Interview with Mark Britton of Avvo
This post is the second in a series of interviews with the professionals who live at the intersection of law, the internet, and social media. Today I’m happy to... Read More
Google Faces Lawsuit over Buzz
I’ve written quite a bit about how the practice of law has changed and is continuing to change because of the growth of the internet, and specifically the growth... Read More
Toyota’s Troubles Multiply
We’ve been following the Toyota recalls here at GJEL for the past several months. We’ve reported on the recalls that were in response to runaway vehicles, and about the... Read More
More Toyota Problems: This Time, Prius Brakes
Toyota Motor Corp. has been all over the news lately. With all the news about Toyota recalling dozens of models of Toyota and Lexus vehicles for design flaws in... Read More
A Helping Hand for Haiti
Last Monday morning when I walked into the office, I saw Amy and Kimberly, two of the assistants to our attorneys, counting out large amounts of cash into piles.... Read More
Toyota Issues Yet Another Recall on Runaway Cars
According to the New York Times, Toyota Motor Corp announced a recall today of eight models of Toyota and Lexus vehicles in Europe. That recall affects 1.8 million cars,... Read More
Driving a Bus or a Truck? Then Stop Texting!
The Transportation Department announced on Tuesday, January 26th, that it is prohibiting bus and truck drivers from texting while driving commercial vehicles, according to National Public Radio. The ban... Read More
Avvocating Conference Recap: “The Future of Law Online”
I was fortunate enough to spend January 21st and 22nd at the Avvocating Conference in Seattle, where I learned more than I ever thought possible about online legal marketing.... Read More
Do Drivers Need Another Distraction?
There’s no doubt that drivers are constantly bombarded by distractions. At any given time on the highway, you can see someone eating, applying make-up, fiddling with an iPod or... Read More
Oregon Bans Hand Held Cell Phones While Driving—But Will it Matter?
Teen Driver on Cell Phone by photo240779 According to Paulson Coletti Trial Attorneys’ website, “ODOT (Oregon Department of Transportation) reports that in the year 2000 there were over 46,000 motor... Read More
Confused About Hiring an Attorney? Avvo Can Help.
This post is the fifth in a series in which I’ll be taking a look at how technology is impacting the law and the way legal professionals practice. A... Read More
Attorneys Really Should Blog–Ask Kevin O’Keefe!
This post is the fourth in a series in which I’ll be taking a look at how technology is impacting the law and the way legal professionals practice. I... Read More
GJEL’s Bay Area Events for December 11-17, 2009
December 11 Bedtime with the Beasts Bedtime with the Beasts is a special overnight program for youth groups (ages 6-18) and their chaperones. An Oakland Zoo education specialist will... Read More
Lawyers & Technology: Sometimes it Backfires
This post is the third in a series that will continue over the next couple weeks in which I’ll be taking a look at how technology is impacting the... Read More
GJEL Accident Attorneys Quiz 3: Auto Insurance Quirks
GJEL Accident Attorneys is encouraging everyone to begin 2010 with an annual auto insurance check-up about coverage and liability. As drivers begin these check-ups, this third in a series... Read More
GJEL’s Bay Area Events for December 4-10, 2009
December 4 Benicia Holiday Open House and Tree Lighting First Street merchants along with Benicia Main Street host this ever-popular open house at the beginning of the Christmas Season.... Read More
Virtual CLE from Virtual LegalTech
This post is the second in a series that will continue over the next couple weeks in which I’ll be taking a look at how technology is impacting the... Read More
Google Scholar takes on Legal Research
This post is the first in a series that will continue over the next couple weeks in which I’ll be taking a look at how technology is impacting the... Read More
Keep the Kids Distracted so the Driver Won’t Be
This post is the third in a series of Thanksgiving posts. Stay tuned from now until Thanksgiving to read about how you can keep yourself and your loved ones... Read More
Expect More Traffic this Thanksgiving
This post is the second in a series of Thanksgiving posts. Stay tuned from now until Thanksgiving to read about how you can keep yourself and your loved ones... Read More
Quiz: Does Your Insurance Cover Your Teen Driver?
It’s no secret that teen drivers aren’t always the safest. Automobile accidents involving 16-year-olds occur nine times more than those involving 20-year-olds, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway... Read More
Bay Bridge Accident Prompts Call for Speed Limit Reduction
It’s been all over the Bay Area news: A man in a big rig drove right off the side of the new S-curve in the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge... Read More
Will the US Soon Take Texting While Driving as Seriously as Britain?
When texting kills, Britain takes it seriously. A recent poll by the New York Times suggests that Americans would like to do the same. Britain has a nationwide ban... Read More
How Much Do You Know About Your Car Insurance?
Over the years, GJEL has seen its cases involving uninsured motorists increase by roughly 20 percent. Add to that underinsured motorists, unlicensed motorists, aging drivers, and teens with their... Read More
Motorcycle Fatalities Finally Decreasing
It’s commonly said that there are two types of motorcyclists: those who have been in an accident and those who will be. For the past eleven years, motorcycle fatalities... Read More
GJEL Accident Attorneys Quiz 1: Auto Insurance Basics
GJEL Accident Attorneys Quiz 1: Auto Insurance Basics Gillin Jacobson Ellis & Larsen (GJEL Accident Attorneys) has seen an increase in auto accident cases relating to uninsured motorists. Drivers... Read More
When Stopping at a Red Light, Protect your Back–and Your Front
Next time you go for a drive and hit a red light, pay attention to where you stop your car. If you find yourself stopped behind another car, take... Read More
Commercial Truck Backs Into Woman’s Car
$100,000 for a woman struck by a commercial vehicle. Read More
Elderly Pedestrian Struck by Delivery Van
$250,000 for an elderly pedestrian struck in a crosswalk by a delivery van. Read More
Car vs. Motorcycle Accident in Livermore
$1.75 million for man injured in a motorcycle accident in Livermore. Read More
Man Injured in Car vs. Motorcycle Accident
$400,000 settlement for a man injured in a Bay Area motorcycle accident. Read More
$200,000 Settlement for Rear-End Car Accident in Pittsburg | GJEL
$200,000 for a couple rear-ended in a classic car in Pittsburg, CA. Read More
Victim of Contra Costa County Rear-End Accident
$205,000 for the victim of a rear-end accident involving a commercial truck in Contra Costa County. Read More
Berkeley Pedestrian Injured by Delivery Truck
$140,000 for a Berkeley pedestrian injured by a delivery truck. Read More
Wrongful Death of a Child in Car Accident | GJEL Attorneys
$500,000 for the wrongful death of a child in a Santa Clara County car accident. Read More
Confidential Wrongful Death Settlement
$4.5 million for the family of a woman in a highly confidential wrongful death settlement. Read More
Passenger Injured in Head-On Collision in El Dorado County
$350,000 for a woman who suffered significant injuries in an El Dorado County car accident. Read More
Wrongful Death Car Accident Settlement
$816,000 for the wrongful death of an elderly woman and injuries sustained by her husband in a car accident. Read More
$3.55 Million Settlement for Workplace Injury and CRPS
$3.2 million for a man suffering from CRPS after a hanging display disabled him. Read More
Woman Injured in Big Rig Truck Accident
$992,000 for a woman injured when a big rig truck ran a red light and slammed into her car. Read More
Hospital Error Causes 206 to be Given Radiation Overdoses
At Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, 206 patients were given CT scans that delivered a dose of radiation many times higher than they were supposed to. The excess... Read More
Ignition-Interlock Devices Approved for Trial
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed two bills Sunday that will require or encourage convicted drunk drivers to install ignition-interlock devices in their vehicles. The devices allow a car to be... Read More
Common Sense Safety Measure Could Become Law for Truck and Bus Drivers
I’ve written many times about the dangers of driving while texting or talking on a cell phone. There have, of course, been bans on these activities put in place... Read More
Law Students: Scalia Encourages You to Try Science
You’ve probably heard by now that Supreme Court Justice Scalia thinks that some of our greatest minds are being wasted in the legal profession. I was planning on not... Read More
You Can’t Handle the Truth: Off-Label Marketing of Pharmaceuticals
I’ve been acutely aware of the pharmaceutical industry lately. I’ve been following the first of the test trials in the Foasamax cases, and the ensuing jury tension, and here at GJEL we’re investigating... Read More
There’s an App for That
I don’t have an iPhone, but if I did, I’m not sure if I’d be too crazy about all the applications available for them (applications are “apps,” for short).... Read More
Election or Appointment of Judges?
Being a Wisconsin native, I’ve been following the case surrounding State Supreme Court Justice Michale Gableman for the past several months. Of course, it wasn’t a case, exactly, when... Read More
Plaintiffs’ Attorneys Push Back Against Iqbal Ruling
In May of this year, the Supreme Court ruled that Iqbal, a Pakistani Muslim arrested after the September 11th attacks, could not sue former Attorney General John Ashcroft or current... Read More
Judges and Attorneys Protest Court Furloughs
It’s no secret that the state’s budget is a mess. And though a deal was reached between the governor and the legislature to try and make the best of... Read More
Legal Ethics and the Internet
There’s been some uproar on the internet this weekend after the New York Times published an article about what legal professionals can and can’t say on the internet. The story... Read More
Fosamax Update
You might remember me writing about the case against Merck because of the horrendous side effects of their drug, Fosamax. If you’ll remember, the first “test” case to go... Read More
Alameda County Might Get its First Female DA
Tom Orloff, Alameda County’s current District Attorney has decided to retire after serving fifteen years as DA. He’s looking forward to spending more time with his family. But who,... Read More
ABA’s Legal Rebels are Just What We Need
A couple weeks ago, the ABA launched its new website, Legal Rebels. The idea behind the site was to encourage people, especially those practicing law, to realize that the... Read More
First Fosamax Case Submitted to Jury Today
Pharmaceutical cases are all the rage these days, so it seems… The first Fosamax case has been submitted to a jury today in New York. Fosamax is an osteoporosis... Read More
Some Refreshing Legal Humor
Things have been all together too serious on this blog for a while. There’s been way too many reports of texting while driving, accidents, and other generally serious topics.... Read More
BART Finally Settles Contract
I’ve been bringing you news of the possibility of a BART strike for a while now, and am now bringing you what is (hopefully) the final update– it looks... Read More
Zero Tolerance for Cell Phone Users Today
I encourage my readers to never talk or text while driving because the behavior is inherently dangerous and has been shown in studies to increase the risk of an... Read More
Getting Doored is Not Your Fault, at Least Legally
Cyclists may need to be careful to avoid getting doored, but at least they can rest assured that if they do happen to slam into the door of a... Read More
MUNI Safety Hearing Today
After two serious MUNI accidents in the last month, the City Operations and Neighborhood Services Committee will hold a hearing examining MUNI safety standards for bus and train operators... Read More
Do New Lawyers Need Mentors? Utah Thinks So
Attorney Stephen Owens, who was named new president of the Utah State Bar Association. (Paul Fraughton/The Salt Lake Tribune) A new program in Utah requires newly admitted lawyers to... Read More
Can Teens be Cautious Drivers?
The days of the careless, immortal teenage driver are over. Meet the new, cautious teen driver! Read More
Second Muni Crash in Less than a Month Leaves Six Hurt, Two Hospitalized
The Fog City Journal is reporting that an accident involving two Muni F-Line streetcars and an SUV has left six people hurt, two of whom were hospitalized. According to... Read More
Law Students: No Job? Try Suing Your School
One college grad is suing her school to get her tuition back because she claims they didn't do enough to help her find a job. What about all those... Read More
The Senate takes on Texting While Driving
The U.S. Senate introduced legislation Wednesday that pressures states to ban texting while driving. If they don't comply, they stand to lose millions in federal highway money. Read More
Will Furloughs Save the State Money? Sure, Unless They’re for the Franchise Tax Board
Furloughs are intended to save the state money, but if you furlough employees of a Board whose sole product is the creation of revenue, the furloughs don't work quite... Read More
Don’t Text and Drive
One more reason to leave your cell phone out of reach while driving. Read More
Law Students: Some Zen for the Bar Exam
I know all those recent grads are taking the bar exam this week and are probably a teensy bit panic-attack-inducingly stressed. And for those students who aren’t taking the... Read More
Safe Driving Sometimes Means Not Driving At All
The New York Times just reported on a fatal car crash that happened when one driver drove the wrong way on a road for nearly two miles. The accident... Read More
Driving in Circles to Prevent Accidents
Roundabouts can save you time on your commute, money on your gas, and possibly your life. So why are Americans so averse to them? Read More
Changing the Law School Curriculum
Lawyers need practical skills, and law schools aren't teaching them--yet. It feels like there's change on the horizon, but in the meantime, students need to take the initiative to... Read More
Nearly 50 People Injured in MUNI Accident Saturday
Update 7/22/09 —SFGate, online home of the San Francisco Chronicle has posted videos of the MUNI accident. Update 7/19/09 — CBS5 has just reported that officials from the National... Read More
Senator wants to do “That Crack Cocaine Thing”
A key lesson most of us learned from the Sotomayor confirmation hearings has been to be careful what you say because it probably will be taken out of context... Read More
Sotomayor Confirmation Hearing: Day 3
Notes from Day 3 of Sotomayor's confirmation hearings. Read More
Law Students: Does Debt Correlate with Character and Fitness?
Robert Bowman got himself into $435,000 of debt. The New York State Bar says that means he has failed to establish the requisite character and fitness to practice law.... Read More
Sotomayor Confirmation Hearing: Morning–Day 1
Notes from this morning's session of Sotomayor's confirmation hearing. Read More
Sotomayor Confirmation Hearing: Afternoon–Day 1
Notes from this afternoon's session of Sotomayor's confirmation hearings. Read More
Congested Highways + BART Strike = Not Good
San Francisco-Oakland and San Jose both rank in the top ten on the most congested highways list. With the looming BART strike, things could get a lot worse. Read More
If I Can’t Dance, I Don’t Want to Be Part of Your Revolution
Who doesn't love a dance party for a birthday? The U.S. Park Police seem to think that Thomas Jefferson might not have been "down" with "getting funky" on his... Read More
Good News from the Highways
The Associated Press reports that highway deaths are continuing to fall in 2009, and haven’t been seen at such low levels since 1961. Read More
Law Students: Easing your Student Loan Debt with Income Based Repayment and Public Service Loan Forgiveness
Law school is the same price whether or not you get a job after it's over. And if you get a job, the loan payments are the same, no... Read More
Amazon Tax to Come to California?
A Berkeley Assemblywoman wants Amazon.com and other online retailers to collect sales tax from customers. Amazon says it's unconstitutional. Online shoppers are upset that they have to pay sales... Read More
Interview: Stephanie Jim from the City of Berkeley Injury Prevention Program
I had the great privilege of interviewing Stephanie Jim this week about the Berkeley Family Festival and Bike Rodeo that happened two weekends ago. Stephanie works as an Injury... Read More
Law Students: Worried About the Bar Exam? Should Have Gone to Illinois.
Just when you thought Illinois couldn't be more scandalous! We thought we'd seen the last of Governor Rod Blagojevich after his Senate nominee scandal landed him lots of media... Read More
Law Students: Shrinking Economy, Shrinking Firms, Fewer Jobs
The economy is shrinking and law firms are shrinking right along with it, meaning fewer jobs for new law school grads. So what's a 3L to do? Read More
Instant Accident Reporting for BlackBerry and iPhone Users
Instant reporting of auto accidents is the new big thing--there's applications for BlackBerry phones, iPhones, and now insurance companies are developing their own applications. Who will become the market... Read More
Introducing: Weekly Features
In order to have some continuity and keep our readers from being confused and overwhelmed, I'm creating some basic weekly features that can be a great resource for a... Read More
Welcome to the New and Improved GJEL Blog
Welcome to GJEL Accident Attorneys’ new and improved blog. I’m Kaitlin Janusz, your humble blogger, and today’s post (my first one!) will give you some background about me, and... Read More
Meet the GJEL Staff: Legal Assistant Amy M.
DM: Amy, thanks for agreeing to do this interview. You’re the first point of contact for so many of our clients that I thought we could give people the... Read More
Motorcycle vs. Truck Accident
$750,000 for a client injured in a motorcycle accident involving a pickup truck and a blind driveway. Read More
Alameda Pedestrian Injury
$730,000 for a pedestrian vs. auto accident in Alameda. Read More
Rear-End Auto Accident & Back Surgery
$700,000 for a rear-end auto accident that resulted in two cervical spine surgeries. Read More
Marin County Motorcycle Accident Settlement for $200,000
$700,000 for a motorcycle vs. auto accident in Marin County. Read More
High-Speed Auto Accident in Berkeley
$690,000 for the victim of an auto accident in Berkeley. Read More
Oakland Pedestrian Accident
$625,000 for the victim of a pedestrian vs. truck accident in Oakland. Read More
Bay Bridge Drunk Driving Accident Victim
$600,000 for a client injured by a drunk driver in a car accident on the Bay Bridge. Read More
Elderly Woman Injured in San Francisco Accident
$575,000 for an elderly woman injured in a construction accident in San Francisco. Read More
Back Injuries Suffered in Big-Rig Accident
$475,000 for a man who required surgery after being injured in a big rig accident. Read More
Pedestrian vs. Bus Accident in Concord
$420,000 for a pedestrian vs. bus accident in Concord, CA. Read More
Car Accident on I-80 in Berkeley
$417,500 for the victim of a rear-end collision on Interstate 80 in Berkeley, CA. Read More
San Leandro Personal Injury Case
$340,000 for a San Leandro woman who suffered leg injuries when a radiator broke. Read More