When the Court Orders Supervised Visitation: A Real Custody Case Outcome

We were recently able to obtain what is called a “supervised visitation” order for a young mother in a custody dispute.   

She had to show the Court that this special type of order was necessary in this particular case (not an easy task).  

The father now must use a special device to monitor his alcohol use and must engage in a court supervised program to get any visitation.

DUI Charge Reduced After Careful Review of the Evidence

We were recently able to get the prosecutor and the Court in a mid-Ohio court to reduce a DUI for a young woman who had what one would call a very bad night (before the arrest).

She had been fleeing a violent encounter with another person, and (nevertheless) did relatively well on the field sobriety tests administer by an Ohio State Trooper.

Our review of the body cam and our validation of the previous encounter went quite well in this case.

What Is an Independent Medical Exam in a Personal Injury Case?

We just had a client experience what the personal injury world calls a “independent medical exam” (“IME”).

The insurance defense lawyers to use an IME (with doctors hired by the insurance companies) to minimize the injury to an injured plaintiff.

Nevertheless, we had prepared our client for what to expect with this jaded process, and she did very well.

Stay tuned for potential updates on this unique personal injury case.

How Strategic Defense Helped Our Client Secure Diversion

We were recently able to get a client into what is called “diversion” in a case where he was arrested for an embarrassing charge.

Getting a client into one of these programs takes a fair amount of objective investigation and argument with the local prosecutor.

Not an every-day event in the criminal defense world.

When Shared Parenting Isn’t Possible: Securing Full Custody in a High-Conflict Case

We recently completed a family law/custody matter where we successfully obtained a “fully custody” ruling by a Court (vs. common “shared parenting”).

This was a difficult case, where we had to show how the aggressive and toxic actions of the father made it functionally impossible for the unmarried parents to have a “shared parenting plan” order (as suggested by the child’s guardian ad litem).

It is very difficult for a party to successfully argue and prove that shared parenting is not a good idea when the guardian ad litem (“GAL”) is recommending it.

But we did it here.

DUI Reduced to Reckless Op in Mayor’s Court – Language Barriers Didn’t Stop This Win

We just got done getting a client's DUI case reduced in a suburban mayors court.

The client had some language barriers, and we were able to produce mitigating factors and other issues that allowed the prosecutor to have some empathy for the client and give the reduction.

This was important to the client because he's a recent citizen, and did not want to blemish his new arrival with a once in a lifetime mistake.

Client was very pleased.

Pipeline Explosion Lawsuit: Maintenance Company vs. Operator – What We Learned in Depositions

We just got done with four days of depositions and a pipeline explosion case.

The people doing “maintenance” on a gas pipeline on our client's property claim that the pipeline “operator” was at fault, while the pipeline operator claims that the maintenance company was at fault.

We did these depositions all through zoom technology, which allowed the parties to testify from remote locations.

This is an extremely interesting case, and we are learning a lot about how natural gas and other types of oils are extracted from the ground and pipe through various land areas to where they are finally processed.

Lots of fiery explosion photos and lots of damage.

How Artificial Intelligence is Revolutionizing Legal Practice in 2026

Our practice is constantly being exposed to new technology issues brought to us by artificial intelligence.

Artificial intelligence is making great strides into the legal community, including assisting lawyers in analyzing huge sets of documents.

This technology may assist us in better organizing large amounts of data that we need to process for our clients.

This will obviously save our clients much money and time. Stay tuned for details on these important developments

$24,000 Attorney Fee Demand Slashed to $6,000 in Divorce Case Victory

We recently defended a divorce motion that requested a huge amount of attorney fees (our client had indeed stubbed their proverbial toe in not complying with a court order).

The movant had requested $24,000 in attorney fees and had demanded for settlement purposes that our client pay around $15,000 in fees.

We defended the fees hearing and suggested something in the area of $6,000.00 (25% of the demand – we could not argue un good faith zero).

The Court agreed with us.

Cleveland DUI Reduced to Physical Control: Favorable Outcome for First-Time Offender

We also obtained a different DUI reduction for a client in another Cleveland suburb.

In that case, the DUI was reduced to what is called a physical control – far less that a regular DUI.

This first-time DUI client was also very pleased.

DUI Victory: Major Reduction Secured for First-Time Offender in Cleveland Suburb

We recently obtained another DUI reduction for a client in a Cleveland suburb.

The client had a very high blood alcohol reading which would have normally mandated at 7 day jail sentence.

However, we were able to achieve a considerable reduction which required only that the client complete a 3-day hotel driving intervention program.

This went very well for this first time offender.

When Clients Ignore Advice: A Tough Lesson from a Federal Case

We had some imperfect results this month for a federal client.

This client had a very long and tortured criminal history, and simply ignored our repeated requests to conduct himself to the Court in a way that would significantly reduce his sentence – but he would not.

His case reminds us that no matter how hard we work on a case for some clients, they just will not follow our simple suggestions.

Sometimes there is nothing we can do.

Navigating Medicare Liens: The Long Road to Settlement in Personal Injury Cases

We have had to deal with the federal government in what is called a “reimbursement” claim they have for medical bills (through Medicare) paid from a serious automobile accident.

When the Government pays for medical services (through Medicaid or Medicare), they have what is called a “lien” on any settlement proceeds.

We often have to take months to negotiate with the Government on reducing their stated demand for reimbursement.

We often have to present a long list of mitigating factors when we ask for that reduction.

We feel that the Government will eventually reduce (r waive) that demand for reimbursement, but that whole process takes a very long time and a lot of effort.

This is part of what we have to do for most of our personal injury clients.

Navigating a Complex Federal Case: Overcoming Client Resistance and Digital Evidence Challenges

We just got done with a very complicated federal client case.

This client has been held in federal custody since his arrest, and was very upset that he would not be released and that he believed he was (in his opinion) improperly charged.

Getting him to read and understand the facts that lead to his federal charges was complicated because the federal holding facility made this complicated and the client was resisting his comprehension of facts that he did not (essentially) like.

This happens from time to time in federal cases, where the evidence is mostly all digital and voluminous, and sometimes only 10% of what the Government delivers to us is technically relevant to our client.

Nevertheless, after lots of phone calls and in-person meetings we go the client to understand that the plea offered to the client was appropriate to the facts.

This took a lot of work – but we got it done.

This is a somewhat normal factor in criminal defense – especially in federal court.

Victory in Court: Defending Parenting Time in a Heated Custody Battle

We just successfully defended what is called an “emergency hearing” on a custody case.

The angry father in a contested divorce case attempted (in a sophomoric reaction to our client’s new boyfriend) to prevent any further parenting time for our client.

The Court overruled the father’s motion (he was not happy).

This can be a normal event in a family law case.

Federal Criminal Case Plea Deal

We recently appeared for a sentencing in a rather serious federal criminal case.

This particular defendant had already had a previous federal criminal conviction, which triggers serious federal criminal sentencing penalties.

Nevertheless, we were able to negotiate a very good plea deal which resulted in a very short, fair and sufficient sentence.

These federal cases involved complicated sentencing issues, and our experienced understanding of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines was a very big help.

Civil Domestic Violence Claims Defended

We recently had to represent 2 husband/fathers in what were clearly ill-motivated civil domestic violence claims.

We had to go to trial on both, and our clients were victorious in both.

What many people may not know is that, while there are many legitimate domestic violence claims, some litigants use civil domestic violence claims as a tool for what is really another goal.

Both of these clients were very relieved.

Settlement Secured in Wrongful Death Case

We were recently able to secure a settlement in a wrongful death case where the family of the decedent were very estranged.

The deceased person had children with more than one woman, and this caused many problems with the wrongful death process.

Multiple courts had to be involved, and the whole case had to also get a court of appeals to issue an appellate decision (which we squarely won).

In the end, our client got the compensation she deserved.

Petition for Domestic Violence Protection Order

We were recently successful in defending what is called a civil “Petition for Domestic Violence Protection Order” case.

We represented the person referred to as the “respondent.” In this case, the wife (called the “petitioner”) was convinced by her mother and some family members (who for a long time hated the respondent) to file the petition.

The facts that were relevant in the petition had to do with the respondent getting chip dip on the petitioner during a verbal argument while they sat on the couch and watched TV.

The court concluded that this was not, under the statute, an act of domestic violence. Client of course was very pleased. It is anticipated that a divorce action will be filed next.

Automobile Personal Injury Case Resolved

We were recently able to resolve a portion of a bad automobile personal injury case for the limits of the available coverage.

The big issue that put any delay in the client getting paid had to do with what the law calls “subrogation/reimbursement” rights of the health insurance carrier.

That health insurance carrier took many weeks to approve a reduction in what they wanted paid back from the settlement.

But, in the end, they agreed to a significant reduction of their demand for reimbursement. Very happy to get the client her settlement funds.