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The Jurewitz Law Group: Stacey O’Neill, Joshua Hernandez, Breanna Ybarra, Lee Jurewitz, Ross Jurewitz, Clarisa Hernandez, Margarita McDaniel, Elissa Croce, Hallie Vanoli
“Our typical personal injury client has significant or catastrophic injuries caused by someone else’s negligence. Most of our cases are auto/motorcycle/traffic accidents, but we also represent people injured in slip and fall accidents, workplace accidents, cruise ship accidents and accidents covered under the Jones Act on navigable waters. Our typical Social Security Disability client has undergone a catastrophic change of their life which has prevented them from working at all for at least one year, and possibly much longer into the future,” Jurewitz says. At the initial meeting with clients, Jurewitz makes several things clear to his clients. “They are frustrated. They have often been bombarded by calls or letters. We let them know that the stress is no longer theirs. We take on the stress and their only job is to go to the doctor, to get their health back, and to try to get better,” he says. At the same time, he also offers them the resources to learn what their lawsuit will entail. “We believe in educating our clients and prospective clients throughout the personal injury process with free books, white papers, and videos so that they can make informed decisions about the handling of their case and the case strategy involved. We have published a personal injury book and are in the process of publishing books about motorcycle accidents and Social Security Disability,” Jurewitz says. “That way they know why we are recommending what we are recommending and why we are using the strategy we are using. It all begins with why for us, because we want our clients to have a great experience with our office. We firmly believe that an informed and educated client is the best client.”
EXCELLENCE IN ASSISTING FELLOW ATTORNEYS “We are unique in that we are one of the few Personal Injury firms which also handles Social Security and Disability Claims,” 18
Attorney Journal San Diego | Volume 136, 2014
Jurewitz says. As a matter of fact, it is his wife, Lee Jurewitz, who heads up the firm’s Social Security Disability practice, where she and her team work diligently to get Social Security benefits approved for clients by personally guiding them throughout the long and trying process of negotiating the bureaucracy of the Social Security Administration. Not surprisingly, as a result, Jurewitz says that his firm gets not only referrals for personal injury cases from fellow attorneys, but that they often come to the Jurewitz Law Group for help in this arena as well. “We have the resources and skills not only to achieve great results for victims, but to help them solve their problems or difficulties arising from their injuries. For those who refer their personal injury clients for help due to long-term or permanent disability that would qualify them for Social Security Disability benefits, we make sure that their clients’ disability benefit needs are looked after and provide a sort of second opinion to clients to reassure them that their personal injury attorney is handling their case smartly,” Jurewitz says. “There is no better friend for a personal injury lawyer than another personal injury lawyer who supports their efforts and their strategy for their client.” “We know the level of trust it takes for other attorneys to refer their friends, family, and clients to another attorney and we try our utmost to make sure that trust is repaid. We track the source of all client referrals and acknowledge the referral when the client contacts us. Throughout the handling of the client’s case, we can keep the referring attorney up to speed with the general stage of the case if desired, or we can simply wait until the end of the case and send a generous referral fee out of the blue. Attorneys are often surprised by our results and the amount of the corresponding referral fee, as we can often sew a purse out of a sow’s ear. Cases that are initially evaluated at $25,000 or less are often settled in the six figures,” he says.