Firm President Douglas Welebir has been named one of Washington DC & Baltimore’s Top Rated Lawyers. ALM, the nation’s largest publisher of legal media has teamed with Martindale-Hubbell® to create a dynamic, multi-media resource designed to help buyers of legal services identify, evaluate and select the most appropriate lawyer for their specific legal matter.

Mr. Welebir founded the firm as a sole practitioner in 1970 in a small office in San Bernardino. After a year managing cases by himself, he decided he wanted to partner with others. Over the years, he had lawyers come and go, he said. After a major restructuring in 2007, his firm became Welebir Tierney & Weck. He has tried more than 100 civil cases to verdict and his firm has managed about 8,000 cases, many of which go to trial. His Redlands-based firm of five full-time attorneys handles a steady flow of catastrophic personal injury and product liability cases but is not too proud to try a small injury matter from time to time.

Attorney Welebir is a trial attorney that works tirelessly along with his team of prolific lawyers to make sure your rights are not tampered with.

REDLANDS – Being called a trial lawyer might be a dirty name to some, but attorneys at Welebir Tierney & Weck APLC say they are proud of that distinction.

Founding partner Douglas Welebir – a trial lawyer for 47 years – acknowledges that the general public loathes trial attorneys.

“But even those who don’t like us use us when they need it,” he said.

Welebir has tried more than 100 civil cases to verdict and his firm has managed about 8,000 cases, many of which go to trial. His Redlands-based firm of five full-time attorneys handles a steady flow of catastrophic personal injury and product liability cases but is not too proud to try a small injury matter from time to time.

“Ninety percent of lawyers don’t see the inside of the courtroom,” Welebir said. “We see the inside of a courtroom every day. We’re not litigators. We’re trial lawyers.”

Welebir founded the firm as a sole practitioner in 1970 in a small office in San Bernardino. After a year managing cases by himself, he decided he wanted to partner with others. Over the years, he had lawyers come and go, he said. After a major restructuring in 2007, his firm became Welebir Tierney & Weck.

Welebir poached name partner Jim Tierney for his firm 13 years ago, he said. Tierney was practicing insurance defense and Welebir decided to “make him a righteous person and bring him to the plaintiffs’ side,” he said.

The other name partner, Cory Weck, was a former attorney for the U.S. Marines Judge Advocate General’s Corps and still serves as a staff judge advocate to the Marine Expeditionary Court at Camp Pendleton. He began working with the firm 11 years ago.

Both are very talented plaintiffs’ lawyers, Welebir said, as are attorneys Shelly Zeise and Justin Kim.

The firm tries product liability cases involving automobile defects and road problems. Such matters can be quite expensive to take on, Welebir explained, as they require a lot of money up front to determine whether there is a defect and if indeed there is a case. He said the firm has had matters in which it spent $50,000 only to learn there was no case. The firm charges clients on a contingency basis, he said.

“The atmosphere here is extremely unique,” Tierney said. “It’s just an open atmosphere. … I probably walk into Doug’s office wasting his time all the time.”

The firm also has three of counsel attorneys, one of whom is Welebir’s daughter in Orange County.

Welebir said he moved his practice to Redlands in 1992 after learning San Bernardino had a water supply just beneath the ground’s surface – something he learned while trying an environmental case. The ground would liquefy in a large earthquake, he explained, damaging or destroying many buildings.

Managing personal injury cases does make one rather paranoid, Welebir admitted. His wife always told him she pitied their children who were warned over and over about certain dangers, such as driving a motorcycle.

But working so closely with disaster has convinced Welebir that risk can be minimized.

“I like to drive and I like to drive fast,” he said. “But driving is not a casual event for me. I don’t go on a drive and look at the scenery. I am very alert.”

The attorneys at Welebir Tierney & Weck don’t take cases they wouldn’t try in court, Welebir said.

“I come from a military background, and it’s about mission accomplished here,” Weck said. “It’s not about doing whatever busy work. It’s about getting things done in the best way possible for the clients.”

Personal injury litigation doesn’t decline in an economic downturn, Welebir said. Business is actually up.

“People still get bit by dogs; they still stumble over cracks in the sidewalk,” he explained. “People are more inclined to see a lawyer in economic downturns, because now they really, really need whatever help they can have.”

At one point the firm had as many as 12 full-time attorneys, but Welebir said he likes the current, smaller size. Being a small firm doesn’t really have drawbacks, Welebir said.

The only real obstacle a small firm faces, he said, is that it often has to prove itself. He said he once worked with a defense attorney who wanted to do a deposition in his Los Angeles office. Welebir counter offered to host the proceeding at his Redlands office because all of the parties were from the Inland Empire. When the attorney visited Welebir’s office, with a view overlooking crisp snow covering all but the bright oranges in the groves next door, the attorney said, “Wow, no wonder you live here!”

“Once you’ve proved yourself,” Welebir said, “there’s no question about it.”

If a loved one has been involved in a fatal motorcycle accident, we can help.

We understand that no amount of money can ever pay for the loss of a loved one. However, there is no need for surviving family members to also suffer financial hardships after the death of a loved one in a motorcycle accident caused by another’s negligence.

We at Welebir Tierney & Weck have the trial experience that will allows us challenge any prejudices that juries may have against injured motorcyclists. One of our attorneys, Cory Weck, is an experienced motorcycle rider of nearly 20 years. Our lawyers understand the complexity of these accidents, and we will be able to direct the investigation to secure the evidence that is important to win your case. Most importantly, we know how to help you find the money you need to cover financial losses and medical bills after the injury.

You will be able to receive a free initial consultation when you contact us about your motorcycle injury case. In addition, you will pay no legal fees unless you win money for the injury or wrongful death claim. When we take your case, we prepare to win, whether it means waiting for a larger settlement or going to trial. If you have suffered a serious injury in a motorcycle accident in Riverside, San Bernardino, or anywhere in Southern California, contact us for a free consultation. The law is about helping those in need, and we are here to offer that help.

US News Media Group and Best Lawyers annually release “Best Law Firm” rankings shinning light into the US legal system with its different focuses and data collected to develop the ranking.

This years edition features firms who have consistently demonstrated impactful performance ratings by clients and peers. The rankings, presented in tiers, showcase more than 10,000 law firms ranked nationally or by metropolitan region where firms are ranked in 118 practice areas.

US News Media Group and Best Lawyers partnership is a great service to any of the country’s corporations or individual clients seeking counsel regarding legal issues, they combine qualitative and quantitative data that provides us with the most accurate rankings of law firms ever developed.

Douglas Welebir, President of the firm, says that it is very gratifying to once again receive this metropolitan first-tier ranking for the Riverside area of California in the plaintiffs personal injury practice area to which we devote our entire professional lives and extensive trial experience. To be presented with such an honor is simply breathtaking to all of us at Welebir Tierney & Weck, we are sincerely thankful for the privilege of this recognition.

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Attorney Douglas Welebir has been named the Best Lawyers’ 2013 Riverside Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs “Lawyer of the Year”. This is a very prestigious award as only a single lawyer in each practice area in each community is being honored as the “Lawyer of the Year”. Best Lawyers is the oldest and most respected peer-review publication in the legal profession. A listing in Best Lawyers is widely regarded by both clients and legal professionals as a significant honor, conferred on a lawyer by his or her peers.

Congratulations Attorney Welebir.

Click here for link to bestlawyers site.

Mr. Kim joins the firm with an an already renowned career in Washington D.C. and an impressive academic curriculum. He graduated in 2001 from Pacific Union College with concurrent degrees: a Bachelor of Science, summa cum laude, in both Business Administration and History & Government and a Bachelor of Arts, summa cum laude, in Chemistry, receiving Honors for the highest grade point average in both the Chemistry and History departments.  His subsequent time at Yale Law School saw him as a participant of the Moot Court, editor of the Yale Journal of International Law, and senior editor of the Yale Law Journal before his graduation in 2004.

His career began in one of the busiest districts, performing myriad duties as Law Clerk to the Honorable Virginia A. Phillips, Judge, U.S. District Court, Central District of California, in Riverside, California. After his distinguished service there, he moved to the Civil Trial Section of the United States Department of Justice, Tax Division, Washington D.C. , representing the U.S. Government as a Trial Attorney in more than 60 civil tax cases before various District Courts – including a $1.1 billion tax shelter case, which he litigated successfully. Two years of his four year service – 2007 and 2009 – earned him Outstanding Attorney Awards for his talent and dedication.

For more on Mr. Kim’s distinguished career, click here.

The two had just come out of a restaurant and were allegedly jay walking when the accident happened.  The woman sustained major injuries and the boy suffered broken bones.  They were taken to a nearby trauma center for treatment.

Although pedestrians need to exercise caution before crossing any road, it is not a foregone conclusion that responsibility for any injuries sustained in an jay walking accident  lie with the pedestrian.  There are many factors that could have contributed to the accident.  Drugs & alcohol, unsafe road conditions, and inadequate hazard signs are just a few of the elements that could be considered.   Victims of pedestrian accidents need to contact an experienced pedestrian accident attorney to evaluate their case.