White Lake Car Accident Lawyer
You were on a road you know well, M-59 on your way to work, or Pontiac Lake Road heading home, when someone else's decision changed everything. The crash lasted seconds. What follows can take years, and the insurance company's response system was already running before you reached the hospital. The Michigan Legal Center is in White Lake Township. We know the Oakland County Circuit Court. We know the roads where your accident happened. And we have recovered more than $300 million for people the insurance system was designed to shortchange. Call us at (248) 886-8650. The consultation is free, and we start working the same day you call.
A White Lake car accident lawyer helps people injured in auto crashes on M-59, Pontiac Lake Road, Cooley Lake Road, and other Oakland County roads recover compensation under Michigan No-Fault law (MCL 500.3101 et seq.) and through third-party liability claims against at-fault drivers. The Michigan Legal Center is physically located in White Lake Township (48386) and handles car accident cases for White Lake residents and people injured anywhere in Oakland County. Michigan's 2019 No-Fault Reform changed the PIP tier structure and introduced a 56-hour cap on family-provided attendant care. When injuries meet Michigan's serious impairment threshold under McCormick v. Carrier, victims can pursue pain and suffering and full lost earning capacity beyond what No-Fault PIP covers. The firm has recovered more than $300 million for Michigan accident victims. Cases are handled on a contingency basis: no fee unless we win. Free consultations available 24 hours a day at (248) 886-8650.
When the Crash Happens on a Road You Know, You Need a Lawyer Who Knows It Too
There is a specific kind of shock that follows a car accident on a familiar road. You have driven M-59 a thousand times. You know the light at Williams Lake Road. You know the way traffic backs up near the strip mall access drives when commuters are heading east toward Pontiac. Then someone runs a red light, or cuts across three lanes without looking, or rear-ends you at a standstill while staring at a phone. And in the minutes that follow, the world your day was supposed to have feels very far away.
What most people do not know in those minutes is that the other driver's insurance company is already building a file. An adjuster will be assigned before you have a diagnosis. An initial valuation of your injuries will be generated before your doctor has any idea what the next six months of your recovery even looks like. That first offer is not a fair assessment of what you are owed. It is a test to see whether you know the difference.
The insurance company's first offer is not a fair assessment of what you are owed. It is a test to see whether you know the difference.
White Lake Township is a community of roughly 32,000 people across 37 square miles in northwest Oakland County, with zip codes 48383 and 48386. Families put down roots here because of the lakes, the parks, and the sense of space that separates this part of Oakland County from the density closer to Detroit. But White Lake is also a community crossed daily by significant traffic on M-59 and its connecting roads: commuters, delivery vehicles, and the ordinary traffic of a community that sits at the intersection of several important Oakland County corridors.
The Michigan Legal Center's home office is in White Lake Township. When you call us, you are calling a firm that is physically here. We know the Oakland County Circuit Court because we have litigated cases there. We know M-59 because we drive it. And we have spent decades making sure that the people hurt on Michigan roads are not handed whatever settlement the insurance company decided was convenient.
Why a Car Accident Case in White Lake Is More Complicated Than Most People Expect
Michigan has one of the most complex auto accident claim systems in the country. Most people learn this after the crash. Here is what your case involves from the day it happens:
Michigan No-Fault Law: Two Claims Running at the Same Time
Michigan operates under a No-Fault insurance system (MCL 500.3101 et seq.). That means your own auto insurance, not the at-fault driver's, is your first source of medical benefits and lost wage coverage after any crash, regardless of who caused it. Through Personal Injury Protection (PIP), your insurer pays for medical expenses, a portion of lost wages, and replacement services for household tasks you can no longer perform.
At the same time, when your injuries meet Michigan's threshold for a serious impairment of body function, you have the right to step outside the No-Fault system entirely and bring a direct liability claim against the driver who caused the crash. That claim is where pain and suffering, full lost earning capacity, and every other category of damage that PIP does not cover get pursued.
These two tracks run simultaneously, governed by different rules, different deadlines, and different evidence standards. Most people think they are dealing with one insurance claim. They are managing two, and the way those two claims interact can significantly affect your total outcome.
The 2019 No-Fault Reform: What Changed and Why It Affects Your Specific Case
Before July 2, 2020, every Michigan driver was required to carry unlimited PIP coverage. Public Act 21 of 2019 changed that. Today, Michigan drivers choose from a menu of PIP tiers when they purchase or renew their policy: unlimited, $500,000 per person, $250,000 per person, $50,000 (for Medicaid-eligible drivers), or a Medicare opt-out. The tier on your own policy determines the cap on your medical benefits from your own insurer, regardless of how serious your injuries are.
The reform also introduced provider fee schedules that cap what medical providers can bill for No-Fault treatment, and capped family-provided attendant care at 56 hours per week for crashes occurring after July 1, 2020.
If you were injured after July 2, 2020, the tier on your policy and the tier on the at-fault driver's policy are both material facts in your case. We review both in every initial consultation.
The Serious Impairment Threshold: What Michigan Law Requires Before You Can Sue
Under MCL 500.3135, car accident victims in Michigan cannot bring a third-party liability claim for non-economic damages unless their injuries meet the serious impairment of body function standard. In 2010, the Michigan Supreme Court established the current three-part test in McCormick v. Carrier:
- The impairment must be objectively manifested through medical evidence
- It must affect an important body function
- It must affect the person's general ability to lead their normal life
In most of the cases we handle, the injuries clearly meet that standard. But how it is documented, framed, and built into the demand package significantly affects the outcome of the case. The serious impairment question is one of the first things we evaluate in every consultation.
The Insurance Company's Clock Starts Before You Leave the Scene
Insurance companies in Michigan do not wait for all the facts. A claims file is opened, and an adjuster is assigned often within hours of a police report being filed. The adjuster's job is not to find out what you actually deserve. Their job is to close your claim for as little as possible, as early as possible, before you have a complete medical picture, a full accounting of your economic losses, or any representation.
Early recorded statements given to adjusters, even statements that seem cooperative and harmless, are used to establish a baseline that is almost always lower than the reality of what happened to you. We send a written representation notice to the adjuster the day we take your case. That notice ends your obligation to give a recorded statement. And then our work begins.
What to Do After a Car Accident in White Lake Township: The First Hours Determine Your Case
The decisions made in the first hours after a crash on M-59 or any White Lake road have a direct effect on what your claim is worth and what you can prove. Here is what to do, in order:
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Call 911 and stay at the scene
Michigan law requires all drivers to remain at the scene of any accident involving injury or significant property damage. The police report is a foundational document in your claim. Even if the crash seems minor, do not leave before a report is filed. Crashes that appear minor frequently produce injuries that become apparent hours or days later.
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Get medical attention the same day, even if you feel fine
Traumatic brain injuries, cervical spine injuries, and internal bleeding can develop or worsen significantly in the hours following impact. The emergency department at Corewell Health Huron Valley Hospital in Commerce Township and McLaren Oakland in Pontiac are both close to White Lake Township. Insurance adjusters consistently use gaps between the accident date and your first medical visit to argue your injuries were not caused by the crash. Do not give them that argument.
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Document everything you can safely photograph
Both vehicles, the damage to each, your visible injuries, road conditions, tire marks, any traffic control devices in the area, and the surrounding location. On M-59, note the cross street or the nearest business. The commercial strip along M-59 has significant camera coverage that overwrites on a 7-to-14-day cycle. Do not wait.
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Collect all driver and witness information
From the other driver: name, address, phone number, driver's license number, insurance company, and policy number. From witnesses: name and phone number. Do not rely on the police report alone to capture witness contact information.
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Do not give any recorded statement to any insurance company before speaking with us
This includes your own insurer. Michigan's No-Fault law does require you to cooperate with your PIP insurer, but the timing, format, and scope of that cooperation are rules an attorney can help you navigate correctly. The at-fault driver's insurer has no right to a recorded statement from you at any point. Refer all contact attempts from any insurer to the Michigan Legal Center.
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Stay off social media completely until your case is resolved
Defense investigators routinely monitor the social media accounts of claimants after a crash. A photo of you at your child's school event, a check-in at a restaurant, a comment about feeling better — any of these can be taken out of context and used to challenge the severity of your injuries.
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Call the Michigan Legal Center at (248) 886-8650
We are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and we begin working on your case the same day you call. Your No-Fault PIP application must typically be filed within one year of the crash (MCL 500.3145). The third-party liability claim has a three-year statute of limitations (MCL 600.5805). But the evidence clock runs far faster than either of those deadlines. The sooner we start, the more we can protect.
What the Insurance Company Is Already Doing — and What We Do Instead
Auto insurance companies in Michigan have handled thousands of claims on M-59, Pontiac Lake Road, and every other road through Oakland County. Their post-crash system is not improvised. It is a practiced process designed to close your case as early as possible and for as little as possible.
What the insurance company does on the day of your crash
- Claims file opened and adjuster assigned, often within hours of the crash report being filed
- Initial injury valuation generated before you have a diagnosis or a prognosis
- Early contact with you, before you have representation, to get a recorded statement on file
- Medical records requested and reviewed for pre-existing conditions to use as a basis for minimizing your claim
- Low initial settlement offer prepared, calibrated to what they expect you to accept before understanding your full damages
What we do the moment you call
- Send a written representation notice to the adjuster: your recorded statement obligation to their side ends
- Review your policy and the at-fault driver's policy simultaneously to map both coverage tracks from day one
- File your No-Fault PIP claim immediately so your medical bills and lost wages are covered while the liability case is built
- Preserve all available evidence: police report, Oakland County camera footage, M-59 business camera footage, witness contacts
- Coordinate both the PIP track and the liability track so the two claims support each other rather than working at cross purposes
The insurance company's advantage is that they have done this many times. Our advantage is the same. Call (248) 886-8650 before you give them what they are asking for.
What Causes Most Car Accidents on M-59 and White Lake Township Roads
Car accidents in White Lake do not happen at random. They happen because of specific, predictable conditions on specific roads, and because of specific decisions made by drivers who should have known better. In the cases we handle, the cause almost always traces to something preventable. Understanding that cause is the foundation of the accountability case.
Access Drive Conflicts Along the M-59 Commercial Corridor
The single most consistent crash pattern we see along the M-59 corridor through White Lake Township and Commerce Township involves the commercial access drives that line both sides of the road. M-59 between Bogie Lake Road and Williams Lake Road is dense with strip-mall entrances, gas station driveways, fast-food exits, and big-box store access points.
Drivers pulling left across traffic to reach or exit these driveways, merging abruptly from access drives into M-59's 50-to-55-mph traffic, and making poorly judged turning movements across high-speed lanes create a concentrated, recurring crash pattern. When the driver who caused your crash was exiting a commercial driveway, turning left across M-59, or merging at speed from an access point, the liability question is clear: they had a duty to yield to oncoming traffic, and they did not. Phone records, business camera footage, and the physical evidence of the crash establish what happened. We move to secure that evidence immediately.
Rear-End Crashes at M-59 Signals and High-Traffic Intersections
M-59 through White Lake and into Commerce Township has a pattern of rear-end crashes at its signalized intersections, particularly at Bogie Lake Road, Teggerdine Road, Williams Lake Road, and the access points near the commercial zones closest to the Commerce Township border. During peak commute hours, the stop-and-go pattern created by signal timing and high traffic volume puts vehicles into rapid deceleration situations that inattentive, distracted, or following-too-closely drivers are not prepared for.
In a rear-end collision, the driver of the following vehicle bears the burden of maintaining a safe following distance. Michigan courts recognize sudden stops as foreseeable events on busy roads. The rear driver's failure to stop is the breach. We build the liability case from physical evidence, the police report, and the event data recorder in the at-fault vehicle.
Left-Turn Failures at Pontiac Lake Road Intersections and M-59 Cross Streets
Left-turn crashes are among the most severe intersection crash types on Oakland County roads. A driver making a left turn bears the legal duty to yield to all oncoming traffic. When that driver misjudges the speed of oncoming vehicles, or makes the movement while distracted, the resulting T-bone or angled collision produces side-impact forces that the door and pillar structure of a vehicle is poorly equipped to absorb. Serious injuries, including pelvis fractures, thoracic spine damage, spleen rupture, and traumatic brain injury, are common outcomes.
The Pontiac Lake Road and M-59 intersection sees particularly heavy movement, including significant commercial traffic from the north. Cooley Lake Road's multiple residential cross streets have narrower margins for error and reduced visibility at approach angles, especially in fall and winter.
Distracted Driving on Oakland County Surface Roads
Michigan law (MCL 257.602b) prohibits the use of handheld mobile devices while driving. At M-59's posted 55 mph speed limit, a driver looking at a phone for two seconds covers the length of roughly three school buses. When distracted driving caused or contributed to the crash that injured you, establishing that distraction is part of building the liability case. We subpoena phone records. We request footage from dashcams and business cameras. Distraction is not a soft claim. In Michigan courts, it is evidence of the specific breach of duty that caused your injuries.
Winter Ice and Snow on M-59, Pontiac Lake Road, and Cooley Lake Road
Northwest Oakland County winters produce road conditions that drivers are legally required to account for. M-59 crosses several drainage culverts and minor bridges between Bogie Lake Road and the Commerce Township border, where standing water and spray from adjacent lanes create black ice conditions that form faster than on open stretches. Pontiac Lake Road descends toward the lake basin in areas that receive limited direct sun in late fall and winter, accelerating ice formation on shaded pavement.
Michigan courts have long recognized that driving at the posted speed limit in adverse winter conditions that demand reduced speed constitutes negligence. A driver who maintained highway speed on an iced M-59 overpass in November did not encounter an unavoidable hazard. They made a decision whose consequences were foreseeable.
Impaired Driving on White Lake Township Roads
Drunk and drug-impaired driving crashes occur in White Lake Township, particularly on M-59 and the connecting residential roads on late Friday and Saturday nights. Michigan law (MCL 257.625) prohibits operating a vehicle with a blood alcohol content of 0.08 or higher.
When the driver who hit you was impaired, the criminal and civil cases run on parallel tracks. In impaired driving cases involving White Lake Township bars or restaurants, we also investigate whether any licensed establishment may have served the driver alcohol while they were already visibly intoxicated. Michigan's Dramshop Act (MCL 436.1801) makes a licensed alcohol vendor civilly liable for injuries caused by someone to whom they served alcohol in that condition. When the evidence supports a dram shop claim, that is an additional policy and an additional source of accountability.
Who Can Be Held Responsible After a White Lake Car Accident
In most cases we handle, the liability question involves more than just the driver behind the wheel. Identifying every responsible party is not a technicality. It is the difference between a partial recovery and a full one.
- The at-fault driver: Negligence by the driver who caused the crash is the starting point in every case. Speeding on M-59, running a red light at Pontiac Lake Road, crossing the center line on Cooley Lake Road, failing to yield from a commercial driveway, driving impaired: all of these are breaches of the duty of care every Michigan driver owes to every other person on the road.
- The at-fault driver's employer: When the driver who caused your crash was operating a vehicle in the course and scope of their employment, their employer is vicariously liable. Delivery drivers, service technicians, sales representatives, contractors, and anyone operating a company vehicle on a work errand are covered. If the employer knew the driver had a history of unsafe driving and allowed them to operate anyway, that is negligent entrustment.
- A vehicle owner who entrusted their car to a negligent driver: Under MCL 257.401, a Michigan vehicle owner is liable for damages caused by a driver they permitted to operate the vehicle. When someone lends a car to a driver who should not have been behind the wheel due to a known history of impaired driving or a suspended license, the decision to permit that use directly supports the owner's liability.
- A vehicle or parts manufacturer: When a crash is caused or worsened by a defective vehicle component, brake failure, tire blowout from a manufacturing defect, steering system failure, or airbag non-deployment, the manufacturer may be liable under Michigan product liability law. We take steps to secure the at-fault vehicle in every case where a mechanical failure is a potential cause.
- Oakland County Road Commission or MDOT: M-59 in White Lake Township is a state trunkline maintained by MDOT. Pontiac Lake Road and Cooley Lake Road are county roads maintained by the Oakland County Road Commission. Government liability claims carry strict, short-notice requirements, sometimes as brief as 120 days from the crash date.
- A bar, restaurant, or dram shop: Michigan's Dramshop Act (MCL 436.1801) holds licensed alcohol vendors civilly liable for injuries caused by someone to whom they served alcohol while that person was visibly intoxicated.
Every additional responsible party is another insurance policy and another source of accountability. Finding all of them is not a bonus feature of how we work. It is the work.
What Justice Looks Like After a White Lake Car Accident: What Your Claim Can Recover
We do not tell clients what their case is worth before we have reviewed the evidence. Any attorney who gives you a number in the first conversation is not evaluating your case. They are telling you what they think you want to hear.
What we can tell you is what Michigan law provides for car accident victims and what a properly built case looks like when every available category of recovery is pursued. We have recovered more than $300 million for Michigan injury victims. We do not cite that number as a ceiling. We cite it as evidence of what happens when a case is prepared with the full weight of the law behind it.
No-Fault PIP Benefits: The First Track, Available from Day One Regardless of Fault
Under Michigan's No-Fault Act, your own insurer provides PIP benefits beginning the day of the crash, regardless of who caused it. What those benefits cover:
- Medical expenses for all reasonably necessary treatment, up to the limit of your PIP tier: unlimited, $500,000, $250,000, or $50,000, depending on the tier you selected
- 85% of your gross lost wages, up to the monthly maximum under your policy
- $20 per day in replacement services for household tasks you can no longer perform due to your injuries
- Attendant care for in-home nursing and personal assistance services, capped at 56 hours per week for family-provided care in crashes occurring after July 1, 2020
- Transportation to and from medical appointments
These benefits do not require a determination of fault or a lawsuit. They are available immediately. But in a serious crash, they are not the full scope of what you are owed. They are the floor of a two-track recovery.
Third-Party Liability Damages: What the At-Fault Driver and Their Insurer Owe You
When your injuries meet Michigan's serious impairment threshold, you have the right to bring a direct liability claim against the at-fault driver for everything No-Fault does not cover:
- All past and future medical expenses: The full cost of your care beyond what PIP covers: surgery, hospitalization, physical therapy, specialist treatment, assistive devices, and projected future medical needs.
- Full lost earning capacity: If your injuries have permanently reduced what you can earn, or ended your career, that future financial loss is compensable.
- Pain and suffering: Physical pain, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life, and the loss of the daily experiences and relationships that defined your life before the crash.
- Disfigurement and scarring: Permanent visible disfigurement carries its own separately compensable category under MCL 500.3135.
- Loss of consortium: The documented impact of your injuries on your marriage and family relationships.
Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Coverage
Michigan consistently ranks among the states with the highest rates of uninsured drivers. When the driver who hit you on M-59 or Pontiac Lake Road has no insurance or carries limits far below the actual cost of your injuries, uninsured motorist (UM) and underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage on your own policy may fill that gap. We review your policy and the at-fault driver's coverage in the initial consultation.
Wrongful Death: When a White Lake Car Accident Takes a Family Member
If you have lost a family member in a car accident in or near White Lake Township, you have the right to pursue a wrongful death claim on behalf of the estate and surviving family under MCL 600.2922. Recoverable damages include medical expenses incurred before death, funeral and burial costs, lost financial support for surviving family members, and loss of the deceased's society and companionship. We handle wrongful death cases with particular care, and we do not let them settle for less than the full scope of what Michigan law provides. Call us at (248) 886-8650.
The Injuries We See Most Often After Crashes on M-59 and White Lake Roads
The cases we take are not fender-benders. They are crashes that change the trajectory of people's lives. On a road like M-59, where speeds are high and the consequences of a collision are magnified by that speed, the injuries we see reflect the full severity of what a serious crash produces.
- Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI): The deceleration forces in a car crash cause the brain to impact the inside of the skull. TBIs range from concussions that quietly erode memory, concentration, and personality over months to severe injuries requiring lifelong neurocognitive care. A significant proportion of TBI victims do not recognize their own symptoms for days or weeks after the crash. TBI documentation is critical to the claim's value, and we build it with medical specialists from the outset of every case.
- Spinal Cord Injuries and Paralysis: Car accidents are among the leading causes of spinal cord injuries in Michigan. Cervical spine damage can cause quadriplegia. Thoracic and lumbar injuries can produce paraplegia or permanent partial deficits. Even incomplete spinal cord injuries cause permanent pain, weakness, and functional limitation.
- Back and Neck Injuries: Herniated discs, facet joint injuries, and cervical fractures are common outcomes of rear-end and broadside crashes on M-59 and Pontiac Lake Road. These injuries are frequently labeled by insurance adjusters as "soft tissue" or "minor," even when they require surgical intervention and produce permanent pain. We build the medical record, retain the right specialists, and refuse to accept an adjuster's characterization of injuries that are not minor.
- Broken Bones and Orthopedic Injuries: High-impact crashes on M-59 produce fractures that frequently involve complex patterns requiring surgical fixation with hardware and recoveries measured in months, not weeks.
- Internal Organ Damage: Blunt force trauma from a T-bone or high-speed impact can rupture the spleen, lacerate the liver, puncture the lungs, and injure the kidneys. These injuries are not always apparent at the scene and can be fatal without rapid diagnosis.
- Burn Injuries: Post-crash fires, fuel system damage, and airbag chemical burns can cause injuries ranging from minor to catastrophic. Severe burns require multiple surgeries, skin grafting, and years of rehabilitation. They frequently produce permanent disfigurement that is both separately compensable under Michigan law and deeply affects quality of life.
- Psychological Injury: PTSD, anxiety, driving phobia, and depression are documented, compensable injuries in Michigan car accident cases. For White Lake residents who commute on M-59 daily, a serious crash on that road can make the ordinary activity of driving to work feel impossible. These are documented clinical conditions that affect work, relationships, and daily function.
We Are Not Just Your Lawyers — We Are Your Neighbors
The Michigan Legal Center's home office is in White Lake Township. That is not a marketing claim about a service area radius. It is a street address.
When you call us after a car accident on M-59 or Pontiac Lake Road, you are calling a law firm that is physically in this community. Our attorneys drive M-59. We know where the M-59 and Williams Lake Road signal backs up. We know the access drive geometry at the commercial zone near Bogie Lake Road. We know Oakland County Circuit Court, its judges, its procedures, and its timeline, because we have litigated cases there.
That proximity has real, practical value to your case. Camera footage from M-59 businesses overwrites in 7 to 14 days. Police reports from the Oakland County Sheriff's Office take 48 to 72 hours to become available. Witness memories start degrading within 48 hours of the crash. Distance costs time. Time costs evidence. We do not have a distance problem.
When Christopher Trainor and his team sit with a White Lake family whose lives were altered by a crash on a road they drove every day, we are not looking at a case number. We are looking at neighbors. That changes how we work.
Free consultation — no fee unless we recover. Call (248) 886-8650 any time, 24 hours a day. The Michigan Legal Center — White Lake car accident lawyers · 9750 Highland Road, White Lake, MI 48386. Serving White Lake Township, Commerce Township, Waterford Township, Highland Township, Milford, Wixom, and all of northern Oakland County.
Our Legal Process
Free Consultation
Call us 24/7 for a free, no-obligation case review. We will evaluate your situation and explain your legal options.
Investigation & Evidence
Our team investigates your case — gathering police reports, medical records, witness statements, and expert opinions.
Demand & Negotiation
We calculate the full value of your claim and negotiate aggressively with insurance companies for a fair settlement.
Trial If Needed
If the insurer won't offer fair compensation, we take your case to court. Our trial lawyers are ready to fight for you.
You Collect
You receive your compensation. We don't collect a fee unless we win your case — that's our guarantee.
Frequently Asked Questions: White Lake Car Accident
My accident happened on M-59 in White Lake Township. Can the Michigan Legal Center help?
The other driver's insurance company called me the same day as the crash. Should I talk to them?
How does Michigan's No-Fault law work after a car accident in White Lake?
What is the serious impairment threshold, and does my injury qualify?
What if the driver who hit me on Pontiac Lake Road had no insurance?
What if I was partially at fault for the crash?
How long do I have to file a car accident claim in White Lake Township?
How much does it cost to hire a White Lake car accident lawyer?
Our Team Approach
Every case at Christopher Trainor & Associates is a team effort. Our attorneys collaborate on strategy, discovery, and litigation so you get the full strength of the firm behind you—not just a single lawyer. We have built our practice on this collaborative model since 1989.
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