In , the firm bought a new phone number: The next year, the firm bought 45, television commercials and 15, radio ads a month, according to court filings. There were billboards and bus shelters, too, not to mention the internet marketing. The result was more than 55, intake calls a year from prospective clients. Competitors claim that any firm fielding such a huge volume of calls cannot possibly maximize settlements for every run-of-the-mill client.
New attorneys started with a salary but were expected to move quickly to pay based mainly — or entirely — on a percentage of the fees they brought in. Many lawyers stayed there for years. The chief motivation was clear: You could make a lot of money. These guys are making , , [thousand dollars]. The lawyers on staff split up the calendar.
On their assigned intake day, they answered all the calls — a lawyer would actually pick up the phone after a quick screen — and basically kept all the cases that happened to come in.
They could be valuable; they could be dog shit. The vast majority of its revenue, 77 percent, came from just 20 percent of the cases. Big money comes only from the rare big injuries. The more time you put in, the more you were likely to make. The firm itself was hyperorganized, with apps for the attorneys and a dedicated team in Buffalo that helps prepare legal drafts. Analytics were plentiful. But a law firm based almost entirely on advertising is also one that can flirt with the exploitation of vulnerable groups.
After all, these clients are people who choose their lawyers based on a television ad or a billboard. It was something one of the former attorneys worried about a fair amount. He had no legs. In five years, that doubled. Barnes has a large lakefront house, and he and Sturm recently purchased the property next door.
Cellino bought a golf course and began building a family retreat on the shores of Lake Erie. Discussions began in about expanding into that litigation idyll of car crashes and 40 percent contingency fees: California. Barnes forged ahead, plowing millions of his own money into the project.
The L. He then approached Barnes with the idea of splitting their responsibilities, writing a long, detailed email that sounded not unlike someone who has gathered up the courage to ask for a raise. At the end of the note, Cellino hinted at deeper emotional forces at play. I have experienced it somewhat in the Golf Course business, but the profits are not there to get excited about. You too have experienced a sense of freedom with your CA operation, and I am sure you enjoy percent control.
Barnes squelched the idea. But he was spooked. Tensions escalated. At one point, the men screamed at each other in the office within earshot of employees. That was especially galling to the staffers, since for years the firm had refused to subsidize their health insurance. Since , when his daughter Jeanna graduated from law school, Cellino had been pushing for her to join the firm, another idea Barnes dismissed.
I mean, the lawyers would leave, join another firm, or start their own firm. The explanation that made the most sense to me came from an attorney who knows both men, Marc Panepinto.
Cellino said this was his true reason for action. The men carried on like this for months. And there are a lot of cocksuckers out there, Ross. The following year, in May , Cellino filed to dissolve the firm. He ended by dangling the question of who would become the next Barnes to his Cellino. Barnes made it clear that he would not let the firm go down without a fight.
As the case progressed, lawyers at the firm weighed in, filing affidavit after affidavit. The papers got very strange. The rumor mill grinds on a daily basis — Steve bought a new number — Ross is filming new commercials for his firm — Steve has rented out his own space and has new computer servers — it goes on and on.
Like a kind of legal Russian nesting doll, the fight over dissolving the firm gave birth to at least two other lawsuits. First, Anna Marie Cellino, who was an attorney and executive at a natural-gas company, decided to hang out her own shingle as, of course, a personal-injury lawyer. Her partners? Daughters Jeanna and Annmarie. The name? Of course not, they insisted; it was just an opportune time to enter the market.
Cellino himself would swear up and down he had absolutely nothing to do with the new firm. Future plans were even more explicit. Separately, Sturm filed suit against Ross Cellino, saying he had cut her out of her share of settlement fees for a case she and Barnes had litigated together. The case concerned a horrific accident involving a teenager and a fuel called FireGel used in ceramic firepots.
When the pot was lit, it led to an explosion; the young man died eight years later after tremendous suffering. For Barnes, this was a true friendship-breaker. How do you hurt the man? You go after his woman. That was too much. That created some bad blood, I will admit that. The case was set to go to trial in January, but as almost always happens when personal-injury lawyers weigh their prospects in front of a jury, something gave.
He and Cellino reached a settlement to break up the firm, including a deal on the Sturm case. In September, the famous ads stopped. The jingle went silent. The phone number will soon be mothballed. The two men have agreed not to disparage each other mostly.
The final step before separating was for Cellino and Barnes to make offers to the lawyers they wanted to take with them and for the lawyers to choose sides. Slightly more than half went with Cellino, with most of the upstate lawyers sticking with him and the NYC lawyers with Barnes.
Both men see glory days ahead, and each wishes the other great success. He made a gauzy promo video of himself throwing a football with his grandkids and occasionally wearing smart-looking glasses with no lenses.
I have the resources. Nothing was actually wrong with the package, and it was unclear who sent it. In June , a local news station reported that Barnes was now suing Cellino. What an emotional rollercoaster! In an affidavit filed January 3, , Cellino states , "Barnes now accepts the reality of this situation and In a local news report published January 22, , we learned that Cellino and Barnes have finally decided on their new firm names.
But the drama isn't over, because According to Buffalo News , Barnes' girlfriend, Ellen Sturm, sued Cellino over an alleged bonus that was never given to her. Barnes' girlfriend stated that she worked on a specific case for seven years and called it "one of the biggest personal injury settlements in American history.
Does anyone else miss Barnes from Cellino and Barnes? I just saw an ad for Cellino Law and felt very nostalgic. Things then took a tragic turn.
In October of , Barnes was piloting a small plane on his way to his mother's birthday party when it crashed. Barnes died in the crash , as did his niece, Elizabeth D. Cellino made a public statement following the crash, calling Barnes a "fearless advocate for his clients" and saying that his death was "a significant loss for the legal community. I respected Steve Barnes. He was a great lawyer. He was my friend and partner for 25 years, someone I spoke to almost every day.
We built something together, we analyzed and tried cases together, we helped our clients. Today, Cellino still practices law his firm is called Cellino Law and it does not have a catchy phone number. The Barnes Firm is also still taking cases — Steve's brother Rich is the Barnes at the helm these days. Despite the ultimately tragic end to the Cellino and Barnes feud, at least that original jingle will live on in the memories of people for years to come.
Is Judge Judy a Real Judge? You Better Believe It! Cellino Jr, 59, filed a lawsuit against his partner, Stephen E. Barnes, 58, and their law firm last Wednesday, with hopes of dissolving the practice. Earlier reports speculated the rift was due to 'years of hard feelings' between the pair since Barnes refused to hire his partner's daughter, Jeanna Cellino, 30, in - a law graduate from University of Buffalo - in to avoid nepotism.
However, Barnes's girlfriend Ellen Sturm has worked at the firm for a number of years as does his brother, Richard J. But a number of attorneys, who know the two lawyers personally, told DailyMail. Ross Cellino Jr left filed a lawsuit against partner, Stephen Barnes, and their law firm last Wednesday, with hopes of dissolving the popular partnership which became famous for their iconic jingle.
The law partners are said to have bad blood between them after Barnes refused to hire his Cellino's daughter - law graduate Jeanna Cellino, 30, left to avoid nepotism - although Barnes's girlfriend Ellen Sturm has worked at the firm for years.
One local lawyer, who agreed to talk on condition of anonymity, told DailyMail. He is not a guy that takes no for an answer. The firm's catchy jingle, ' ' phone number and widespread commercials and billboard ads have infiltrated the New York landscape. Ross Cellino, especially in the last couple of years, has become more: "Do we really need to do that? Can we try to get along with people more?
I've heard from a couple of lawyers there about shouting matches taking place in conference rooms and that type of behavior. An avid hockey fan, he has his own floodlit rink in the backyard, complete with a Zamboni to groom the ice.
There's one word that applies - karma,' the source said. William F. With a dissolution, the judicial intervention is going to be potentially disruptive and the press is going to be potentially adverse,' he said. It's a very risky strategy because the golden goose is caught in the cross-fire. Dynamic duo: It is rumored the relationship between Cellino left and Barnes right has been on the rocks due to their conflicting personalities.
Local lawyers have described Barnes as a 'shark' and Cellino as 'more laidback'. The firm was temporarily renamed, The Barnes Firm, until Cellino was able to practice again. Vincent Scarsella, who was the senior investigative counsel for the grievance committee on that case, told DailyMail. There was all kinds of terrible conflicts of interest that they got themselves involved in.
Ross Cellino was suspended for about six months although he didn't get back into the practice for about two years. Scarsella added: 'Ross is very personable and very friendly. In fact, after all of it was over he came to see me. He told me, "No hard feelings, I understand you're just doing your job. Barnes is a veteran of the U. Marine Corps Reserves and reached the rank of Major. The other personal injury firms must be very pleased to see this 'divorce'.
They have to be beside themselves, taking sides and all that. They are headquartered in downtown Buffalo and also have a satellite office in the city - across the street from the Erie County Medical Center.
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