Episode 51 – with Nicole Brenecki

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Hi today, Nicole Brenecki has extensive experience working for both plaintiffs and defendants, and specializes in personal injury, employment, wage law and other civil law issues. Nicole was named a super lawyer, rising star in 2021 and 2022 Ms. Bernecki is admitted to practice law in the state of New York, as well as before the US district courts for the Eastern and Southern districts of New York. Welcome to the show, Nicole.

Thank you for having me.

It’s my pleasure. Now you have an extensive and impressive educational journey, including studying law both in New York and Warsaw. So, what drove you to focus specifically on personal injury and labor law coming from Warsaw, Poland, studying in New York?

It happened by accident. I simply was getting various types of internship during law school and one of the law firms that I landed at was a pretty big Manhattan personal injury firm. And that’s when I encountered that field of law for the first time. And also, I think around the same time, as I said, I was still in school, I had a course that was taught in law school. It was a personal injury course specifically focused on the practice side of it, and my professor was a main partner also at one of the biggest New York personal injury firms.

So, I saw that both in practice, working as an intern at a firm and getting classes from that professor. And it just so coincided that I decided to stay in that firm after I passed the bar, but then I left that firm and went to work for a defense firm for a minute. So, and after that, I started my own firm, which right now is five years old, so it’s been — I tried a little bit on both sides of the caption, and then went on to the plaintiff’s side on my own.

Now, New York is a huge state. Where do you have Office now in New York?

I’m now in Brooklyn, previously we were in Queens, we had a small office in Queens that was started — actually, the firm itself was started unbeknownst to us, I think, four months before the pandemic started. So, we just had to hunker down and stay there for a bit, and then when everything, let’s just say, seemingly, went back to normal, that we built an office in Williamsburg in Brooklyn, where we’re currently located.

You speak several languages. You’re fluent in English, German, Polish. It’s quite unique in the legal field. So, since we’re living in the tri-state area, which is a melting pot, how does this multilingual capability benefit your practice, particularly when representing personal injury clients?

Fits me greatly, because a lot of individuals on the plaintiff side in personal injury and employment law are from Poland, and I just happen to speak Polish. My mother is Polish, and I grew up in a household where Polish was spoken. So, that right now enables me to speak with these individuals directly in their native language and there’s nothing better than that you can offer to them sometimes, at some point so enduring a case, and especially at the stage of securing the client and making sure the client stays with your firm, is I found it incredibly beneficial.

And also, nothing gets lost in translation. You don’t have to use a paralegal or an interpreter. You can do this yourself.

Yes and during depositions as well, and deposition prep, as you know, very, very crucial at that stage, how your plaintiff testifies. So, we’re able to prepare them in the native language. Obviously, we also have employees working here speak Polish. They’re not the only clients that we have, but it’s definitely been a cornerstone of building our practice was the Polish community, and to this day, it is definitely a significant portion of our case list.

Which is great because at GGL, we started out as a niche Hispanic speaking firm back in 1991 now we represent thousands of people from every race, creed, color, ethnicity. It’s wonderful. So, you’ll really have an opportunity to expand in New York, where you have such a voluminous population. So, with you representing both plaintiffs and as you said on the defense side for a minute, how does your experience on both sides of the courtroom shape your approach when advocating for your clients today?

In personal injury, I think it’s important to know how the defense side works, because when you start out in the field and you just go to court, obviously, yes, we are litigators. We know how to put pleadings together. We know that we need to serve them. We know what discovery is. But if you’re not in those, when you actually run your own firm and you have to make sure that you have cash flow every month that is sufficient and everything, you have to focus on resolving these cases and not litigating them, and not being all academic, at least that’s how I look at it.

Obviously, it’s incredibly important to know how to oppose a summary judgment motion, but if 111 is filed, but if you have a case that could be settled earlier, it probably will benefit not only your firm and the client, but a lot of other factors as well. So, when you know what I’m getting at is when you understand how insurance companies work and how they evaluate cases and what is a good way to speak with them to maybe get more money out of them at an early stage. These are the things that you learn when you work for a defense firm, because you actually get to speak to adjusters and hear how they approach these things.

If you’re just if you just started out just like myself, and if I just continued in personal injury and just worked on their partners, I don’t think I would ever have gotten that experience, because you have to work your way up the ladder. So you, obviously, you know, you go to discovery conferences, you do discovery, but that is not something that really expedites resolving cases. And when you actually go on your own, that’s what you have to focus on. So, I found that incredibly important to know how to bring these cases to the finish line quicker, as opposed to litigate and litigate and litigate and just, you know, the value usually does not increase, the longer you run the case. The value is probably so you can that it’s encapsulated in the time of the medical period, but if you don’t see that the medicals are over, you still keep litigating. It doesn’t really serve anyone or your client or your cash flow. So, that’s what I found very important to have the inside knowledge of how the other side works.

Which is great to get a little look under that hood. I have found in my 36 years of practicing law that lawyers that come from the defense, they’re either incredible plaintiff lawyers, or they fail because they just can’t start thinking like a plaintiff lawyer. They just see the problems with the cases, and they don’t know how to really build a case. How did you overcome that issue to be so successful?

As I said, I think it’s dipping my toes in a lot of different places, fields, and I don’t even think that this is just personal injury, I think, is just experience of being in a lot of different fields and putting all that together and building us some sort of an instinct. As you said, sometimes there are problems in these cases that need to be overcome, and then you need to get a little academic. You need to work with an expert. You need to look for case law. But I would still say, it’s pretty rare.

Usually smart adjusters and smart attorneys, they see the case, they see the value, and they can resolve it sooner rather than later. So, it’s a combination of different skills. It’s a combination of different types of knowledge that you have to just put together and look at it as a whole, and not just bifurcate. There’s a there’s a problem with  a motion, or there’s a problem with discovery, everything can be resolved then you value but you don’t have to turn something into five years of motion practice, just being efficient over I would say a substance over form is what really matters in this field.

Well, especially in the plaintiff side, when we’re not paid by the hour, although the defense loves to drag things out, because if they’re not House Counsel, they’re an outside firm, they’re paid by the hour.

Yes, and it’s all a balance between both of our sides, because as I said, we, as you correctly pointed out, we work on contingency, so we would hope to get to the finish line faster. But these people, the other side, is also entitled to their defenses and their and seeing if these defenses would pan out in the litigation context. So I think we all have to work together to accomplish a balance, and I cannot say that that balance is always accomplished. I think there’s a lot of things that are completely out of balance, especially in the New York state court system.

There’s no accountability as to discovery. There’s no uniform way for the courts to run. So every single judge has their own rules. So, sometimes things take longer for reasons that are just part specific to this court or this judge.

I would advocate for more accountability when it comes to discovery deadlines, I would advocate for more uniform rules in the court system. I think the easiest way to illustrate this is look at our New York state court system versus the federal court system and why some of our cases go for 10 years and federal courts could turn them around in a year and a half. I think it’s a great example of that. So maybe I got a little off topic, but there’s just so much to discuss in this field.

Well, that’s why we call New York still, because we practice in three states. We call New York still the Wild Wild West, because in New Jersey, it used to be the same way every county you went to, different set of rules. Judges approached everything differently, but now everything’s uniform in New Jersey, similar to the federal but still in New York, it’s still the wild west out there. So for those unfamiliar with personal injury law in New York, can you break down what victims in your states should know about their rights and the legal process they might face.

It’s a broad question. I think there’s some things that are very basic, general rules that I would say apply to a majority of these cases. So first of all, definitely speak to an attorney. People very often have their own perception of what makes a case and what does not make a case. It’s better not to go too deep in your head without speaking to someone who actually knows what they’re talking about, because very often you can just make some mistakes or take wrong action if you don’t actually speak to an expert or an attorney in this case.

So that’s number one, just get that consultation. I would say, get a couple of them, just to see which attorney you work the best with and what is the even more important than that is to preserve your medical evidence that is contemporaneous to your accident.

So if you actually were hurt in an accident, don’t wait a month or two. The longer you wait, the more argument the defense will have on the other side, stating that perhaps this was coached by the lawyer, not really a true need to take medical treatment. So the sooner the medical treatment is rendered, the better, I think, for preserving the case.

But, obviously, not every case is perfect, and you should not be discouraged when you go to a big firm and they immediately reject it, because some big firms have a tendency to just take cases that are pretty easy. Just don’t give up right away. If someone tells you that this is difficult or might take a long time. I would say, keep looking until you find someone who can help you and can do it in a competent manner. So attorney and doctor have to be seen rather sooner, rather than later to sum it up.

Well, let’s move into that a little bit. Many personal injury victims delay seeking legal advice. Can you explain why it is so crucial to consult a lawyer early on, and how it can influence the outcome of somebody’s case?

Sure, I’ll just give you an example that comes to first of mind. Let’s just say that you are hurt on a job site in New York. In most cases, you’re eligible for workers compensation, in some cases, there’s also grounds for a civil case. And let’s just say that you are a construction worker and you don’t speak with anyone right away. What happens is, you obviously there will be, likely will be an accident report on the site, but what will happen is you will immediately start being hounded by insurance adjusters who will be calling you as soon as they can to take a statement from you before you get an attorney. And you can make a statement. They can ask you questions, and you can say something that is either incorrect or stated in a way that’s not — that could create a lot of problems down the road if you actually decide to litigate it.

So, if you speak with an attorney, sign up a case, the attorney will handle any communications on your behalf, and any depositions will be taken with them, any statements like that. So, I think that’s just one example. The people on the other side are aware of your rights, so they’re going to try to get to you quicker and faster to make sure that they get the biggest discount that they can. Because once you get an attorney, then obviously the full spectrum of your rights will be pursued.

So, that’s just one example of why it’s important to speak to someone as soon as you can, and if it turns out you don’t have a case, then, well, at least you can go to sleep knowing that you didn’t have a case and you don’t have to spend time speculating. But if you actually do have one and don’t obtain the right advice right away, then mistakes can be made that can affect your money down the road and your medical treatment.

Are some of those common mistakes that you see personal injury victims making, and what steps should they take to protect themselves?

Well, as I said, the first one is giving statements to insurance adjusters who are incredibly fast to call you when you’re not on an attorney. But once, for instance, I signed up the case and I’m trying to get in touch with them. That’s a separate story. It takes forever. So one common mistake is definitely giving statements prior to obtaining any consultation for the reasons that I stated before.

You can say information in an incorrect way, or they can ask you leading questions that lead you to an answer that is incorrect and can cause problems down the road, so especially as to the mechanism of the accident, because some accidents are compensable and some are not. So they would be trying to elicit things that would essentially to deny your case as a whole, to deny your claim. But whether it’s a no fault adjuster or workers compensation adjuster, they’re very quick to do that in the beginning. Another mistake I say, is and. I see that a lot, especially in our clientele, a lot of people are trying to be tough and not go to the doctor. They see it as a waste of time. They say, oh, maybe, you know, things will get better by on their own, very often with orthopedic injuries, as you know, it’s not like that, and you really do need the medical treatment.

So the longer you wait, the more you can hurt your case, because the fact that it’s not soon enough is always being called out by insurance adjusters, the fact that maybe you had some procedures later on that were not really necessary, because why did you wait so long if it was necessary? So, I think it’s all about solidifying the legal representation and your medical treatment right away, as soon as you can, and then all these mistakes can be can be avoided.

Another one I can think of is maybe posting things about your accident on social media or online like you know you should not be making, making any posts or any statements on social media, either because six years later, when you’re being deposed, you cannot even remember that, but they can still pull it out and question your disability level because they saw a photo of you being at your brother’s wedding or things like that. So that’s another mistake I can think of, but all of them can really be avoided if you obtain proper representation, and your attorney spent some time with you in the beginning and explains how to go about this whole process.

Now, dealing with insurance companies can be challenging. What strategies do you employ to ensure that your clients get the compensation they deserve?

Well, my personal approach is, if I get a case, and as I said, my client gets a surgery, or if it’s determined relatively faster, there will be no surgery, there’s no reason to drag it out so, and I touched upon that earlier, what I like to do is to call the adjuster, be friendly, introduce myself, and try to feel them out and see if there’s any interest in an early resolution. If we determine that the case is not worth litigating to the ground.

Obviously, if it is, then every insurance adjusters, assigns a defense counsel, and you deal with them throughout litigation. But when the crucial moment comes in a case, which to me, is either early resolution, when one is viable and feasible, or down the road, when you’re coming closer to a trial and both sides are just would like to settle, then it’s really good not to just call them out of the blue and just be aggressive. And that’s the common misconception that I think people really believe that personal injury lawyers are we’re so aggressive that we just fight with everybody.

I think you can really accomplish a lot more, being friendly, being civil and but putting your foot down when necessary, obviously, because sometimes the things that they say are just absolute nonsense, then you have to put your foot down. But there’s no reason to call right away be aggressive and be an a-hole.

I couldn’t agree more. I’ve been told a lot of times at trial I sandbag people because I’m very nice and polite and defense attorneys would say, I never expected you to be so aggressive at trial. And I would say — Well, I’m asking you for the money. Of course, I’m going to be very nice, I said, but when we get into court now, I have to take it. Now, it’s become a street fight, and I’m going to do everything I can to win that case. But as you said, it’s nicer to be polite and discuss the case and try to come to an amicable resolution, as opposed to being tough in the beginning, the time to get tough as a lawyer is when you’re trying the case.

Absolutely and especially it’s because in front of a jury, and they’re the ones deciding. So there’s no actually being too friendly would be probably suspicious in their eyes to a certain degree. So I agree with you.

So can you highlight a particular case where you felt that your legal work made a significant difference in the outcome for your client.

I really, really put my best efforts into hopefully at least partially accomplishing that in every case. We’re a young firm, and as a young firm, every outcome matters. I mean, it matters all the time, but let’s be honest here, no one’s perfect, and especially if we look at ourselves as people working in — we can call it the service industry, to a certain extent, because you serve other people’s needs. So it’s really impossible to accomplish a 100% satisfaction rate just because people are so different and people react differently and people have different views and outcomes. It is impossible to satisfy every single person, but we should strive for that, obviously.

So I would say that I try to do my best in every single case. But as I said, for the reason that we’re a very young firm, and first of all, getting those cases to begin with was a great deal in a very competitive, cutthroat New York market, that’s why I probably treat every single one in a way that I want to make sure that this client is happy, whether it’s a guide for $25,000 policy, or if it’s a fall from a ladder, we really try to make everyone happy.

You know, in that short period of time, we have not been able to bring any major cases to trial yet, because these cases are about to go to trial because we, as I said earlier, the New York state court system moves so slowly, especially for some reason, after you certify that your discovery is complete, that is the longest period of idle time when nothing happens. Sometimes you wait like three years to get a trial date in some of the courts downtown. So during that time, the cases are settled, and do I think that’s a spectacular thing? I actually think no, because the longer you litigate, the closer it comes to real value, even if it’s just a settlement.

So as a firm, I’m still waiting for a big trial win that we can put out there and that I could use in my answer to that question, obviously, in my prior professional career, I was assisting in trials and other firms, but I will not be speaking about their accomplishments, because they just come from many, many more years of practice and many, many more years of everything than us. So I won’t be comparing that.

But there have been some cases in our firm that were very close to trial, that were settled for the amount that I wish I would accomplish at trial, and I think those were what I can call my biggest success. I’m not going to say there was anything else there. We did have a case that we finished for a whole policy in a very, very short amount of time, but it was because my plaintiff had catastrophic injuries. It’s not because of anything extraordinary that I did, so I’m not going to lie about that either.

Well, your candor is refreshing. Now, you’ve been recognized by Super Lawyers as a rising star, among other accolades. How do these awards reflect your commitment to your clients and your practice?

Well, supposedly these awards are based on peer reviews and other factors. So, if I somehow made it into a group that I’m very happy, I think they’re based on a lot of factors. So, probably you know your court record, a track record in court, probably also how far you have made in the associate partner and all that ladder. So, in my particular case, as I said, the firm developed incredibly fast in a very short amount of time without much marketing or without any outside or inside capital. We literally had no money starting this firm. And the first office was like the size of a broom closet with a 50-year-old carpet.

So I think the building of the firm with such success in such a short period of time was probably one of the reasons why I received some of those accolades. I don’t think my website is updated. I continue receiving them every year. Super Lawyer just so busy with actual work, if you don’t even look at the website, but I’m very happy and grateful to continue to be recognized, and I’m not sure what specific factors contributed to it, but I think it’s just the day-to-day grind which I still intend to continue.

So finally, how can the audience reach you, and after they reach you, what differentiates you, or why should they choose you of the 1000s of lawyers in the tri state area during personal injury. What separates you from the rest?

I think I try to be very responsive, and I would be lying if I said that does not take a toll on me. It does, because my phone never stops ringing, and I sometimes think I have PTSD from it, but I think that is what is the one thing that helps me keep a client with us from the start, and not have that client feel neglected when they have questions, because that is what, in my experience, leads to them calling other lawyers and then potentially walking away. So, whatever the question is whether it is absolutely necessary to give you an update on a Sunday, I will still give it to you for now personally, and I will continue doing it for as long as I can. It’s not easy, but it’s definitely I have a feeling that I’m giving my clients peace of mind.

I think also, another thing that we have been very religious about is maintaining an expeditious flow of medical records in the case. Because, I think one of the reasons why we why cases take so long in New York and why there’s no accountability, is because, you know, in discovery, we mail authorizations to defense council, then these authorizations just sit there for months and gather dust and they’re not being processed. And then the medical facilities also take forever.

So we have a medical team that say so on top of these medical records requests and making sure they’re submitted to workers comp, to defense counsel on time, and that the medical records departments don’t sit on the requests, but we follow up daily. I think that is one thing that we can do, that we do as a firm that expedites us resolving cases despite the fact that the courts don’t move and despite the fact that the defense counsel always delay everything.

I am not saying that I was super brilliant coming up with this solution, but I think it’s something that in practice week by week when we’re trying to finalize cases and get money to pay bills, especially in the early stages, I recognize the medical records to be usually one of the main reasons for the delay, so we decided to combat that aspect so that, in turn, you know, helps the client get their money faster. So then they will remember, okay, this firm turned my case around quickly, and then they send us, you know, happy family members, friends and colleagues, and that’s how we build the practice.

So finally, how can they reach you?

How could they reach me? You can Google me. There’s my phone number there, e-mail, website. We have a chat on our website that you can chat with, and then I get notified. So there’s multiple ways and then you can also walk into the office. So far, most people have been able to reach us. And as I said, we try to be incredibly responsive.

So what’s your website?

It’s our law firm named Jodrebernecki.com, it’s J, O, D, R, E, B, R, E, N, E, C, K, I.com, which we should probably shorten, and we will do that so hopefully.

Thank you so much. Nicole, it’s been a pleasure.

Thank you very much. Thank you. Nice meeting you. Thank you for having me.

Have a great day.

You too.

Thank you for tuning in to Victim To Victory the personal injury playbook. We hope you found today’s discussion insightful and helpful as you navigate the complex legal system. If you or someone you know suffered from a personal injury, don’t hesitate to reach out to us at 1-800-489-0004. Our team is here to help take you from victim to victory.

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