Michaels & Smolak, P.C.

Michaels & Smolak, P.C. We are dedicated almost exclusively to personal injury, wrongful death, medical malpractice and legal malpractice cases in all of Upstate New York.

We also accept general civil litigation cases, and we do take some select cases from all areas of New York. Michaels & Smolak, P.C., is a renowned civil-litigation law firm located in Auburn, New York (Cayuga County) dedicated almost exclusively to personal injury, wrongful death, medical and legal malpractice cases. If you've been injured in an accident, we can help you get your life back. A seri

ous injury, whether from an accident or improper medical care, can change your life and the life of your family. Call our office today for a free consultation. 1-866-698-8169

Dog bite victims’ lawyers (like me) have noticed a disturbing trend in recent years: Severe dog bite injuries are growin...
02/11/2022

Dog bite victims’ lawyers (like me) have noticed a disturbing trend in recent years: Severe dog bite injuries are growing while insurance coverage for them is shrinking. Why? Two intersecting trends are the root cause: Trend number 1: Dogs are getting meaner, and meaner. The percentage of new dogs that are pit-bull types (included mixes) has been growing. Pit bulls are now the fifth most popular dog to own, and that number is growing. ...

Dog bite victims’ lawyers (like me) have noticed a disturbing trend in recent years: Severe dog bite injuries are growing while insurance coverage for them is shrinking. Why? Two intersecting ...

We are right in the middle of “regular-firearm” (as opposed to bow-and-arrow) deer hunting season in New York State. It ...
11/14/2021

We are right in the middle of “regular-firearm” (as opposed to bow-and-arrow) deer hunting season in New York State. It started October 23 and ends December 12. So let's talk about car-on-deer collisions, how to avoid them, and the legal consequences if you don't. Deer are a lot like you in that, if they are smart, they try to avoid personal injuries. ...

We are right in the middle of “regular-firearm” (as opposed to bow-and-arrow) deer hunting season in New York State. It started October 23 and ends December 12. So let's talk about car-on-deer ...

Today I am going to blog about legal advertising and my love/hate relationship with it. First, why do Syracuse NY area p...
10/08/2021

Today I am going to blog about legal advertising and my love/hate relationship with it. First, why do Syracuse NY area personal injury lawyers like us have to advertise at all? The question is a fair one. After all, our law firm is, according not just to us, but to many of the best lawyers and judges in the area, one of the top personal injury law firms in all of Upstate New York. ...

Today I am going to blog about legal advertising and my love/hate relationship with it. First, why do Syracuse NY area personal injury lawyers like us have to advertise at all? The question is a ...

We are pleased to announce that all four of M&S’s lawyers have once again been ranked in the publication The Best Lawyer...
08/23/2021

We are pleased to announce that all four of M&S’s lawyers have once again been ranked in the publication The Best Lawyers in America© (2022 edition). Dave Kalabanka was listed for representing plaintiffs in personal injury and products liability litigation, Lee Michaels and Jan Smolak for personal injury litigation, and Mike Bersani for personal injury, products liability and professional malpractice litigation....

We are pleased to announce that all four of M&S’s lawyers have once again been ranked in the publication The Best Lawyers in America© (2022 edition). Dave Kalabanka was listed for ...

Hello there blog readers! This is Dave Kalabanka, Mike Bersani’s partner. I’ve hijacked his blog for today to interview...
08/19/2021

Hello there blog readers! This is Dave Kalabanka, Mike Bersani’s partner. I’ve hijacked his blog for today to interview Mike about another important award he just got: Mike has been selected the 2022 “Lawyer of the Year” for the Syracuse metropolitan area in the field of “professional malpractice” for his outstanding representation of victims of legal or other professional malpractice…...

Hello there blog readers! This is Dave Kalabanka, Mike Bersani’s partner. I’ve hijacked his blog for today to interview Mike about another important award he just got: Mike has been selected the ...

The answer to the question posed in the title of this blog post is “yes”. I will show you how this is true using a rece...
06/27/2021

The answer to the question posed in the title of this blog post is “yes”. I will show you how this is true using a recent case I settled as an example. My pedestrian-client was injured while j-walking across East Genesee Street in Auburn, right outside our main office. The pedestrian seemingly did everything wrong: She chose to cross the street a hundred feet or so from an intersection equipped with a traffic light and crosswalk. ...

The answer to the question posed in the title of this blog post is “yes”. I will show you how this is true using a recent case I settled as an example. My pedestrian-client was injured while ...

I have been representing personal injury victims for decades. No two victims are alike. They're kind of like snowflake...
05/25/2021

I have been representing personal injury victims for decades. No two victims are alike. They're kind of like snowflakes: They are each unique. This goes for how they deal with their injuries, too. But generally you can think of how they handle their injuries as running along a spectrum, a continuum, which is the subject of my blog post today....

I have been representing personal injury victims for decades. No two victims are alike. They're kind of like snowflakes: They are each unique. This goes for how they deal with their injuries, ...

I am arguing an appeal tomorrow. I am writing this blog post during a “break” in my preparation. Let me tell you about...
05/17/2021

I am arguing an appeal tomorrow. I am writing this blog post during a “break” in my preparation. Let me tell you about the appeal, and how I am preparing to argue it. First, it’s a big case. We have sued for more than $8,000,000. Our client is a wealthy trust fund that lent $6,000,0000 to a power company. The loan went sour when the power company went broke and was unable to repay the loan. ...

I am arguing an appeal tomorrow. I am writing this blog post during a “break” in my preparation. Let me tell you about the appeal, and how I am preparing to argue it. First, it’s a big case. ...

We get this question a lot. When we get it early on – while the client is still treating for her injuries, the answer i...
05/10/2021

We get this question a lot. When we get it early on – while the client is still treating for her injuries, the answer is, “we don’t know”. It depends on how well and how quickly you heal”. But once the client is done healing and we can see what her “permanent” prognosis is, including any permanent pain, limitations or scars, we can take a stab at it....

We get this question a lot. When we get it early on – while the client is still treating for her injuries, the answer is, “we don’t know”. It depends on how well and how quickly you heal”. ...

You are walking along the shoulder of a road with no sidewalk. You are facing traffic, as you are supposed to. To your...
05/06/2021

You are walking along the shoulder of a road with no sidewalk. You are facing traffic, as you are supposed to. To your right, walking with you, is your husband. Suddenly the car heading towards you veers off the road and onto the shoulder. You have time to jump to the left and escape injury. Your husband, on the other hand, is hit and killed....

You are walking along the shoulder of a road with no sidewalk. You are facing traffic, as you are supposed to. To your right, walking with you, is your husband. Suddenly the car heading ...

Several years ago, Lee Michaels, our senior member, was asked and agreed to endow this significant scholarship and award...
05/03/2021

Several years ago, Lee Michaels, our senior member, was asked and agreed to endow this significant scholarship and award at Syracuse University College of Law recognizing a second-year top trial or appellate advocacy student. The primary goal in initiating this scholarship/award was to help a worthy student, but it was also aimed at attracting fresh applicants interested in advocacy to the law school....

Several years ago, Lee Michaels, our senior member, was asked and agreed to endow this significant scholarship and award at Syracuse University College of Law recognizing a second-year top trial ...

Ok, the headline of this blog was over the top. Just trying to grab your attention! If you have read this far, it work...
03/16/2021

Ok, the headline of this blog was over the top. Just trying to grab your attention! If you have read this far, it worked! But we really are damn good at what we do. I don’t usually blog about our firm (too modest!). We like our results to speak for themselves. (And do they ever: Check them out here). If you look back at my past blog posts, you will see they are about cases we have had or changes in personal injury law. ...

Ok, the headline of this blog was over the top. Just trying to grab your attention! If you have read this far, it worked! But we really are damn good at what we do. I don’t usually blog about ...

Address

17 E Genesee Street #401
Auburn, NY
13021

Opening Hours

Monday 8:30am - 5pm
Tuesday 8:30am - 5pm
Wednesday 8:30am - 5pm
Thursday 8:30am - 5pm
Friday 8:30am - 5pm

Telephone

+13152533293

Website

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