When asked what type of law he practices, David’s initial response is generally civil litigation or civil trial work. Most legal matters fall under one of two categories: civil or criminal. From there you have subparts and specialties that are too numerous to take the space to discuss here. So as David often says, when routine matters of everyday life start to unravel and it looks like they are headed to a courthouse, that is when he gets involved.

To show you how broad is this area of the firm’s practice, here is a partial list of the types of cases that could end up in a civil trial:

• assault and battery
• breach of contracts and agreements
• civil theft of property and money
• conversion of property and money
• defamation, libel and slander
• deceptive trade practices
• false imprisonment
• fiduciary duty breach
• fraud
• insurance disputes
• invasion of privacy
• legal malpractice
• medical malpractice
• negligence
• nuisance activity
• nursing home / assisted living abuse
• personal injury
• premises liability
• product liability
• trade-secret misappropriation
• trespass to real property
• wills and estate disputes
• wrongful death

You can see how most everything could end up in court and result in a civil trial. You could even take murder case and file a civil suit as well, as was done in the O.J. Simpson cases. You generally do not see this because most people who commit assaults, intentional attacks, murders are not financially sound so that a lawsuit gets you a paper judgment only with no possibility of ever collecting. Further, intentional actions are universally excluded from insurance coverage, leaving the victim with only the possibility of collecting judgment through the defendant’s personal assets. But, it is something we certainly consider when evaluating a potential case.

What is important is to contact the firm with whatever you think deserves consultation with an attorney to assess what needs to be done. In the meantime, visit our Litigation History page to see the wide variety of cases David has handled to favorable results.

Yes. Although we do not represent insurance companies so that most of our cases are in the representation of plaintiffs (those claiming injuries), we definitely represent defendants as well if the need arises. Most of the work we have done on the defense side of the case is in those instances where the dispute arises in business matters, realty disputes, will and estate contests, fraud, fiduciary duty relationships, and so on.

The two main ones are bankruptcy and family law. Sometimes matters are tangentially related to those areas and we will take to trial those limited issues or the aftermath that has now turned into a breach of settlement agreement or property transfer, but we refer the typical family law and bankruptcy matters to attorneys we trust to do good work for those inquiring.

Another area that we get our fair share of calls on is worker’s compensation. Since the law was changed in 1987 to an administrative process that pretty much takes attorney’s out of the system, we no longer take those cases. We have, however, handled the plaintiff and defendant side of cases where an employee is injured and the employer does not carry worker’s compensation.

If we represent the plaintiff who is seeking the damages, we try and take the case on a contingency basis if it works best for the client and the firm. Most of our clients would rather we handle the cases on that basis as they avoid having to pay for time and expense as the case is developed and then tried. Additionally, most like to know that the firm has skin in the suit and will not be paid unless a favorable settlement or verdict is reached and collected. This arrangement is typical in personal injury, wrongful death, nursing home litigation, etc.

On the other hand, business disputes tend to lend themselves to an hourly fee arrangement. If we are defending, it will almost always be by the hour since there is no recovered funds from which a percentage can be applied. On the defense, we are usually trying to defeat or limit the damages to be recovered by the plaintiff. We have, however, taken defense cases where our fee was tied to an interest in assets saved in defense. 

Whatever the fee arrangement, you will be able to discuss the proposal and ensure that you know to what you are agreeing and that it best meets your needs.

Yes. David is certified as a Civil Trial Specialist with the National Board of Trial Advocacy where he has served on the Board of Examiners and the Legal Writing Review Committee. In fact, David has written exam questions as part of the testing process for those seeking to be certified by the organization. David is also a Civil Pretrial Specialist with the National Board of Civil Practice Advocacy.