Wisconsin personal injury Super Lawyers 2010

Wisconsin personal injury attorneys Pasternak & Zirgibel are again honored in Milwaukee Magazine via Law & Politics in its annual Super Lawyers issue (December 2010). I am again honored as one of the Top 50 Wisconsin Super Lawyers and Jeff Zirgibel is again honored as a Wisconsin Super Lawyer. Super Lawyers attempts to identify Wisconsin lawyers in the top 5% of all Wisconsin attorneys and the Rising Stars list tries to identify the top 2.5% of Wisconsin attorneys under age 40. Super Lawyers also publishes a Top 50 list discussed below.

This Wisconsin personal injury lawyer is once again honored to be chosen to be among the Top 50 Super Lawyers in Wisconsin. Only 7 plaintiffs personal injury law firms are represented in that Top 50:

Cannon & Dunphy, Brookfield
Domnitz & Skemp, Milwaukee
End, Hierseman & Crain, Milwaukee
Habush Habush & Rottier, Various
Laufenberg Law Group, Milwaukee
Murphy & Prachthauser, Milwaukee
Pasternak & Zirgibel, Brookfield

Accident victims in Wisconsin (car accidents, medical malpractice, products liability, premises liability, etc.) would be off to a great start in interviewing these law firms to get help with a personal injury case. These Milwaukee personal injury law firms have been recognized by their peers as outstanding in their field. Simply going to a lawyer or law firm that advertises a lot, chases ambulances with letters, or dabbles in personal injury but really practices in other areas of the law is irresponsible. Additionally, though all different, the Wisconsin lawyers at these firms share several common professional traits. Such traits include being Peer Review Rated as AV® Preeminent™ 5.0 out of 5 by Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Ratings, and being active members of The American Association for Justice and Wisconsin Association for Justice.

Congratulations to all who made Super Lawyers! It surely is an honor to be listed given that there are about 14,000 lawyers in Wisconsin.

Wisconsin Injury Lawyer

Habush v. Cannon Part XI

Habush v. Cannon & Dunphy continues to be litigated. The future court activity in Milwaukee County shows motion hearings in January and February and then two separate trials. One trial will begin April 4, 2011 and the other June 6, 2011. Given that I just searched Yahoo, Bing and Google and still got a "Cannon and Dunphy" paid for result in Google, I'm sure Habush is anxious to precede. The paid result comes up whether one searches Google for "Habush" "habush habush rottier" "Bob Habush" "Rottier" or "Dan Rottier."

Wisconsin Personal Injury Lawyer

Wisconsin 4th Cheapest State for Car Insurance

With last year's changes in the laws benefiting Wisconsin car drivers, there's been talk on talk radio in Milwaukee about griping car insurance. The changes were great for anyone seriously injured in car accident in Wisconsin, but weren't so great for car insurance companies, which continue to try to lobby politicians for ending the law. Specifically helped by the new laws are those hit by uninsured drivers, those hit by drivers with little car insurance, and those who own multiple cars.

So here's some news for consumers, based on data directly from insurance industry, and it contradicts the nonsense: Wisconsin is the 4th cheapest state for car insurance. Only Ohio, Vermont and Maine are cheaper. Here's the link to insure.com which did this study.

Wisconsin Personal Injury Lawyer

Habush v. Cannon - Part X

Today, this Wisconsin Law Journal article talks about the Habush, Habush & Rottier and Cannon & Dunphy lawsuit.

Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney

Insurance Settlement Scam on Attorneys

Having read various emails directed to me and on lawyers listservs, I thought I'd link to this lawyers settlement scam story. Below are tips from secretservice.gov:

How do I report a case of advance fee fraud (also known as "4-1-9 fraud")?

The perpetrators of advance fee fraud, known internationally as "4-1-9 fraud" (after the section of the Nigerian penal code which addresses these schemes), are often very creative and innovative. A large number of victims are enticed into believing they have been singled out from the masses to share in multi-million dollar windfall profits for no apparent reason.

If you have suffered a significant financial loss related to advance fee fraud, please contact your local Secret Service field office. Telephone numbers are available in the Field Office Directory on this website or may also be found on the inside cover of your local telephone directory. Any investigation regarding this type of fraud will be conducted on a case by case basis at the discretion of the local Secret Service and U.S. Attorney's Office.

If you ever receive an e-mail or fax from someone you do not know requesting your assistance in a financial transaction, such as the transfer of a large sum of money into an account, or claiming you are the next of kin to an wealthy person who has died, or the winner of some obscure lottery, DO NOT respond. These requests are typically sent through public servers via a generic "spammed" e-mail message. Usually, the sender does not yet know your personal e-mail address and is depending on you to respond. Once you reply, whether you intend to string them along or tell them you are not interested, they will often continue to e-mail you in an attempt to harass or intimidate you. If you receive an unsolicited e-mail of this nature, the best course is to simply delete the message.

Due to a number of aggravating circumstances, such as the use of false names, addresses, stolen/cloned/prepaid cell phones and remote email addresses, verifying the location of and subsequent prosecution of these persons or groups is difficult. The act of sending an email soliciting strangers' assistance in a financial transaction is not, in itself, a crime. The installation of a credible spam filter and contacting your Internet Service Provider may help deter these unsolicited emails. However, there is currently no available program to completely block these types of messages.

How can I protect myself against check fraud?

-Don't give your checking account number to people you don't know, even if they claim they are from your bank.
-Reveal checking account information only to businesses you know to be reputable.
-Report lost or stolen checks immediately.
-Properly store or dispose of canceled checks and guard new checks.
-Report any inquiries or suspicious behavior to your bank, who will take measures to protect your account and notify proper authorities.
-Do not leave your automated teller machine receipt at the ATM; it may contain account information.
-Check your bank statements carefully and often.
-Use direct deposit.

Wisconsin Personal Injury Lawyer

Habush v. Cannon - Part IX

Loaded onto scribd some court documents. If one has time, it makes interesting reading. A document of note is the Habush, Habush, & Rottier Press Release regarding this Cannon & Dunphy lawsuit since in my first post on this epic battle I hypothesized about the media angle.

Other documents are:
Cannon & Dunphy's Motion to Dismiss the Habush, Habush, & Rottier Lawsuit
Cannon & Dunphy's Appendix to the Motion to Dismiss
Habush, Habush, & Rottier's Response to Cannon & Dunphy's Motion to Dismiss

According to CCAP at the hearing, Bob Habush was in court along with his Foley & Lardner attorneys James R. Clark and Adam Crawford, as was Bill Cannon along with his attorney J. Ric Gass.

Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney

Habush v. Cannon - Part VIII

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter Bruce Vielmetti's story today Legal firms begin clash over Web-search tactic chronicles last week's hearing in the titanic battle between Milwaukee law firms Habush, Habush & Rottier and Cannon & Dunphy.

Bill Cannon and Pat Dunphy's defense attorney Ric Gass - who's firm is known for defending corporations like Cargill, CBS, Crown Equipment, Humana, Lennox, Northwestern Mutual Life, Toshiba, Trek, and a handful of insurance companies - made an argument to the Court relating to http://www.yellowpages.com/ and how it shows a Habush ad when one searches for certain lawyers. Out of curiousity, I went to yellowpages and searched various personal injury lawyers names, and yes, the Habush ad is shown on the right along with a variety of personal injury law firms in the Milwaukee area. However, the site does state above the ads that those are "category-related advertisers." It seems to me, at least, that these yellowpages ads are different from the purchases Habush is suing Cannon & Dunphy over. The Google strategy was one chosen by Cannon, whereas the yellowpages results appear to chosen by yellowpages and aimed more generally at personal injury lawyers in Milwaukee.

Bottom line, Bob Habush and Dan Rottier's case against Bill Cannon and Pat Dunphy continues but as described in the article it goes on without the law firm of Habush, Habush & Rottier as a plaintiff.

Wisconsin Personal Injury Lawyer

Habush v. Cannon - Part VII

Followed up on the Bob Habush v. Bill Cannon lawsuit pending in Milwaukee County Circuit Court. The Wisconsin court has a hearing scheduled for Wednesday, March 10, 2010 at 9:15 a.m. on Cannon & Dunphy's motion to dismiss the complaint of Habush, Habush & Rottier.

Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney

Elmbrook Education Foundation

Elmbrook Education Foundation honored my firm this week with this press release. We have been and are very proud to be a sponsor for the Foundation's events, which help provide education scholarships and educational grants to District of Elmbrook students and schools. Others interested in helping the Foundation should contact Laura Schmidt.

Wisconsin Personal Injury Lawyer