Attorney voted Lawyer of the Year

By Gary Gosselin Dolan Media Newswires George Sinas has been chosen as Michigan Lawyers Weekly's Lawyer of the Year 2013. The announcement was made at the MiLW Leaders in the Law luncheon at the Detroit Marriott Troy on Thursday honoring the 30 Leaders in the Law. Sinas was chosen by a vote of his peers--the other 29 Leaders in the Law--who had the opportunity to vote on each of the honorees. The 30 Leaders were chosen from around the state and all areas of law. They included small and large law firm lawyers, politicians, judges and those in public service. To be selected, leaders showed a high level of success in the legal profession, a passion for the law and to serve their clients and the community and a record of achievements that displays a strength of character and ability to be a leader in the Michigan legal community. Sinas has been at the forefront of fighting the efforts to minimize lifetime comprehensive medical coverage under Michigan no-fault law. Sinas, a senior partner at Sinas Dramis Brake Boughton & McIntyre PC in Lansing, is a board member of the Brain Injury Association of Michigan and past president of the Michigan Association for Justice (formerly the Michigan Trial Lawyers Association). He has been representing accident victims for more than 35 years and is a past chairman of the State Bar Negligence Law Section. As general counsel for Coalition Protecting Auto No-Fault, in collaboration with the Brain Injury Association of Michigan, he led a team of lawyers last year in a lawsuit against the Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association to obtain financial information under the Freedom of information act. In January, Ingham County Circuit Court Judge Clinton Canady III ruled that the MCCA must open up records related to its financial standing, and explain how it comes up with its $175 annual fee per auto. In February, another win for Sinas: Canady refused to suspend his ruling pending MCCA's appeal. Sinas was one of those who was instrumental in creating CPAN in 2003. It is a bipartisan collection of 26 major medical and consumer groups dedicated to protecting the legal rights and medical benefits of auto accident victims. He has helped guide legislative efforts, not only informing legislators but coming up with strategies and ideas that are making an impact on the debate. Sinas has written and filed amicus briefs for CPAN in numerous no-fault cases in front of the Court of Appeals and Michigan Supreme Court. As CPAN's general counsel, he filed a friend of the court brief in the 2010 watershed case of McCormick v. Carrier. The Michigan Supreme Court, in McCormick, reshaped the analysis for determining whether auto accident victims can collect tort damages. He also is a co-creator of the Michigan "No-Fault RedBook Online," a resource website operated by the Michigan Association for Justice. He teaches no-fault law at the Michigan State University College of Law Sinas earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan and his J.D., cum laude, from Wayne State University Law School. Published: Thu, Mar 28, 2013

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