Speakers: Matthew Sullivan & Michael Levitis
Michael Levitis 00:06
Welcome back, everybody, this is Michael Levitis with Jurisq.com. I have here at a zoom session attorney that does construction accident law, Matthew Sullivan, from the law firm of Gregory Spector and Associates. Matthew, welcome back.
Matthew Sullivan 00:22
Thank you for having me.
Michael Levitis 00:24
Matthew, at our last session, we talked a little bit about what goes into being an attorney that represents clients that get hurt at a construction site at a worksite. God forbid, you have a loved one who lost their life at a construction job. And it’s very important to have an attorney that does this for a living, and does only this and has the expertise and so on.
So I want to talk to you from yesterday, your standpoint, you’ve done so many of these cases, you won cases you have settled cases, please educate the public, when picking a right attorney to represent you at your construction excellence case. What are the qualities? What experience should you look for? In fashion attorney?
Matthew Sullivan 01:12
There are a couple of qualities that jumped out right in front of me. And the first is have they done this before? Do they know the New York state labor law, the New York State industrial code? And do they know how and when it will apply in a particular situation? I think experience is critical. You know, the best predictor of a future result is your past experience.
So definitely want lawyers who live with this, who breathe it who understand the latest case developments who keep up with those case developments who know the difference between an OSHA 10 card and an OSHA 40 cars, who know what those courses mean, experience and knowledge about construction is critical. Another significant quality another important quality is someone you can work with someone you can have an ongoing relationship with. We talked about attorney client privilege all the time.
And that’s because there’s a relationship between the attorney and the client. Some of these construction cases will take years because of the way the system is set up. And because of all of the fighting that will go on back and forth between the injured worker and that construction site owner who doesn’t want to pay during those years, you need a lawyer who’s going to respond to your questions.
You need a lawyer who’s going to answer you and tell you what’s going on. Oftentimes clients don’t really mind waiting, if they know what they’re waiting for. They don’t mind following through the process, if they understand what the process is.
Michael Levitis 02:42
You don’t want surprises, right? Tell me the good and tell me the bad. So I know what to expect.
Matthew Sullivan 02:48
An tell me why. Why is this taking so long? Why are we going back to court in six months as opposed to six weeks? There are answers. And unfortunately, some lawyers either don’t want to give those answers or don’t know the answers, right? You need lawyers who are going to be transparent are going to be communicated and are going to be responsive.
Michael Levitis 03:07
Yes Matthew! This is why I chose your firm to talk about construction accidents law, because you actually do this for living- hands on. I’ve heard so many stories where people have went to New York City personal injury attorneys that are advertised that do construction accidents, they take the case, but in reality, they don’t handle this case, you know what they do Matthew?
They take this case to refer to a different attorney that you probably never even met, you know who they are. And now you have a total different firm representing you than what you expected at the beginning. Whereas when a client comes to you, you will be the attorney handling their case. Andthat is important.
Matthew Sullivan 03:50
It’s critical for my construction site clients, they have my cell phone number, I will text them I’m going to court today on your case, I will text them after. I’m a big texter. I’ll call but I’ll text after this is what happened. This is why it happened. This is how it has affected the case. Clients are going to be their own best witness. They’re going to be their own best advocates for their claims for their case. You’re only as good of a witness or an advocate as you are as informed. Yeah, it’s critical for us to do that and maintain that relationship.
Michael Levitis 04:22
Yeah, Matthew, you know, attorneys tell me all the time that the best client referral, they get the best client they get is referral from another client. Yeah. So it is so good when an attorney does their job. So the client is satisfied and actually tells their friend, their colleague, this is what worked for me. I recommend this attorney so that’s the best idea here. Okay, Matthew, thank you so much for your answer. And we’re going to keep bringing you back anytime there are new developments in Construction Law.
Anytime we see that people are asking on the net, on Facebook, on Google questions that are commonly asked in construction law, and you’re the go to person for that. So we’re going to have you back. Thank you so much. And stay tuned for more construction accidents law. Thank you.
Matthew Sullivan 05:15
Thank you. I really appreciate the opportunity. Thank you.
