Questions

Click on a frequently asked question below to view the answers

  • What makes you different?

    Petersen & Petersen now has “nine on the books” and a new home. On February 2, 2018, the firm opened the doors to a brand new office building and a new chapter in the history of the firm. Thanks to our clients, we are a busy and successful law firm with a practice around the great State of Ohio. We continually put our motto – “Dedicated Service Which Gets Results” – to the test and year after year, have come out on top. We are proud to report that in just the last nine years we have earned total settlements for our personal injury clients exceeding $45 Million dollars.

    We know that the secret to our success is the fact we continue to take cases to trial each and every year. Trials are what we do; it’s what sets our practice apart from so many others. Whether we are representing the rights of someone injured by the negligence and neglect of a driver, doctor or nursing home, working with a client through a contract dispute or defending that client’s constitutional rights, we understand we must prepare from the beginning to effectively advocate before a judge or jury. We pride ourselves on our preparedness for trial and our performance in the courtroom.

    Is trial work all we do? No. Many disputes can and should settle, but we prepare each case with the premise that it will be tried to a jury. We encourage one another to try cases to get fair and just results. Our results tell all. Everything we do is done with the goal of putting our clients in the best position possible. Hopefully, our thorough preparation and advocacy results in resolution of the case through some other means than trial. That is our goal; resolution of each and every case in a timely, cost-effective and positive way.

  • What do other lawyers think of you?

    Todd Petersen recently received the highest rating available – 10 Superb – from AVVO, an internet legal services marketplace.  AVVO ranks lawyers on a scale of 1 (Extreme Caution) to 10 (Superb), helping the public quickly assess a lawyer’s background. Todd is not only a veteran Ohio Super Lawyers – Rising Stars as selected by Law & Politics magazine, he is clearly held in high regard by his own community of lawyers.   This is evidenced by his peers electing him to serve for 2013-14 as President of the Geauga County Bar Association, an organization made up of approximately 180 lawyers founded in 1968.   He also has been selected to serve on the Bar’s Grievance Committee for the past nine years.

    Susan Petersen has been selected as one of Ohio’s Super Lawyers for the last eight years, including 2019, with only 5 percent of lawyers in the state being named to this prestigious list. Super Lawyers are selected after considerable polling and peer evaluation efforts with detailed research that evaluates each candidate based on 12 indications of peer recognition and professional achievement. The process to be named to the Super Lawyers list involves checks and balances that produce a well-rounded and diverse listing of attorneys.   For the last eight years, she was named to the National Trial Lawyers Association’s list of Ohio’s Top 100 Trial Lawyers. In 2017, she was elected a member of the International Society of Barristers. Out of the 38,000+ practicing lawyers in Ohio, only 34 hold membership in this prestigious society. Petersen is only the 7th female in Ohio to be elected. The ISOB has a membership of approximately 700 lawyers nationally and internationally, dedicated to excellence in advocacy, the preservation of the adversary system, defending the right to trial by jury, and encouraging young lawyers to enter the field of trial practice. She will be inducted in April 2018 at the annual meeting in London, England.

  • What is your involvement in the Legal Community?

    Todd Petersen remains very active in his local bar associations. He is Past President of the Geauga County Bar Association, having served as President in 2013-14. He has served as Chairman of the Geauga County Bar Foundation since 2001. He is a past chairman of the Fee Dispute Committee for the Geauga Bar Association and is serving a ninth term on its Grievance Committee. He is also a member of the Ohio State Bar Association, the Ohio Association for Justice, the Cuyahoga Metropolitan Bar Association and the American Association for Justice. He is also in his second term as a member of the Board of Trustees for the Ohio Association for Justice.

    Susan is a past President of the state-wide Ohio Women’s Bar Association, whose purpose is to promote the networking, educational, and leadership opportunities of women lawyers. She is also serving a 14th term on the Board of Directors of the Cleveland Academy of Trial Attorneys as well as a 9th term as a member of the Board of Trustees for the Ohio Association for Justice. She is a member of Geauga County, Cuyahoga Metropolitan, and Ohio State Bar Associations, as well as the American Associations for Justice. She is serving a 7th term on the Visiting Committee of Cleveland-Marshall College of Law as well.