SEE DESCRIPTIONS BELOW OF THE AREAS OF OUR PRACTICE... AND VISIT OUR WEBSITE WWW.LAWAHL.COM
We defend the rights of individuals and businesses.
We know the law.
When our clients come under attack, we respond.
When professionals are charged with malpractice. When individuals are charged with crimes. If businesses come under investigation. We defend.
When rights are attacked by institutions or Government. If a person has been injured or abused by the powerful. We defend.
When property needs protection. If a reputation has been damaged. When accusations are made. We defend.
CRIMINAL DEFENSE -- Whether you have come under investigation or actually been charged with a crime, you need to act rapidly to protect yourself, your family, your business and your assets. Having strong, aggressive and creative defense counsel involved at the earliest moment of your case significantly shifts the odds in your favor.
Over the course of 25 years we have successfully represented individuals and businesses in financial crimes, securities fraud litigation, Medicaid fraud, money laundering, arms dealing, foreign corrupt practices violations, RICO cases, embezzlement, extradition, business loss, homicide, sex crimes, assorted violent crimes, conspiracy, narcotics offenses and domestic crimes.
Many of our cases involve international transactions or allegations of transnational crimes. Through the international work we have engaged in, we have developed a network of associations with law firms and colleagues throughout the world who know the current local conditions and are available to participate with us in international matters.
We are known as aggressive, tenacious and creative defenders. We give all the time and attention that your case requires because we know that the issues you are addressing are likely the most important and most stressful issues you have ever addressed in your life.
We understand that, more than anything, you want your life and your business to return to normal. We are committed to doing everything we can to accomplish that goal as quickly and effectively as is possible.
PROFESSIONAL LIABILITY DEFENSE -- We provide medical malpractice defense to physicians and hospitals, legal malpractice defense to attorneys and general liability defense to property owners. We understand that a claim against you represents an attack on your professionalism, your judgment and your assets. We resolve many of our cases on the strength of our legal analysis without the necessity of going to trial. Many cases are settled for nominal amounts after our legal and factual analysis demonstrates the futility of the plaintiff's case. When we go to trial we are aggressive, creative and prepared. We have achieved dramatic results for our clients resulting in significant savings.
The insurance companies we do work for know us to be able, tenacious, consistently ready and affordable. We are efficient, creative, responsive and cost effective. We maintain excellent working relationships with judges and colleagues on both sides of the table and are therefore able to address issues quickly and effectively without the smoke blowing which can often interfere with a prompt resolution.
Our attorneys take great pride in defending physicians, nurses, midwives, hospitals, lawyers, law firms and property owners against claims of malpractice and negligence. We have the experience and the resources needed to evaluate complex malpractice and negligence claims and to defend clients in difficult high-stakes cases.
In medical malpractice cases, we are experienced and successful in defending against injury claims and charges of surgical error, physician error, nursing error, birth injuries, brain damage, and various types of alleged hospital negligence. We thoroughly investigate and evaluate every case, review all relevant medical records, locate expert witnesses, and make effective use of testimony in depositions and at trial. We understand what is at stake in today's litigious environment, and are committed to providing cost effective defense services tailored to protect your rights and vital interests ¿ in and out of court.
We also work extensively in the fields of legal malpractice, products liability and general liability defense. We have successfully obtained dismissal of cases brought by individuals seeking damages for injuries allegedly sustained due to defective products, slips and falls, auto accidents, and construction related accidents. We also have represented insurance companies involved in declaratory judgment litigation.
Our lawyers have worked hard to earn their deserved reputation for excellent representation on our clients' behalf, and we have an extraordinarily impressive record of successful outcomes. In all aspects of our practice, we are committed to high-quality, principled, and professional legal services.
PROTECTING YOUR RIGHTS -- Our firm stands beside individuals and businesses when their rights are attacked.
We protect individuals who have been falsely arrested, people whose therapists, doctors, clergy or teachers have taken advantage of their position of power, individuals whose reputations have been wrongly damaged and business owners who have been cheated.
When those of unequal power are in conflict, the law can be a great leveler. Many of our laws are designed to protect individuals from the power of government, institutions and over-reaching professionals. Our lawyers savor the opportunity to assure that our clients receive the protection that the law demands. We like to think we're in law enforcement.
Some of our cases call for full out legal warfare. Other cases require delicate private negotiations. In either event, we are prepared to spend the time and resources necessary to assure that your rights are protected.
CRIMINAL CASES --
We were retained by a prominent businessman from California who was questioned by the FBI relating to an international bribery investigation which involved a high ranking foreign government official. After a lengthy investigation by our office and the pre-indictment presentation of compelling evidence to the Government we were able to convince the Prosecutor that our client was not the correct target of their interest, the investigation was re-focused on other individuals and the case against him was abandoned.
A physician came to us after being contacted by the FBI. The Agents insisted that the physician was involved in a kick-back scheme involving his prescription activities. After a thorough examination of all of the evidence, including several videos of our client interacting with the undercover pharmaceutical representative, we presented our legal analysis and findings and conclusions to the Government and successfully argued that no case could be proven against our client. The case was dropped.
A nurse was charged with the sexual abuse of a disabled patient. After carefully listening to our client's description of his interaction with the patient and coming to a full understanding of the patient's medical condition, we concluded, with the help of a medical expert, that the patient was suffering from a known psychiatric phenomena of individuals suffering from that particular illness who received a particular medication regimen. We were able to convince the prosecutor that the complaining witness was suffering from a drug induced psychosis and the case was dismissed against our client.
A young man was charged with a gun point robbery of a car wash. The robbery was caught on video tape. The young man was seen and arrested in the vicinity of the car wash and was identified by the victim of the robbery. Although the individual in the video tape looked remarkably like our client, our careful review of the tape and our discussions with our client convinced us that we could prove that the man on the video tape was not our client. We had an expert in photogram try examine the video tape, go to the scene to take very specific measurements of the scene and develop compelling evidence that the individual on the videotape was several inches taller than our client. On the eve of trial, the prosecutor dismissed the case.
A man was charged with the homicide of his upstairs neighbor and the attempted homicide of another upstairs neighbor. He was arrested exiting his apartment building carrying items which came from the deceased man's apartment and he was identified as the attacker by the surviving neighbor. After a multi-week trial which detailed the errors of the police investigation and the bias of the eyewitness the jury determined that it could not find guilt beyond a reasonable doubt and our client was acquitted.
Our client was visited by federal agents who suggested that he had participated in a scheme to defraud the government of 2.5 million dollars by charging excessive amounts for work that was never done. While our client did benefit from the contract payments made by the government, after an analysis by our forensic accountant, we were able to explain that the payments made to our client were legitimate and appropriate and that their interest should correctly be focused on others who received other funds under questionable circumstances. The case against our client was dismissed.
PROFESSIONAL LIABILITY --
A physician was charged by the Office of Professional Medical Conduct with dispensing dozens of narcotics to friends and family members without establishing patient relationships with any of the people receiving drugs and without maintaining medical records. We negotiated a brief suspension of the physician's license and his ability to resume practicing are undisturbed.
A lawyer was charged by the Disciplinary Committee with erratic behavior in court, abandoning clients and a series of serious arrests. We discerned that the lawyer's alcoholism had contributed to the problem and instead of the losing her license we enrolled the lawyer in a treatment program, negotiated a peer monitoring arrangement and assisted the lawyer to resume her successful practice of law.
A nurse came to us criminally charged with writing fake prescriptions for narcotics on stolen prescription pads and filling those prescriptions at a hospital pharmacy. The nurse's addiction to these narcotics had precipitated her illegal conduct. We convinced the prosecutor to dismiss the criminal charges and negotiated with the licensing agency to maintain the nurse's license and permit her to enroll in a drug counseling program with on site monitoring of her performance on the job.
A union official came under investigation for violating his employer's rules. We determined that the investigation was actually an effort to eliminate this employee and weaken the union. We developed incontrovertible evidence that the employee had performed his job duties admirably and further, that the employer had a history of eliminating effective union supporters. The investigation ended with an apology to the employee.
PROTECTING YOUR RIGHTS--
Our firm protected the privacy interests of a young woman against defendants Home Box Office and various television producers. We sued HBO on behalf of our client and claimed that HBO and its agents had misappropriated her image and violated her civil rights by including her image in a scene on the television series “Family Bonds.” We fully protected our client's interests and created new law by defeating HBO's motion to dismiss both at the trial and appellate court levels.
A physician of Middle Eastern descent was fired from his hospital position based largely on his language and speech patterns. We defended his right to practice his profession despite his strong accent and succeeded in having his re-instated and his personnel file cleared.
We represented a husband and wife, in a social worker sexual abuse case. Defendant, a social worker/marriage counselor, engaged in sexual affair with the wife while treating the wife. Settled for $200,000 before suit was filed.
A young boy with special educational needs was expelled from his private school because the school did not want to provide the assistance he needed. We filed a federal civil rights law suit on his behalf and successfully forced the school to pay damages to the boy for the violation of his rights.
A husband and wife were both being treated by the same psychiatrist. The psychiatrist entered into a sexual relationship with wife while still treating the clients. We negotiated a $450,000 settlement before suit was filed.
A learning disabled nursing student was dismissed from her program. We intervened on her behalf and successfully insisted that accommodations she required to deal with her disability be provided to her. She was re-admitted to her program, graduated and is now practicing.
A senior executive at a major investment and financial services firm was fired “for cause” after he pointed out security deficiencies to an internal audit team. We negotiated a superior severance package which well exceeded the firm's contractual obligations under even the best circumstances and cleared his personnel record so that he was unencumbered while seeking new employment.
A 13 year old boy was arrested and charged with assault after an accident happened while he was playing baseball. The criminal charges against the boy were quickly dismissed, but in the short period of time while he was still in being held in jail, he was put in a cell with older more violent detainees who serially raped him. Suit was filed against the government agency responsible for maintaining the safety of the holding facility and, after a period of negotiation, the matter was settled for $1,200,000. Ultimately, we worked with the city to re-write the law relating to the manner in which young children would be held in jail while awaiting a court date.
