, bus, and commercial motor vehicle crash cases. I was among the initial class of 9 lawyers that achieved NBTA board certification in Truck Accident Law. I am also Board Certified in Civil Trial by the Florida Bar and the NBTA. I have been in leadership in many of the national trial lawyer leadership organizations that deal with these cases. I am a past president of the Academy of Truck Accident Attorneys, past chair of the AAJ Bus Litigation Group, Chair-Elect of the AAJ Interstate Truck Litigation Group, Co-Chair of the Florida Justice Association Truck Litigation Group, and remain on the board of the National Board of Trucking Trial Advocates and the Board of Regents for the Academy of Truck Accident Attorneys. My passion is pursuing justice for these families and helping other great trial lawyers do the same. Whether through being active on listserv, sharing forms, depositions and documents, teaching at various programs, or helping strategize via zoom or a telephone call. When I am not working, I am hanging out with my wife and daughters, coaching soccer, when I can surfing or playing golf.

Joseph Camerlengo

I was born into a family of trial lawyers. My parents started their husband-and-wife Plaintiffs’ firm in the mid-80s, and growing up in the 1990s I thought that all law partners had to be married to each other. Sure enough, after clerking and a couples of years at a biglaw firm in New York City, I joined my parents’ law firm and I am married my law partner, Brittany. We now have the privilege of representing injured people and their families in their greatest time of need, with a focus on aviation accidents. Because I get to work alongside my family on behalf of such deserving clients, I consider myself to be a very, very lucky lawyer.

Andrew Robb

Ashkahn Mohamadi is a top-rated award-winning trial lawyer with Sweet James and is a partner based in the California office. He was selected to Super Lawyers Rising Stars for 2019 – 2023 and works on the firm’s significant matters.

Ashkahn’s focus areas include personal injury, wrongful death, product liability, premises liability, mass torts, class actions, employment, fraud, toxic torts, and commercial torts. Ashkahn graduated from Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, California, where he played varsity basketball. Later, Ashkahn graduated from the University of California at Santa Barbara. While at UCSB, Ashkahn participated in the UCDC program, which allowed him to spend time in Washington, D.C. as an intern with the Federal Public Defender’s Office.

Ashkahn then went on to graduate from Loyola Law School of Los Angeles. While at Loyola, he completed the Hobbs Program, during which he externed with the District Attorney’s office in Compton, California. Ashkahn is also an active member of many legal organizations, including the Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles (CAALA), the Consumer Attorneys of California (CAOC), and the American Association for Justice (AAJ).

Ashkahn has had remarkable success as a trial attorney in his career, recovering over $100 million dollars for his clients.

In 2016, Ashkahn obtained a verdict in the matter of Bedford-Oppong v. Hereu. This verdict was ranked 40th on the annual list of Top Verdicts in California.

In 2023, Ashkahn along with Bobby Taghavi obtained a verdict in the matter of 

. This verdict was ranked 25th on the annual list of Top Verdicts in California.

In 2024, Ashkahn along with Bobby Taghavi obtained a verdict in the matter of 

. This verdict is the largest of its kind in the history of Kings County, California.

Ashkahn Mohamadi

I was born into a military family. Originally from Texas, my father was in the US Army. He retired to Houston, Texas when I was in high school. I have been in Houston ever since. I played college soccer at Houston Christian University, and graduated with a double major in political science and communications. I went to law school at South Texas College of Law. I started my career doing defense work at Fulbright & Jaworski, and have been practicing plaintiffs’ law for 34 years. I have been president of the Houston Bar Association and State Bar of Texas, and have been active in several other bar associations and groups. I am board certified in personal injury law, as well as in civil trial law. My wife, Alex Farias-Sorrels, and I started our firm about four years ago and we have 20 lawyers now. On a personal basis, I have six children, including two who are lawyers.

Randall Sorrels

I grew up in Milwaukee, WI and studied philosophy at the University of Iowa. After graduating and bouncing around different career paths I decided to go to law school. I eventually joined my father in his family law practice. I quickly realized family law wasn’t for me. I was unhappy and didn’t see a future for myself in law. Every so often we would take in a personal injury case. Since I didn’t want to handle divorces or family law cases, the personal injury cases wound up on my desk. Around that time, I was introduced to Gerry Spence, Trial Lawyers University, Trial Guides, and things started clicking. In 2022, I tried my first case and won. From that point on I knew I was meant to be a jury trial lawyer. Since then, I’ve dedicated myself to becoming the best trial lawyer I can be. I recently founded Trial Lawyers of Wisconsin with my partner, Bob Welcenbach. We have already obtained a handful of 6, 7, and 8 figure results. When I’m not working, I’m spending time with my wife Megan and my two daughters, Kennedy and Quinn.

Michael Karp

Randi McGinn

Deena Buchanan

I was born in Flint, Michigan, and have always been drawn to the fight for justice. I attended Oberlin College before earning my law degree magna cum laude from Case Western Reserve University, where I was published multiple times in national peer-reviewed law journals. From the start of my career, I dedicated myself exclusively to representing victims of severe nursing home neglect and abuse, securing record-breaking verdicts, including the largest recorded verdict against a nursing home in Ohio history—$26 million. My work has led to numerous seven- and eight-figure trial victories, and I’ve set records for the highest verdicts in multiple counties.

I’ve been recognized as one of the Top 10 Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect Lawyers and named the Most Dedicated Nursing Home Prosecution Trial Attorney in the Midwest by AI Legal. Beyond the courtroom, I serve as faculty for Trial Lawyers University, lecturing across the country on trial strategy and case framing. I’m also an active member of the American Medical Directors Association (AMDA) and the Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care (PALTC)—as far as I know, the only attorney to be accepted into these medical organizations.

When I’m not in trial, I spend much of my time traveling—especially in Central and South America—or restoring classic cars. I live in Peninsula, Ohio, but my work has taken me nationwide, fighting to hold corporations accountable for the vulnerable lives entrusted to their care.

Michael Hill

My father was a physicist, a quiet man who worked at General Atomic in San Diego, studying how the world might survive a neutron bomb. He introduced me to computers when I was young, and by the time I was in the eleventh grade, I had a contract with a subsidiary of IBM, writing a tutorial for what would become their Xenix operating system. They paid me twenty dollars an hour, which was enough to cover college in 1984. I went to UCSD, studied Applied Mathematics, but soon realized there wasn’t much money it.

In 1985, I joined my brother Scott in his business and started building and selling personal computers from our parents’ kitchen table. In six months, we went from $30,000 to over a million dollars a month in sales. I switched majors, first to philosophy, then economics, searching for something less demanding as our business grew. When I butted heads with the economics department head, I knew I needed a faster way to graduate. I tried Theater, but that was too time-consuming. Eventually, I landed in Chinese Studies, learning Mandarin while running our expanding business, traveling to China, and setting up deals.

By 1994, I finally graduated after ten years. Our business took off, opening warehouses in Mexico and navigating trade restrictions by any means necessary. But when trade laws eased, the risks outweighed the rewards. Feeling restless, I decided to study law, taking night classes while my wife and I juggled a new baby and work. I graduated and passed the bar in 2000, but by then the Dot Com bubble had burst, and our computer business folded.

I opened my own law practice, focusing on business litigation, but soon found my calling defending the civil rights of families caught in the child protection system. It wasn’t the most profitable path, but it has been meaningful. During the COVID lockdowns, I felt my mind going soft again, so I took and passed the bars in Washington, Arizona, and Oregon. I’m shooting for admission in all states in the 9th Circuit.

Along the way, I earned a pilot’s license, a third-degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do, and some various awards for my work. After injuring my knee, I traded martial arts for boxing. I like to fish, hunt, surf with my kids, and travel to the sorts of places most folks might avoid. And so it goes.

Shawn McMillan

I was born in Ames, Iowa and immediately relocated to Ventura, CA. My family moved frequently while I was young and eventually settled down in a small town in Kentucky. I was fortunate to get an ROTC scholarship to Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio. After Xavier, I attended the University of Kentucky for law school where I was on the National Moot Court Team that won the regional competition and placed nationally. After law school, I went on active duty in the U.S. Army serving as judge advocate. I served as prosecutor, defense counsel and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney culminating in handling a federal capital murder trial. Upon leaving the Army, I started handling asbestos cases and have tried mesothelioma cases across the country. In 1999, I attended the Trial Lawyers College and have continued to study trial advocacy. I have three beautiful children who will be fighting for justice when I am long gone.

Scott Frost

I grew up in Miami, Florida. From as far back as I can remember, I was always interested in theater, film, and storytelling. I was a theater major at NYU initially and then switched to UCLA, graduating with a degree in film. Prior to law school, I was a documentary filmmaker. I made several award-winning documentary films including “My Friend Jenny: Portrait of Addict” and worked as a series director on the critically acclaimed PBS series, Senior Year, which followed the Fairfax High School class of 2000. After law school I was a defense lawyer in Big Law for ten years until I made the leap to my dream job representing individuals and families who have suffered the wrongful death of a loved one and/or catastrophic injuries. Storytelling is now the center of my practice, and I am thrilled to dedicate all of my creativity towards helping my clients.

Rachel Gezerseh

Michael Carrillo

Kseniya Stupak is a partner at Strongin LLP. She was born and raised in Sevastopol, Ukraine, and moved to the United States at the age of 18. She taught herself English and went on to receive a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from the University of Iowa. She also attended the University of Iowa College of Law, where she received High Service Honors in Public Distinction. Throughout her career, Stupak has successfully litigated civil and criminal cases in both state and federal courts. She has worked for the U.S. Department of Justice, where she successfully litigated a wide range of civil cases1. Stupak is highly involved in her community, dedicating much of her free time doing Pro Bono work for Russian-speaking citizens of Orange County and Los Angeles County, CA. She is a proud mother of three children: a fifteen-year-old son DJ and four-year-old twins Alexandra and Dominic.

Kseniya Stupak

Bobby Taghavi

I was born and raised Ocean Springs, Mississippi. I went to the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, GA and earned a degree in Civil Engineering. After working for an engineering firm while in college, I knew I was not meant to be an engineer. I went back to Mississippi for law school. My Dad got me a job back in Ocean Springs with a great trial lawyer after my first year of law school. This is where I knew I would dedicate my life to helping people. While waiting on my bar results, Katrina destroyed the entire Mississippi Gulf Coast. I went to work as a DUI defense lawyer, and having all my court closes lost in the storm, I began trying DUI cases in jeans, a golf shirt, and a borrowed sports coat. After court one day, I stopped by my Dad’s makeshift office – his building was being gutted from the flooding of Katrina. After speaking for a while, my dad suggested I come work with him. So, working with him, I tried every type of case you can imagine, divorces, custody, construction, possession, DUI, domestic violence, and the occasional car wreck. Each day going to a different court room and trying a different case. Trial by fire. Then in 2010, I was appointed to represent a 14-year-old charged with capital murder. In July, my co-counsel and I tried the case for a week and the jury stayed out for 8 hours. Then found the young kid guilty, Almost all the jurors were crying when the verdict was read. The Mississippi Supreme Court reversed. In summer of 2015, we tried it again – this time in Oxford, MS in the courthouse in the middle of the town square – right out of a seen of a John Grisham book. This time with the guidance of David Ball, our now 20-year-old client was set free after spending 6 years in some of the worst prisons in Mississippi as a kid. After that, I was asked to represent a number of people against a corrupt local sheriff and got a verdict against him for intentional infliction of emotional distress. Most importantly, I’m the father of four amazing children and have a wonderful wife. My wife, while being a truly badass trial lawyer, is an amazing mother to our children. We spend most of our time traveling trying to spend time with our children, whether it be at a soccer tournament, cheer competition, football game, or spending the weekend tailgating in Oxford or Starkville with our college age kids.

Monte Tynes

Moses Kim

The oldest of three boys born to a trial lawyer father and a Ph.D/lawyer mother, my early summer days were spent swimming at Lake Michigan and climbing the Grand Tetons Mountains. If we weren’t doing something physical, we were engaging in what our folks had instilled in us to love: Reading. I graduated from University of Missouri- Columbia ready, willing and able to sponge off of my dad’s largess to continue to go to school (i.e., law school at Mizzou). My mother frankly didn’t make a lot of money because she was always in school, climbing mountains, playing tennis and just basically being the greatest mother of all time. As an example, she actually interviewed for her dissertation Supreme Court Justices who wrote the groundbreaking Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka. Weeks before I was to start law school, my dad was electrocuted due to a poorly designed hand drill. Note that the Missouri wrongful death cap at the time was a TOTAL of $25,000 (combination economic and/or non-economic). That injustice so infuriated me that it spurred me into what I still do today as a plaintiff’s attorney. From there I was shot out of a rocket launched into my career as the beneficiary of great trial lawyer mentors. Head and shoulders above all of the legal accolades I have been fortunate enough to receive, my whole world changed with the birth of my son (Bart) and daughter (Brooke) who now live in Los Angeles. I carry on the wanderlust inspired to me by my folks getting out to LA as often as I humanly can still in the water and on the mountains with my two kids. One of the guiding principles of my life was told to me by my mother who said that the secret to a fulfilling and happy life came in two words: “Remain curious!”. I hope I have lived up to the ideals of my mother and father.

Dirk Vandever

Kenneth Berger

Daniel Rodriguez

Eric Oliver is a national trial consultant with 40 years’ experience working with and training trial attorneys. His expertise has been pivotal in thousands of cases, contributing to groundbreaking first-of-their-kind outcomes and benefiting clients across both top law firms and dynamic solo practices.
Eric’s proficiency extends to various forms of persuasive communication, including verbal, non-verbal, implicit, and visual aspects of any message. He specializes in developing a comprehensive case presentation plan that integrates thematic narratives, metaphors, and visual elements with the verbal and nonverbal performance of trial attorneys. Eric is known, in part, for his innovative approach to Voir Dire, aligning attorneys with potential jurors rather than challenging their character and fairness—a unique method that “no one else has ever thought of” declares David Ball, nationally renowned consultant. His expertise also encompasses an equally unique approach in focus groups, case analysis and the design and delivery of demonstrative visuals. Eric Oliver is based in Chicago, IL, frequently traveling nationwide to speak, train persuasive communication skills, consult with attorney clients, conduct focus groups and assist at trials.

Eric Oliver

I’m originally from a tiny town in Upstate New York. We literally had more cows than people. Growing up, I was great at causing trouble but even better at getting out of it. The law seemed like a natural career fit. Coming out of law school, I knew only one thing about my future career: I would never, ever be a personal injury lawyer. Two things changed that. The first was when a conservative judge I was clerking for explained that the McDonald’s hot coffee case was an extremely meritorious case. That changed my perspective. The second was when I suffered an unexpected and staggering loss of a loved one. That changed my heart. I handle a variety of catastrophic injury cases in the trucking, medical malpractice, auto, and premises spaces. I love what I do, and it is one of my greatest blessings that I’m able to try cases with my incredibly able wife.

Robert Byrne

Ranger Wiens

Lance D. Northcutt joined Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard P.C. in 2020 as a Partner and focuses his practice on cases concerning catastrophic personal injury, wrongful death, civil rights, and mass torts.

Throughout his time at the firm, he has recovered more than $550 million on behalf of his deserving clients.

Mr. Northcutt was one of the lead attorneys in a landmark $363 million jury toxic tort case where a woman developed breast cancer from exposure to ethylene oxide emissions from a suburban medical device sterilization plant. That record-setting trial victory – the largest jury verdict awarded to an individual plaintiff in Illinois history at the time of the trial – was followed by Mr. Northcutt’s role as one of the lead negotiators of a global settlement on behalf of more than 800 other victims who had sued the parent company that owned the sterilization plant.

At Salvi Schostok and Pritchard P.C., Mr. Northcutt has secured other record recoveries on behalf of catastrophically injured clients, including a $45 million settlement for a young man who sustained a major traumatic brain injury following a vehicle pursuit and a $20 million recovery for a woman struck by a CTA bus.

A former Cook County prosecutor and law enforcement officer, Mr. Northcutt draws upon his diverse background in complex litigation and legal knowledge to deliver results in his personal injury practice. He has tried hundreds of cases to verdict before judges and juries and has represented clients on appeal and before the Illinois Supreme Court on a wide range of matters, including large-scale investigations and the representation of lawyers and judges before regulatory bodies. At the state and federal level, Mr. Northcutt’s record of achievement has involved taking on the most challenging cases that require the ability to navigate different areas of the law to deliver a winning litigation strategy, including two unprecedented victories in the Illinois Supreme Court involving emergency supervisory relief.

As a legal educator, Mr. Northcutt has 20 years of experience teaching trial advocacy, evidence, and advocacy-related legal ethics in the United States and Ireland. As an Adjunct Professor of Law, Mr. Northcutt served as the Assistant Director of Advocacy at The John Marshall Law School and now teaches at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law where he leads Kent’s International Comparative Advocacy Program in Dublin, Ireland in cooperation with The Honorable Society of King’s Inns, the Bar Council of Ireland and the Irish Supreme Court. In 2013, he was named both Adjunct Professor of the Year and Outstanding Trial Team Coach at Chicago-Kent.

As a former faculty member of the Illinois Institute of Continuing Legal Education, Mr. Northcutt has taught courses to newly admitted lawyers on procedural and substantive law. He has been a moderator, panelist and featured speaker in multiple seminars before the bench and bar in the U.S. and Ireland and is frequently called upon by national media outlets to comment on noteworthy cases. In 2022, Mr. Northcutt was appointed to the Illinois Supreme Court Committee on Professional Responsibility, which advises and makes recommendations on matters relating to legal ethics and professional responsibility. From 2015 – 2021, Mr. Northcutt served as a Commissioner on the Illinois Supreme Court’s Commission on Professionalism.

Mr. Northcutt’s published works include an editorial that earned him a national award from the American Bar Association and others which have appeared in the Chicago Bar Association Journal and the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin. Two articles, “First, Do No Harm” and “Illinois Evidence: A Code at Long Last,” were featured in the Illinois Trial Lawyers’ Journal.

A Chicago native, Mr. Northcutt graduated from The John Marshall Law School where he was a member of The John Marshall Law Review, a Morrissey Scholar, Editor-in-Chief of two publications and winner of the Hertzog Academic Scholarship and the Kissane Award for Public Service.

In addition to his work at the firm and in academia, Mr. Northcutt serves on the Board of Directors for the International Institute for Animal Law and volunteers for FSMA (Families of Spinal Muscular Atrophy).

Additional credentials and distinctions include membership in the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, Illinois State Bar Association, American Association for Justice, American Bar Association, and the Chicago Bar Association.

Lance Northcutt

I am an Oklahoma product, except for a year in Uruguay as an exchange student when I was 18 years old. While an undergrad, I was a flight instructor (CFII-ME) and charter pilot. Before law school, I worked as a CPA and management consultant for an international firm. I divide my time between Oklahoma and Colorado; the airplane makes that easy. The firm I started thirty years ago focuses on complex cases. We emphasize fundamentals and trial preparation at every step. Dissatisfied with our focus group participants, we formed a company ten years ago to do direct mail solicitation of active voters to participate in our focus groups. I am licensed in Oklahoma, Texas, and Colorado. My firm does professional liability (medical, legal, accounting), securities, insurance bad faith, oil & gas, and personal injury cases. In my spare time, I ski, wake surf, golf, scuba dive, travel, and enjoy the mountains.

Randy Calvert

Born in Detroit, raised, educated and practiced all in Michigan. My father was keen on not “giving me a fish but teaching me how to fish.” Married with two kids for 17 years and divorced. Remarried and have traveled the world since. In the last 6 years, we’ve been to England, France, Italy, Monaco, Spain, Thailand, Singapore, Iceland, Portugal, Greece, Switzerland, Amsterdam, Jamaica, Vatican, Brazil, Peru, Czech Republic, Holland, Austria, Mexico, and Canada. Developed the brand: TheMotorcycleLawyer.com Pam’s husband and Audrey’s (age 24) and Jack’s (age 21) dad. I co-own a Mixed Martial Arts gym and have just earned a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu after 15 years of nonstop training. So proud to report I used many TLU lessons to achieve a record, all non-economic jury verdict of $27,500,000 for a motorcyclist injured by a distracted driver.

Jason Waechter

Micki has a long history of using her marketing and management skills to help firms solve operational obstacles and maximize their potential. From implementing cutting-edge intake departments to launching Xcelerator Law Firm Consultants, her insight on strategy and leadership helps guide firms to exceed their own expectations.

Micki Love

When I was fifteen, I met the love of my life. As most high school romances go, we dated, broke up, dated again, broke up again etc. Then at 20 the love of life moved to Florida. I thought we were just on a break. She didn’t. She got married and had three kids. I was very single. We didn’t see or talk for twelve years. She got divorced. I had never dated anyone with children. And then she googled me and we started talking. She came back home for a family wedding, and we decided to meet for coffee. That was seventeen years ago. I was lucky to get a do over with the one true love of my life and I was going to make damn sure that I didn’t lose her again. With the addition of our daughter, we now have four beautiful children that are as close as close can be, a grandson who lights up all of our lives, two dogs, two cats and some wild animals on our farm in Northeast Pennsylvania. 

Our big Italian family loves, laughs, yells, cries, eats and drinks with more passion than words can describe. They are the people that allow me to live this crazy and amazing life of being a trial lawyer and I am forever grateful. So how did I become a trial lawyer? That story is almost as good as my marriage.

I went to college to play basketball, at 5’10” I was obviously a point guard and become an engineer. I got hurt, stopped playing basketball and started bartending where I would meet my law partner. It was the early 90’s and Cocktail was all the rage and yes, we could do all the bar tricks that Tom Cruise made famous. Being a bartender without a doubt was one of the best and wildest times in my life. To this day we still have people that remember us from Market Street Station Square. As for being an engineer, I did an internship at an engineering firm and decided that I could never be an engineer. Around this time, I met a Judge through a local charity organization that I was involved in and worked at the local courthouse for the summer. I saw two trials, one criminal and one civil and I was hooked. I loved every minute of being in trial and decided that I would go to law school. For the next two years I went to school around the clock and graduated with a degree in Engineering and Political Science and a minor in Physics. I went to law school thinking I would go into intellectual property law. Boy was I wrong. 

By year two of law school I realized that I hated intellectual property law. I was fortunate enough to have an amazing trial advocacy teacher and competed in moot court which was the moment that I knew I wanted to be trial lawyer. After three years with a local personal injury firm my partner and I decided to open our practice. Talk about humble beginnings, we had a part time assistant who called off more than she worked and a bookkeeper that enjoyed two martini lunches and would shove our bills in a draw, one of which I just found the other day. Somehow we managed to grow our firm into four offices, Philadelphia, Scranton, Kingston and Honesdale and we get to work with fourteen other talented lawyers that are like family to us. I am board certified in Tractor Trailer Accidents, am passionate about teaching and travel all over the country teaching lawyers deposition and trial skills and for some reason have a lot of zero offer cases which I am sure no one else can relate to. I love a good cigar and great bourbon. I make some pretty good wine with a great group of guys and every now and then enjoy an all night poker game. For me the law has allowed a dirt poor kid from a coal mining town in Northeast Pennsylvania to not only travel the world but to represent some of the most wonderful people I have ever met. 

Edward Ciarimboli

I was born and raised in Pasadena, California. I graduated from USC business school in 1992 and from Whittier Law School, summa cum laude, in 1995. I joined a mid-size business litigation firm headquartered in Orange County in 1995 and became a partner in 2001. When I joined the firm, I started developing a practice area in the automotive space. I had grown up around cars and recognized that the automotive space was underserved by professionals who understood the industry. In 2006, as an adjunct to the law practice, I opened a high-end collector car dealership in Orange County. For the first 20 years, most of my legal focus was representing car dealers against automotive manufacturers in large franchise disputes. However, in the mid-2010s, I narrowed my focus to representing consumers who had suffered catastrophic injuries from an automotive defect. I have now litigated cases against nearly every major automotive manufacturer in the world, including GM, Audi, Maserati, Mitsubishi, FCA, Kia, Nissan, Honda, AM General, Isuzu, Toyota, Hyundai, Harley-Davidson, Ford, Acura, Tesla, Volvo, Volkswagen, Aston Martin, Land Rover, Mercedes, and Porsche.

Jonathan Michaels

I was born in the suburbs of Orange County. I grew up playing hockey with the support of my mom, who raised myself and my two younger brothers on her own. Initially, I wanted to be a doctor. I enrolled in a pre-med program, got my EMT license, and started working in an emergency room as an ER tech. A few truly depressing emergency room stories later, I decided to try something a little different and decided on law school.

In 2013, I got hired at Parris Law Firm, and wound up in their class action department, fighting on behalf of aggrieved employees. A little later, I was recruited into the firm’s personal injury trial practice, with all the long but rewarding hours that has brought with it. At Russell & Lazarus, I am continuing this work on behalf of injured individuals to make sure they get full justice for injuries caused through no fault of their own.

When I am not working, I enjoy all the time I can with my beautiful fiancée Margot and our shelter gremlin of a pup, Milo.

Eric Wilson

At the age of 28, Mr. Shaked was one of the youngest lawyers in the United States to achieve a multi-million dollar verdict for a single personal injury lawsuit.

Sagi Shaked has been practicing law since 2000 and went on to found the successful Shaked Law Personal Injury Lawyers in 2007, where he became one of the 

Top 100 Trial Lawyers in the United States

This highly coveted honor was bestowed upon Mr. Shaked for his exemplary legal expertise, compassion for his clients, and consistently recovering multi-millions of dollars in damages for those he represents. At only 28, Mr. Shaked was one of the youngest lawyers in the United States to achieve a multi-million dollar verdict for a single Personal Injury lawsuit.

Sagi Shaked

Stephen Burg is a trial attorney at the law firm Burg Simpson Eldredge Hersh Jardine, P.C. Mr. Burg’s practice is focused on representing victims of auto crashes, personal injury, trucking accidents, motorcycle collisions, product liability injuries, gas explosions, wrongful death, and harmful drug products.

Mr. Burg has been recognized for his legal excellence both nationally and locally. He was named as a “Recommended Attorney” by the U.S. 

. and has also been recognized as a Best Lawyer in America and a Colorado Super Lawyer. He is also named a “Top 100 Trial Lawyer” by the National Trial Lawyers, and Denver’s 

 Magazine selected Mr. Burg as a “Top Lawyer” and the Face of Personal Injury Law Litigation since 2020. Mr. Burg has been admitted as a member of the “Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum” and was named 

Mr. Burg donates a substantial amount of his free time to supporting nonprofit organizations in Colorado and nationally. Mr. Burg is on the Board of Directors for the Anti-Defamation League, the Colorado Judicial Institute (CJI) and ARC Thrift. Mr. Burg helps to support the Denver Health Foundation’s Newborns in Need program, and the Southern Poverty Law Center, among others. Mr. Burg is an Associate Attorney for the ZRBG Pension Project – this project is designed to ascertain pension benefits for Holocaust survivors.