Thursday profile: George Sinas

 George T. Sinas is the managing partner at the law firm of Sinas, Dramis, Brake, Boughton & McIntyre, P.C., Lansing, which is commonly referred to as the Sinas Dramis Law Firm. He is engaged in the full-time practice of law, which he limits to the representation of seriously injured people and their medical providers. Sinas received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan and his law degree from Wayne State University.

Sinas has received numerous honors in the field of personal injury law. Most recently, he was awarded the “ Champion of Justice” for 2014 by the Michigan Association for Justice, and the “Michigan Lawyer of the Year” for 2013 by Michigan Lawyers Weekly. He has been recognized in every edition of the Best Lawyers in America since 1989. In 2009, and again in 2014, Best Lawyers named him “Lansing Personal Injury Litigator of the Year,” becoming the first Lansing, Michigan attorney in his specialty to earn that honor. He has also been designated as a “Michigan Super Lawyer” every year since 2006 by Super Lawyer Magazine. In 2005, he received the Michigan Brain Injury Association “Legacy Society Professional Service Award” for his work representing the victims of serious brain injury. In 2003, he received the “Leo A. Farhat Outstanding Attorney Award” from the Ingham County Bar Association.
Sinas has written two textbooks and numerous articles on the subject of the Michigan Automobile No-Fault Insurance Act. He is an adjunct professor at the Michigan State University College of Law and serves as general counsel for the Coalition Protecting Auto No-Fault (CPAN. He is a past president of the Michigan Association for Justice and a past chairperson of the Negligence Law Section, State Bar of Michigan.
 
By Jo Mathis
Legal News
 
What is your most treasured material possession? My grandfather’s gold Omega pocket watch. He promised it to me when I was a child, and it was given to me when he died. 
 
What advice do you have for someone considering law school? Give it very careful and critical analysis and make sure it is really what you want.
 
Favorite local hangouts: I enjoy hanging out on my screened-in deck.
 
What is your happiest childhood memory? Summer vacations at Burt Lake with my family and cousin’s family.
 
What would surprise people about your job? How varied it is. Even though it deals entirely with personal injury law, it includes a number of  things such as litigating cases for injured people,  advocating relevant public policy, teaching law school, and academic writing.
 
What has been your favorite year so far? 1968 – The year I graduated from high school and the world changed on so many fronts.
 
What’s your most typical mood? Happy.
 
Why did you become a lawyer? I was always amazed at how much my father, the founder of our firm,  loved the profession. His labor of love strongly influenced me.
 
If you could trade places with someone for a day, who would that be? No one.
 
What’s the most awe-inspiring place you’ve ever been? Santorini, Greece and the Ring of Kerry, Ireland.
 
If you could have one super power, what would it be?  To cure disease and eliminate hunger.
 
What would you say to your 16-year-old self?  It wouldn’t make any difference. He wouldn’t pay attention.
 
What’s your proudest moment as a lawyer? When my two sons graduated from law school and were admitted to the bar.
 
What do you do to relax? I enjoy traveling, going to the cottage, eating ethnic food and trying out new craft micro beers.
 
How would you describe your home? A comfortable place to hang out, particularly in the summer.
 
If you were starting all over again and couldn’t go into law, what career path would you choose? I probably would have ended up in the restaurant business like many of my Greek ancestors.
 
What’s your biggest regret? That I didn’t maintain a closer connection with certain dear friends from years ago.
 
What word do you overuse? A number of them, but none come to mind that are suitable for public utterance.
 
What’s one thing you would like to learn to do? Be more proficient with technology and playing my guitar.
 
What is something most people don’t know about you? I’m pretty sentimental.
 
If you could have dinner with three people, living or dead, who would they be? My father, Davy Crockett, and Jesus.
 
What’s the best advice you ever received? Cherish family, love deeply and live life like there is no tomorrow.
 
If you can help it, where will you never return? To the profound sorrow that is experienced when people you love pass away.
 
What do you drive? Cadillac CTS.
 
What would you drive if money were no object? I really don’t know. I’m not much of a car guy.
 
Favorite place to spend money:  Travel and dining out. 
 
What is your motto? Stand for something or you stand for nothing.
 
What would you like carved onto your tombstone? My name is enough. If you have not identified who you are by then, it’s too late.         
 
 

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