The Lawyers Who Win

BY CATHERINE HANSFORD Alumnus Maurice Jenkins, ’81, specializes in labor and employment law with Dickinson Wright in Detroit. He sums up his philosophy with the idea that “to be a good lawyer and feel good about yourself, it’s essential that you practice with integrity and take an approach that’s best for your client, proper under the law and fair.” Jenkins has found success by focusing on eliminating uncertainty in the litigation process. Successful litigators, including those who had their beginnings at Michigan State University-Detroit College of Law, share admirable qualities. They believe in their clients, want to right a wrong, are always prepared and have an exceptional work ethic. This, he believes, you do by knowing the facts, the law and the procedure so it becomes intuitive, letting you focus on the case itself. Otherwise, you lose spontaneity, which detracts from the process. Attending MSU-DCL gave Jenkins insight beyond the substantive aspects of the law. He feels he gained an advantage by learning from practitioners who shared real-world experiences, helping him realize that litigation is a dynamic process with many variables and that no two cases are the same. Supporting that concept is the new Geoffrey Fieger Trial Practice Institute, with an active advisory board of practicing trial lawyers and one-on-one mentoring by practitioners. Craig Manchik, ’94, managing partner in the Chicago-based firm of Manchik & Romaker, has been arguing his position since he was a child. Manchik recently won a jury verdict of more than $1.1 million on a difficult liability case against an Illinois municipality and its police officers. He agrees that you win cases by doing a thorough and complete investigation that includes lining up appropriate experts early so they can advise you in discovery. Manchik’s firm concentrates on medical malpractice, nursing home negligence, catastrophic personal injury and wrongful death cases. To him, successful litigation hinges on the ability to be a good listener. Manchik believes “you must be in a position to feel your client’s pain. You must bring forth the passion necessary to convince a jury of the wrongs that have been done to the client. If you can do that, you have a good start.” Subscribing to the adage, “the harder I work, the luckier I get,” Manchik also thinks there’s no substitute for hard work. In his view, MSU-DCL was the toughest educational institution he attended, and its well respected, outstanding faculty members taught him to be disciplined and prepared. Jules Olsman, ’78, a partner in the Farmington Hills, Michigan, firm of Olsman, Ganos & Mueller, has distinguished himself in nursing home litigation and long-term care issues. Trying cases that involve vulnerable adults, Olsman is proud that he and his colleagues have been able to raise the bar on how lawyers, judges and juries look at older plaintiffs. While law school taught Olsman to treat people decently, his cases have taught him that people “aren’t worth less money, aren’t worth less to the family and aren’t worth less to society because they’re older. Lives shouldn’t be diminished by age or physical maladies.” Olsman echoes the necessity of a solid work ethic and stresses that “being a hard worker is more important than being a genius.” He offers the same advice Jack Nicklaus did: if you play the game to make money, you’ll always struggle; if you play the game to win, you’ll always be a success. Olsman also advises: “Never focus on fees; focus on doing a good job for the client.” Another partner in Olsman, Ganos & Mueller, Wolfgang Mueller, who graduated magna cum laude in 1990, believes that “it wasn’t necessarily the smartest people who did the best [in law school]. It was the hard work you put in.” And he did work hard employed as an engineer by day and attending law school at night. Mueller believes MSU-DCL prepared him well and that “learning to handle the pressures of law school helps you deal with the pressure you face in court.” Ironically, Mueller wanted to be a sports agent and chose MSU-DCL for its Sports Law class. In the end, his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering, from MSU and the University of Michigan, respectively, made it more rewarding to use the expertise he had, to specialize in automotive product liability litigation, such as child airbag death cases. Preaching what he practices, Mueller suggests that becoming a good litigator is finding a niche, developing it, marketing yourself well, and then staying focused and working hard because “every now and then you do something that helps someone, and that makes it all worthwhile.” Sandra Ganos, ’78, who specializes in medical malpractice and nursing home litigation, rounds out the law firm of Olsman, Ganos & Mueller. One of her more noteworthy cases involved a young mother with melanoma who lost her life as a result of a lab’s failure to diagnose her cancer. A settlement of more than $1 million prompted Ganos to note “you can do a lot for people in this position.” Ganos entered law school “for the heck of it” while waiting to enter a University of Michigan graduate program in psychology. She found it interesting, intriguing and challenging, and stayed. The most important thing MSU-DCL taught her, Ganos says, was to think like a lawyer: “the way you look at a set of facts, what you see in a set of facts and how you approach a set of facts.” Ganos feels strongly that a good lawyer cares about the clients and what’s best for them, advocating their position first, being active in terms of discovery by turning over every stone, and taking cases to their conclusions, settling only if appropriate. Finally, Andrew Kelly, ’99, has gained the respect of the legal community and his fellow attorneys in the Bloomington, Illinois, law firm of Walker & Wilder. The youngest lawyer in the firm, Kelly recently won a discrimination case with a jury verdict award of $1.1 million, the largest amount ever received in a case involving the Americans with Disabilities Act in the Federal District Court for the Central District of Illinois. A member of the first class that attended MSU-DCL at its East Lansing site, Kelly credits the college with helping him be comfortable and confident in court. He believes he gained an edge from the school’s emphasis on practical experience and its use of the Socratic method, which he says was “humbling at first, but eventually brought a strength—a confidence—that you don’t get at other schools. It forces you to focus on the point instead of the fact that you’re the center of attention and speaking in front of other people.” He adds, “If you’ve never had that sort of training, you’re less confident and don’t come across as well.” Kelly honed his skills in Moot Court competitions and as editor-in-chief of the Journal of International Law. In his eyes, the key to success is in being able to express yourself on a level that lay people can understand. Kelly believes you must stay true to yourself and not feel you have to be different because you’re a lawyer. Contrary to stereotype, these powerful litigators aren’t elitists who stand and deliver dramatic speeches in court. They’re roll-up-your-sleeves, nose-to-the-grindstone humanitarians who are humbled by the opportunity to help others. If the students in MSU-DCL’s new trial practice institute heed the lessons these practitioners offer, they can expect long and rewarding legal careers.