Articles Posted in Lawyers

As anyone who has not been living under a rock knows, it’s election season.  Boy, is it!  The Trump/Biden contention is one of the most – well – contentious in modern history.  It’s a battle of two completely opposite and irreconcilable narratives:

Trump says he has performed brilliantly in fighting the coronavirus.  Biden says he has failed miserably.

Trump says Biden is senile and incapable of governing.  Biden says Trump is a narcissistic egoist whose every act is aimed at self-aggrandizement and self-enrichment.

Hello there blog readers!  I’m back after my partner Dave Kalabanka hi-hacked this site last week to write about that “Personal Injury Lawyer of the Year” award.  What Dave did not mention is that ALL four lawyers at Michaels Bersani Kalabanka were again listed for their representation of personal injury victims in the Best Lawyers in America publication this year.  In addition, Dave Kalabanka and I were listed in the categories of representing injured plaintiffs in product liability litigation , and I was also listed for representing victims of professional malpractice.  All these listings were based on “peer review”, meaning that the folks at Best Lawyers asked other lawyers and judges who know our work to rate us.  Most of those rating us were likely our opponents and judges since they best know our work.  So we are all very proud to have made such a strong impression on them.

What the Best Lawyers listings don’t tell is this:  At Michaels Bersani Kalabanka we don’t work as isolated lawyers representing individual clients.  So it’s a bit misleading to rate us individually. Rather, we work as a team, meeting every second week to discuss our cases.  We also pitch in with the actual heavy lifting on each other’s cases.  For example, Jan smolak might have a case where I will draft his summary judgement motion papers or argue his appeal, or I might do his legal research.  Dave Kalabanka might consult with his network of New York lawyers to find solutions to a problem that has emerged on one of my cases.  Lee Michaels might call any of us at any time of day or night seeking help deciding on a strategic move he is considering making on one of his cases.

So although Best Lawyers rates each lawyer separately, what they really can’t see or feel is how this office works as a team.  We believe that of all the personal injury law firms in the Syracuse area, we have the best “team”, not just because our individual lawyers are outstanding, but because the formula we use to work together creates a powerful “synergy” that is the best in the area.

Hello there blog readers!  This is Dave Kalabanka, Mike Bersani’s partner. I’ve hijacked his blog for today to interview him about an important award he just got: Mike has been selected as the “Personal Injury Lawyer of the Year” for the Syracuse metropolitan area. A publication called “Best Lawyers in America” bestows this honor on the lawyer with the highest overall positive peer-feedback (judges and other lawyers rate him higher than any other lawyer) for a specific practice area and geographic region. Yes, Mike was the highest ranking attorney in the field of representing injured folks in personal injury litigation for the entire Syracuse Metropolitan area.  Given this tremendous honor, I decided to take some time from Mike’s busy schedule to interview him about it:

DAVE:  Mike, first, congratulations! That’s quite an honor, and well deserved.  Did you know this was coming?

MIKE:  Thanks Dave, and no, it caught me by surprise.  There are many outstanding personal injury lawyers in the Syracuse area, including right here at Michaels Bersani Kalabanka.  I had no idea I would be selected.

It just occurred to me that after so many years of blogging, I’ve never blogged about how I ended up becoming a Syracuse New York personal injury lawyer.  That’s actually a pretty interesting question because you can ask a thousand ten-year olds what they want to be when they grown up and I can pretty much guarantee you none of them will say, “a personal injury lawyer”.  They might say “lawyer”, but I doubt any of them aspire to be the guy on the big billboard under the word “INJURED?”

Here’s my story.  Just for fun, I’m going to embed a lie in it.  At the end I’ll tell you what the lie was.  Play along and try to guess what the lie is before you get to the end.

When I finished college, I was undecided on a career, but I knew I wanted to see the world.  So I went back home to Syracuse, New York, where I worked in a textile cleaning company (Coyne Laundry) for a year to save up some money for long trip.

If you are like us, about 90% of your conscious life these days can be summed up in one word: coronavirus.  President Trump has declared a national emergency.  New York State is just about in total lock-down. Our office, just like all other offices, has been ordered physical “closed” by Governor Cuomo.  No staff is there.  Our doors are locked.  But we are not resting idle!  Read on!

Call us!

We are not at the office, but we are answering the phone!  Call us and one of our staff will pick up and put you through to your lawyer!  While our office is closed, we will be happy to “meet” with you by phone, Skype, or FaceTime, at your convenience.

Our senior lawyer, Lee Michaels, has been teaching trial practice at the Syracuse College of Law for decades.  Many of Lee’s former students keep in touch with him well into their law careers.  Lee continues to mentor many long after they have graduated.  Recently, Lee got a letter from a student, Steve Kim, who took his class nine years ago.  Here it is, abridged somewhat.  We publish it with the Kim’s permission.  At Michaels Bersani Kalabanka, we are all proud of our senior trial lawyer’s achievements not only in the courtroom but in the classroom!

Dear Lee,

I was a student in your trial practice class nine-years ago.  I write to you to thank you for teaching the single most impactful class of my entire career. Although I lost most of my law school notes, books, and outlines– I held on closely to my trial practice binder and always made sure I knew where it was.