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Showing 1 - 2 of 2 reviews | Wrongful Death

Posted by Warren | March 20, 2023 | Hired Attorney | Wrongful Death

Outstanding litigator

In early 2018, my brother went to a Scottsdale, Arizona restaurant. He was over served alcohol at this restaurant and subsequently collapsed. He died a few days later at a nearby hospital. My mother and I were shocked and in disbelief. We began a search for a competent, tenacious and... aggressive Arizona attorney experienced in DRAM shop law who would investigate and evaluate such a case. We found Mick Levin in Phoenix. After discussing the case with him, he told us it would be a complex, time-consuming matter and we decided to move foward with the case. Mick, and his colleague, John Robertson II, filed a multi-million dollar action against the restaurant in late 2018 in the Arizona Superior Court. The matter was later moved to Federal Court in Arizona. The case had many twists, turns and delays, but it eventually ended up in mediation. During the mediation phase, Mick personally traveled to Ohio to represent my elderly mother in person during the Zoom mediation hearing. We were unable to reach an agreement during mediation, so Mick decided to take our case to trial. In the days prior to the trial, the defendants tried to settle the matter numerous times. Mick worked tirelessly obtain a reasonable settlement offer. Just prior to the scheduled trial (and after more than 3.5 years of litigation in State and Federal Court and a failed mediation attempt), Mick was able to settle the matter with a financial judgement that reasonably reflected the immeasurable loss our family sustained. Mick even negotiated the initial settlement document to ensure the agreement language was equitable. I am confident any other lawyer would have either failed us or settled the matter for far less. I would very highly recommend Mick Levin to anyone who is seeking a tenacious and knowledgeable lawyer for a matter involving very complex litigation.

Posted by anonymous | February 04, 2018 | Hired Attorney | Wrongful Death

Worse Lawyer I Ever Hired, See Disciplinary CS. NO: 16-0083 See AZ State Bar's Site

Attorney Levin took a serious med malpractice case involving my Mom, who was a victim of gross negligence. One year and 3 months later, she passed; case was amended as wrongful death case. Levin as per the AZ State Bar, Case No: 16-0083, committed ethical violations that damaged our case. As per At...torney Discipline Probable Cause Committee of AZ Supreme Court., Levin was admonished by failing to diligently represent and expedite litigation, intentionally delayed the cases, failing to submit any discovery requests on clients' behalf, and refusing to consult w/or use expert witnesses. Failed to comply w/rules pertaining to discovery & failing to comply w/ CT orders. I learned Defendants had Motion to Dismiss and Motion for Summary Adjudication, which needed action! Called Levin, he stated that I should allow dismissal, “without prejudice”, meaning, at a later date, it could be filed again. Means starting from square one!. Defendants' Motions contend that Dismissal should be granted because of “lack of prosecution”. Their Motion was alluding to the fact that nothing was being done on my case. I called AZ State Bar, filed formal complaint against Levin. He was angry for contacting them, and immediately filed Court Order to withdrew as attorney of record, which was later granted. Therefore, I went in Pro-Per to CT Hearing, alone, without any representation, to stop Dismissal from being granted. I stood before Judge and to the right of me, were 3 high-powered lawyers, representing the physicians,the defendants in the case. Motion to Dismiss was to be heard during this CT Appearance. Judge denied Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss, and issued an Order permitting me 90 days in which to seek another Attorney and to hire medical expert witnesses, so that these witnesses’ certifications and merits of affidavits, which were required a year or more ago, would FINALLY get completed and filed into the CT. 90 days is a short time-period to hire another attorney, have new lawyer review court records, and hire med expert witnesses.I was having difficulty with Levin, getting all records & docs that belonged in my case file. Early on, Levin in emails to me claimed he had excellent expert witnesses aboard that would help us, but then later, after approx. 2 years passed, he claims witnesses no longer aboard; I’ll never actually know if he truly had expert med witnesses, There was absolutely NOTHING in my file after I left, showing that he spoke to ANY witnesses, no affidavits of merit from them, no attorney notes or communication, no contact information, NOTHING!! This is what our entire case hinged upon – expert witnesses! Meanwhile, AZ State Bar was conducting their investigation, which took more than a year to complete. After investigation,AZ State Bar Discipline Probable Cause Committee of Supreme CT, entered the Order of Admonition, Probation, (LOMAP and CLE, and costs) against Levin.It stated that Levin violated ER 1.3, ER 3.2, ER 3.4(c), ER 8.4(d) and Rule 54 (c). As per violations, he “failed to diligently represent and expedite litigation, and violated those rules in part by intentionally delaying the cases, failing to submit any discovery requests on his clients’ behalf, and refusing to consult with or use expert witnesses that his client suggested”. I tried calling one attorney after another, for months, but no attorney likes taking a damaged case from a previous attorney who did no depositions, no interrogatories, no affidavits, no declarations. After years, witnesses can't be found, a case gets "stale". The SOL time-period has since passed; it can't be refiled. Still grieving for Mom, and dismayed as to what happened. I suffered extreme grief and agonizing misery, but I'm grateful for efforts by the Arizona State Bar. They truly care about the citizens of AZ. I hope others never have to experience what I experienced throughout this ordeal.

Mick Levin

Replied last February 04, 2018

Dear Anonymous Client: I, too, am very sorry about what happened to your mom. I feel that she did not get appropriate medical care and I was willing to spend my own time and over $10,000.00 of my own money prosecuting your mother's case. It is a shame we were not able to get justice for her. Unfortunately, the rest of your post is misleading and, at times, simply incorrect. The Arizona State Bar Association has never disciplined me. While you did file a complaint, there is no record of discipline for me on the Arizona State Bar's website. You can go to www.azbar.org, put in my name under "Find a Lawyer," and see for yourself. Under "discipline" it says "none". Also, you appear to question whether I obtained any expert opinions in your mom's case. I did. No, the opinions were not in writing. We do not get them in writing until we have all of the facts. That way, if new information changes the expert's opinion, the expert doesn't look like a liar for changing his mind. Unfortunately, also as you indicated, after we began the case, the expert changed his mind. So, yes, I did obtain an expert and I am pretty sure the Arizona State Bar Association would have sanctioned me for lying to you about it if I hadn't. As you indicated in your post, without an expert, the case would not succeed. You are right, I did advise you to dismiss the case without prejudice so that we could take a step back, regroup, and bring the case again with a new expert. As you correctly point out, it is not easy to get a new expert in 90 days - but that's all the time we had to do it. If the case were dismissed without prejudice, as I advised you, it would have given me more time to find a new expert who would support the case and bring the matter again. I was not angry when you contacted the State Bar - just sad. Usually, when a client feels the need to contact the State Bar because of something their lawyer did or didn't do, it's because the relationship between lawyer and client is irretrievably broken. If things are that bad, it's not exactly a situation a lawyer wants to stay in. Like with any relationship, when someone calls the police on you, it's time to end the relationship. So, no, I wasn't angry - just sad that I wouldn't be able to help get justice for your mother. I don't know why you believe you had a hard time getting records and documents from your case file. I sent everything to you - as well as the State Bar after you made your complaint. They didn't seem to think I had omitted anything. I'm not sure why you believed otherwise. Look, I get it. Your mom had poor medical care; you wanted to sue the people who were responsible; and when the lawsuit came apart, you wanted someone to blame. My best advice is don't be mad at someone who is trying to help you. Yeah, there are scumbag lawyers out there who have stolen their client's money and used their position to their own advantage. All I ever did was try to help and give you the best advice I could. I certainly understand why you're angry - I just don't understand why you're angry at the only person you could find who was willing to take on the case. I'm very sorry that things didn't go the way you wanted them to. Perhaps, if there is ever a next time, you'll try following the advice of your lawyer before reporting him to the Bar. You may be surprised - your lawyer might actually know what he's talking about. Mick

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