Levinson law firm

Clients’ one- to five-star ratings of law firms are being published online for all 25,000 members of the Association of Corporate Counsel, but the report cards will be off-limits to law firms, at least for now.So far, 1,500 in-house lawyers have submitted reviews of legal acumen and costs for about 500 law firms. Critics say the reviews create concern because they may be submitted anonymously, and could be the product of disgruntled former associates with axes to grind, the National Law Journal reports. Some law firms also question the ranking system that uses the kind of five-point scale used for restaurants and movies, according to the Boston Business Journal.Among the lawyers voicing concerns is David Rosenblatt, managing partner of Boston-based Burns & Levinson. “I would question the validity of coming up with some type of numerical rating system for a firm because of the nature of legal services,” Rosenblatt told the Boston Business Journal. … [Read more...] about Five-Star Law Firms? ACC Publishes Ratings, to Mixed Reviews

Disbarred in New Jersey in 2004 for taking money from another law firm (it was later repaid), ex-attorney Charles Epstein has been put on probation for five years for stealing $12,500 from an Edison firm while he worked there.He pleaded guilty earlier this year to third-degree theft and admitted that he took the money from Eichen Levinson & Crutchlow in 2004, which prosecutors said he obtained by cashing four client checks to the firm. As part of the sentence imposed Monday in the Middlesex County case, he was also ordered to repay the remaining $11,050 due to the firm, reports the Star-Ledger.Epstein was disbarred in 2004 for knowingly misappropriating $6,800 in checks he received from clients of another law firm while employed as an associate there, according to Disciplinary Summaries (scroll down) maintained by the state Office of Attorney Ethics.The newspaper article says the earlier misappropriation occurred in 2000 and 2001.Epstein was not prosecuted in the earlier case. … [Read more...] about Ex-Lawyer Gets Probation for Taking Money from 2nd Law Firm

A war of words between Levinson Axelrod and ex-associate Edward Harrington Heyburn is now in litigation.The New Jersey-based personal injury law firm filed an order to show cause in state court in Middlesex County Superior Court last week, seeking a shutdown order concerning the website in which Heyburn criticizes his former employer, reports the New Jersey Law Journal.But within less than a day Heyburn had removed the action to federal court in Trenton, where the request for a temporary restraining order apparently still remains unresolved. A claim in the firm’s filing that Heyburn’s site violates the federal Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act and the Lanham Act provided the requisite federal question jurisdiction for removal, the legal publication notes.Heyburn, who says he was fired by the firm in 2004 when he decided to hang out his own shingle, is openly critical of Levinson Axelrod on his website, and it appears that at least some of his comments are touching … [Read more...] about Law Firm & Ex-Associate Litigate Badmouth Blog Battle in State & Federal Court

A personal injury law firm in New York is differentiating itself with TV ads that poke fun at plaintiffs who fake and overstate their injuries.One ad for Trolman, Glaser & Lichtman begins with a woman sitting at a kitchen table describing her pain, the New York Times reports. “The pain was excruciating. It’s like I had this huge, really sharp machete chopping down on me every time I tried to move,” she says. “It was the worst paper cut I ever had.”The commercial tagline says, “There are some cases even we can’t win, A voiceover says. “If you’ve been injured, call us, but keep in mind: you really need to be injured.”The same tagline appears in another ad, the Times says. It begins with a man telling how he was playing the best video game of his life when a power outage cut the game short. He begins to weep as the music swells. “I never thought the power company would do this to me,” he says. “I have pain … [Read more...] about Ads by Personal Injury Law Firm Poke Fun at Faked Injuries

An actress who starred in a local law firm commercial spoofing plaintiffs who exaggerate their injuries has sued the producer, claiming it licensed the spot to other law firms without her knowledge.Elena Aroaz says she was initially paid $600 by the ad agency, the Levinson Trachtenberg Group, to appear in the commercial on local cable TV, the New York Daily News reports. In the ad, Aroaz tells of her “excruciating” pain that feels like a “really sharp machete chopping down on me.” Then she reveals her injury—a paper cut—and the tagline says, “There are some cases even we can’t win.”The ad then advises viewers to call Trolman, Glaser & Lichtman, but only if they have really been injured. Says the Daily News, “She’s suing over her tiny cut—of the profits.”The breach-of-contract suit says Aroaz did earn an additional $1,500 from Levinson Trachtenberg when she saw her image on a billboard and confronted the … [Read more...] about Actress who starred in law firm commercial spoofing faked injuries sues ad agency