Practicing law is more than filing suits, negotiating and appearing in court. These are only tools.

At its heart, practicing law is about helping people. That is what Michael Kosner believes, and this is why he became a plaintiff’s attorney, specializing in personal injury.

“I make sure clients are taken care of when terrible things happen,” he says.

“And that’s not just about money. It can take months – even years – to collect and, in the meantime, life does not stop when you are injured; Life goes on, and I won’t let it bypass my clients."

“I work to preserve my clients’ credit ratings and to protect their jobs."

“After that, of course, comes maximizing their recovery. Maximization – getting the best legal result – means getting the best experts in the most appropriate fields and conducting focus groups to get a sense of what people think about a case. I try aggressively to settle that cuts down on the length of time it takes for a client to get back to "normal" -- but settling only makes sense when the numbers are right.”

And, as with all personal injury suits, which are intended to make the injured party whole, the client does not pay any fees until there is a recovery.

For Mr. Kosner, the settlement must fit the damages. In cases involving nursing homes and medical mistakes, where someone’s lack of caring and care has caused great harm, this can be substantial. His settlements include the second largest wrongful death result ever against Cook County Hospital and one of the largest still-born settlements ever reached in Illinois. And the second of these was reached only 90 days after the child died.