John Dornik, Siegel Brill, P.A.

What are the biggest challenges you currently see in personal injury law?

In the old days, a plaintiff’s personal injury attorney received cases primarily from referrals from other attorneys. If the PI attorney did good work and diligently represented his/her clients his reputation for doing so made it around the legal community, bringing more cases to the devoted attorney. Now, with all the different forms of advertising flooding the airwaves and social media, I fear only the lawyers with the biggest advertising budgets, regardless of skill, will eventually get the majority of the cases.

What advice would you give a client to avoid legal complications in a personal injury case?

Do your best to hire the best attorney you can for your case. Also, do not dwell on your case. Do your best to mitigate your damages by attending any and all required treatment and therapy suggested by qualified physicians and do your best to get back to normalcy — or as close to it as possible — in your personal and work life. Your case will go away in some fashion eventually, your mental health and future life will not.

Without revealing the names of a client, what is the most interesting case you’ve worked on lately?

I represent two young men that came upon a field that was energized with very high voltage electricity from a fallen power line while they were doing landscape work. The injuries from this are horrific, most likely causing future extreme disability and significant loss of earning capacity.

How do you manage work/life balance?

I work while I play, and I play while I work.

What is one thing you would change about Minnesota if you could?

Just one Lombardi trophy!

What’s something most people don’t know about you?

My mother raised my four siblings and me by herself. My father died at a very young age when I was just two years old. Our mother taught us all by herself, without privilege, to work hard and be the best we can be. She was an incredible woman.