Distasio

Distasio

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<p>Kowalski</p>

Kowalski

WILKES-BARRE — While Distasio and Kowalski, LLC is celebrating its 10-year anniversary as one of the area’s leading personal injury law firms, the firm’s two eponymous attorneys, Daniel J. Distasio Jr. and Michael J. Kowalski, have a partnership that extends back much further.

So when the two decided to open up their own firm, the connection was already there.

“It was like old wine in a new bottle,” said Kowalski in an interview conducted this past week. “Dan’s [Distasio] ability to digest complex issues is amazing, he’s so easy to bounce ideas off of … we know and understand each other’s mindsets.”

A pair of Luzerne County natives, Distasio (from Nanticoke, son of the legendary Greater Nanticoke Area football coach Dan Distasio) and Kowalski (originally from Hazleton) bring over 60 combined years of experience fighting for the rights of individuals and their families who have been injured or victimized.

The firm handles any number of injuries or related issues: personal injuries, medical malpractice, accidents, instances of wrongful death — the list goes on.

“We’re really like a boutique practice,” Kowalski said. “We don’t farm any cases out, we handle everything here … we even get a lot of cases referred to us from other firms.

“We don’t do a lot of advertising, but the bench and the bar know that we take care of our clients.”

Both Distasio and Kowalski got their J.D. from the Dickinson School of Law and worked together at the firms of Hourigan, Kluger and Quinn and Scartelli, Distasio and Kowalski.

Since Kowalski joined Hourigan, Kluger and Quinn in 1994, the two lawyers have spent a total of 27 years working side-by-side.

The secret, according to Kowalski: both lawyers bring a different mentality to the table.

“We look at things a bit differently,” Kowalski said. “It’s helped us gel together so well.”

Office manager Beth Tracy Distasio put it a bit more bluntly.

“Dan could be a bit of a bulldog at times,” she said. “He’s very straight to the point, while Mike [Kowalski] could be a bit more diplomatic.”

The two approaches help Distasio and Kowalski see cases from every conceivable angle, better serving their clients.

After all, for everyone involved in the firm, the connections made with their clients make it all worthwhile.

“I’ve always wanted to help people,” Kowalski said. “I wanted to be a voice for other people … to be able to make a difference in someone’s life, that’s empowering.”

Beth pointed out that she’s kept in touch with a lot of clients that have passed through the firm.

“You develop an intimate relationship with them,” she said. “It’s a huge responsibility. We’re helping try to put a horrible chapter of their lives behind them.”

In most cases, according to Kowalski, the client and their families have essentially no one else to turn to in what is a time of crisis for them. To help them out and to have an impact on their lives is the best reward of all.

“I had a client a while back, their son became an attorney because of our representation,” Kowalski said. “It’s a big commitment to represent someone, but we’re honored to take it on.”

Creating that relationship with a client has become harder in the last year, as the COVID-19 pandemic reshaped the way businesses conduct themselves all over the area.

For Distasio and Kowalski, it meant fewer in-person meetings and more time on Zoom.

“I think everyone had to learn how to make the adjustment to practice law in the COVID setting, it’s not just us,” Kowalski said. “We’ve done a lot of Zoom depositions … you learn how to work differently.”

Even though the firm has made the adjustment and has been able to work through the pandemic without much of an issue, Kowalski still prefers the way it was before remote depositions and online meetings became a necessity.

“You just connect better with people sitting across the table from them,” he said. “We would do a lot of visits in our clients’ homes because they’re more comfortable and more candid there … I long for those days, and they’ll be back.”

Meeting with clients in their homes helps the lawyers better understand their situation, allowing for a better defense.

“How could you communicate what a family’s been through if you haven’t seen it for yourself?” Kowalski asked. “I love being able to connect with our clients that way. Every lawyer should do that.”

With ten years under their belt with Distasio and Kowalski LLC, the firm will only continue to grow and serve those in need all over the area.

And again, it all comes down to helping people.

“That’s easily the biggest personal reward for me, helping people,” Kowalski said. “It doesn’t just stop once their case is over. We keep in touch with our clients for decades.

“We’re lawyers for life.”