The Mandel Law Firm - Personal Injury Attorneys

THE TRUTH IS POWERFUL

THE TRUTH IS POWERFUL

Being able to settle a personal injury case for excellent compensation is always a superior option for a client, than the risk of going to trial. Attorney Jim Nemia is a master strategist in setting the stage for successful settlements, and negotiating great deals for clients.

Jim has a bottom line, down-to-earth approach to the law. "The truth is powerful. The practicalities of things are sometimes much more important than the legalities of things. I look at people's interests. A lot of times you can satisfy a client's interests best with a settlement, where you couldn't with a court verdict or judgment," says Nemia.

Jim's exceptional skills played a crucial role in securing a $900,000.00 settlement in one of the firm's recent medical malpractice cases. In that case, a surgeon severed major veins during what should have been a routine procedure, jeopardizing the client's life and resulting in permanent, serious damage. Jim's careful preparation laid the foundation for this impressive victory.

In fact, Jim has a long history of helping clients win even when the law or fact pattern favors the other side. In another significant $550,000.00 case success involving the wrongful death of a swimmer, he explains, "That was a complex case as far as liability. You may not always have the strongest case, but presentation and preparation are keys to success. Even if the law is not on your side, many times there are ways to win, or to negotiate a settlement that constitutes a win, for your client."

Where do these amazing lawyer skills originate from? Well, you could say the law is in Jim Nemia's blood. He comes from a long line of lawyers, including a father who has been practicing for more than 50 years. His sister, along with a number of uncles and cousins, are also eminent attorneys. Now a successful practitioner himself for almost 20 years, Jim is passionate about getting great results and winning cases for his clients.

Outside of law practice, Jim devotes a significant amount of his free time to charitable activities. Nursing home residents and soup kitchen guests are ever grateful for his family's continual attention and care.

Jim is a Dean's and President's List graduate of the University of South Florida, and received his Juris Doctorate from Syracuse University College of Law in New York. An avid athlete and guitarist, Jim enjoys playing guitar with friends, hiking, skiing, tennis, and swimming. He and his wife Yvette have six young children. The values of passion, service and a winning approach to life, which have made Jim's practice thrive, are gifts he's passing along to his kids.

TO WIN A FIGHT, YOU NEED A FIGHTER

Fighter. If only one word could describe attorney Rafael Gonzalez, fighter would be it. Particularly with personal injury cases, it takes a warrior's willpower to win in court.

Born into poverty in a small mountain village in rural Puerto Rico, Rafael came to America when he was just seven years old. Raised on the Lower East Side, he grew up as a street kid in what was then a tough neighborhood, where he learned to survive and live by his wits. He vividly remembers many instances of the police removing dead heroin addicts from the rooftop of the tenement building where he lived.

Whereas these difficult life experiences crush many people, Rafael learned to think in terms of possibilities instead of limitations, and turned challenge into success. He takes the same approach to representing clients. "The first thing I do is take the time to hear what it is they want, and then help them see what's possible," says Gonzalez.

After graduating Hunter College in New York City, Rafael was awarded a full tuition free scholarship to Boston University Law School, one of this country's top ten law schools. He excelled there in trial advocacy.

Multi-cultural clients are very comfortable with Rafael, as he too is bi-cultural and bi-lingual. For those who feel intimidated by the legal system, his reassuring manner eases their anxieties and concerns. He calls it "confianza." In Spanish, it means "confidence" and describes a unique kind of rapport, where clients feel comfortable entrusting him with their most important matters. And they do.

If you ask him what accounts for his success, he replies "Preparation. Preparation. Preparation." As fate would have it, many of Rafael's law professors at Boston University were also judges. They drilled the importance of case research, planning and organization into him. It certainly has paid off. Rafael Gonzalez has a 20-year history as a successful trial lawyer.

Rafael's trial skills made a major contribution to a $550,000.00 case triumph for the daughter of a man who died in a tragic swimming accident. "I looked at the evidence and reports, and was able to put together a second-by-second sequence of the events that caused his death. It was the kind of very close reasoning and knitting of facts I like to do, that doesn't leave the other side any room for dispute."

Rafael is a long-time martial arts practitioner of the ancient Fu Jow Pai "Tiger Claw" system of Kung Fu, and is a winner of the Eastern Regional Lightweight Championship. He enjoys competing in chess tournaments worldwide on the Internet, and reading novels by famous authors in Spanish. He is now living the "American Dream" with his wife Farida and teenage daughter.