Railroads
Railroad defense
FELA claims, grade crossing and trespasser cases, FRSA whistleblower suits, spoliation fights, and on-scene incident response. Two decades of it, for carriers large and short line.
The short version
One lawyer on your file.
Running my own shop lets me be exactly who I am as a lawyer. It also gives me full control over the day-to-day decisions and the overhead, and I keep the overhead low on purpose. My income rises and falls with my own effort and talent, which is one of the things I love most about running my own firm.
Indiana is where I try cases, and I've appeared for the case in courts outside it as well. Most of my clients are companies and the claims professionals and in-house lawyers who answer for them. The rest are small business owners and individuals who have no claims department to call, so they call me.
A long stretch of that career has been railroad defense, and it still is a large part of the docket. It gets a page of its own because it's by far the niche I know best.
Where to start
Most calls fall into one of three areas.
Local counsel
Indiana local and coordinating counsel
You're trying a case in Indiana and you aren't admitted here. I am, and I can handle as much of the Indiana work as you need.
Everything else
Defense litigation generally
State university defense, catastrophic injury and wrongful death, preservation disputes, and employment law consulting.
Experience
My background.
Growing up
I grew up on a farm in Benton County, Indiana, with my parents and three sisters. My dad farmed with his brother, and my mom was a homemaker. We later moved to Lafayette, and I graduated from Harrison High School in West Lafayette before going to Purdue.
Supreme Court clerkship
After I graduated from the Indiana University McKinney School of Law, I clerked for Justice Brent E. Dickson of the Indiana Supreme Court.
Trial experience
I've tried twelve jury trials as first chair. Eleven were for defendants, and nine of those ended in a defense verdict.
State and federal court
I've tried cases in five Indiana counties and in four divisions of Indiana's two federal districts.
General information about how these files get worked. Not legal advice, and not a prediction about any particular case.