Nobody can do everything well, and this is nowhere more true than in the practice of law. So I don't try to do everything for everybody. Instead, for 37 years I have increasingly focused on doing certain things very well, offering referrals of matters outside of my chosen areas of practice to other well-qualified attorneys. My practice is limited to logically-related areas of law, beginning first and foremost with employment law. My practice is results-oriented. If you've been unfairly fired from your job, you're not looking for soothing words and legal jargon; you're looking to get your job back, or to be compensated for your loss of income. If you are getting unfairly written up or otherwise disciplined, or if you're being harassed by a supervisor or by a coworker, and especially if you suspect that such treatment is related to your age, disability, gender, race, or other types of discrimination, you're looking to get it stopped - now! If that treatment has gotten so intolerable that you have resigned as your only way out, you don't want to suffer loss just because you didn't wait for your employer to fire you.
In short, you're not looking for a pat on the back or directions to the unemployment office (although when appropriate, we can help you with that as well), but results measured in dollars or in proper respect and fair treatment at your workplace. If you hire me as your attorney, you and I will work together to achieve those results.
Besides employment law, I practice in several other areas of law that are logically related to employment law, or to which many of the principles of employment law are applicable. Those areas of law include invasion of privacy; education law; and constitutional law, which refers to the protection of your rights as guaranteed by our Constitution, including especially those rights guaranteed by our Bill of Rights. Constitutional law includes, among other things, freedom of speech, police misconduct, prisoners' rights, and eminent domain (briefly, the taking of private property by the government for public use). A more complete list of my areas of practice can be found here. Many of my areas of practice are linked to short, informative articles designed to give you a brief, easily understood overview of law and practice in those areas of law.
Whether you've just been wrongfully fired from your job, are the victim of harmful false accusations, are being subjected to a hostile work environment, or have otherwise been treated unlawfully, your diligence in acting quickly and sensibly is a key factor in the likelihood of your achieving the relief to which you may be entitled under the law. A prompt consultation with an attorney experienced in handling your kind of case may be very helpful in preserving your rights. Many of the areas in which I practice have short statutes of limitation, which refers to the time by which you must file any lawsuit or take certain preliminary steps such as filing with an administrative agency or providing notice to potential defendants. Just as one example, Ohio's Whistleblower Act, which is intended to protect workers from retaliation for their reporting of fraudulent or criminal activity by their employer, requires that certain timely actions be taken by the reporting employee in order to be protected from retaliation by his or her employer. Similarly, while employees are protected under Ohio law from retaliation for filing a workers' compensation claim, preservation of that right requires timely and proper notice to the employer of claimed violations, and the filing of any lawsuit within an unusually short limitations period. In addition to advising you regarding statutory time limits and the legal validity of your case, an experienced attorney can often offer advice of a more practical nature designed to minimize hardship and maximize the likelihood of ultimately achieving a positive result, should you decide to pursue legal or administrative action against your employer. In my 37 years of practice, I have dealt with a virtually limitless array of circumstances faced by employees or former employees, and I consider giving you useful, practical, doable advice to be an important part of my total representation of you.
If you have been fired from your job, have been experiencing workplace harassment, or have had your legal rights violated by governmental agencies or law enforcement authorities, call me at 419-242-9908, e-mail me at tsobecki@tomsobecki.com, or fill out the contact form below with as little or as much information as you would like. We pride ourselves in responding promptly to your inquiries.