Sommers Schwartz is pleased to announce that senior shareholder Robert Sickels was named a “Leader in the Law” by Michigan Lawyers Weekly. The publication held an award luncheon on March 23rd to recognize Rob and the other attorneys included in the 2017 class.
According to the selection criteria, the honor is bestowed upon lawyers with significant accomplishments or achievements in the practice who have demonstrated leadership in improving Michigan’s justice system in Michigan and seek to improve the legal community and their communities at large.
For more than 30 years, Rob has fought for people inside and outside the courtroom who have been seriously injured as a result of personal injury and medical malpractice. He has achieved numerous million-dollar verdicts and settlements on their behalf, results that are even more remarkable because he has obtained them in the face of increasingly restrictive tort reform and widespread bias against victims of institutional wrongdoing.
In the past decade, Rob has developed an expertise in defective medical devices, particularly defective hip implants. He was the first attorney in Michigan to file suit against Kalamazoo-based Stryker Corporation (and successful in preventing removal of the cases to federal court), claiming that its Rejuvenate and ABG II hip replacement systems caused patients to suffer metal poisoning and forced them to undergo revision surgery to remove and replace the implants. Rob has also successfully pursued litigation against other hip implant manufacturers, notably those that made and marketed metal-on-metal implants, including claims against DePuy Orthopedics, a division of Johnson and Johnson, Wright Medical Technologies, and Biomet.
These cases are especially personal for Rob because he has undergone a double hip replacement himself. Rob’s own experience has given him a better understanding of the medicine and the surgical techniques involved in hip replacement surgery. It has also given him greater empathy for his clients.
Rob sits on the Board of Directors for Cass Community Social Services, a Detroit-based agency dedicated to providing food, housing, health services, and job programs. The organization has been a pioneer in the urban “Tiny Home” movement, completing seven new
Over the course of his legal career, Rob has been recognized multiple times by Best Lawyers, DBusiness Top Lawyers, and Super Lawyers. He has also been ranked as an AV Preeminent Lawyer by Martindale-Hubbell, with a peer review rating of 5.0 out of 5.0.
Joseph H. Bourgon
Joe Bourgon serves as the firm’s Chief Executive Officer, overseeing the firm’s operations and stewarding its continued growth and profitability.
