Many people may not know Sommers Schwartz has a trio of exceptional medical-legal registered nurses (MLRNs) who each play an invaluable role in our successful handling of medical malpractice, birth trauma, and personal injury claims. This year, Michigan Lawyers Weekly spotlighted this group—Leslie Davis, Michelle Enerson, and Kim Graham— by naming them to the publication’s 2021 list of “Unsung Legal Heroes.”

Lawyers Weekly bestows the annual award on law firm employees who consistently go above and beyond the call of duty, often behind the scenes. The honor is reserved for the most talented and dedicated legal support professionals in the state. To our knowledge, this is the first time MLRNs were included, and Leslie, Michelle, and Kim are one of only a few teams in the history of the award in any category.

The following are comments submitted to Michigan Lawyers Weekly supporting their nomination:

The negligence or damages at the center of a case are often complicated, highly technical or clinical, and require superior medical education expertise to decipher. Fortunately, we have a team of exceptional nurses who translate medical terms, diagnoses, tests, and procedures to uncover the actual cause and extensive scope of the injuries.

Each of these medical-legal registered nurses defines the “unsung hero.” Combined, they have given several decades of service to the firm and its clients and have worked with nearly every attorney handling high-profile medical malpractice cases. Our nursing team provides the firm with a competitive edge for fighting and winning medical malpractice and birth trauma lawsuits.

Praise from our attorneys…

Matthew Curtis: “Our nurses work incredibly hard on cases and are invaluable in giving us the best chance of winning the case. They are the true brains, educating the lawyers and doing all the little things in evaluating the medical issues that the attorneys are unable to do or don’t have the time to do. Toiling behind the scenes and getting very little recognition outside the firm, their contributions are sometimes the single most important part of reaching a successful resolution; they don’t get the credit they deserve, yet they never ask for it or expect it. Our MLRNs have deep compassion for each client they work with, and their desire to assist and uncover the improprieties in their care goes above and beyond the call of duty.” 

Rick Groffsky: “All three nurses add tremendously to our practice. The importance of understanding the medicine involved in our cases cannot be over-emphasized. To do an effective job in a deposition, you must know enough not to be fooled, unknowingly lied to, or misled. Especially early on in our careers, and even after on more complex matters, our nurses provide invaluable assistance in identifying issues and helping us understand the medicine in our cases.”  

Norman Tucker: “It’s hard to find the complement that does justice to Leslie Davis’s work. As I’ve said many times, if I were to leave the firm and join another, or leave and start my own firm, she would be the first person I would hire. I have personally worked with at least ten MLRNs in the last 50 years and have been exposed to the work of at least another 50 from coast to coast. Leslie is the best MLRN I have encountered in my career.”

Robert Sickels: “Our nurses are undoubtedly the unsung heroes of our practice because they are always on the sidelines but central to our litigation efforts. They comb through mounds of medical records and data, uncover the medical errors that caused our clients harm, and then provide the research to support and prove the claims we make in court.” 

We are proud to announce Leslie, Michelle, and Kim’s inclusion in the 2021 class of Unsung Legal Heroes. Please join us in congratulating each of them on this well-deserved honor.