General Litigation

All of the attorneys of Sweetin & Bleeke, P.C. are experienced litigators.

Jim Bleeke has been actively trying cases in both State and Federal Courts in Indiana since 1985, when he first began handling a broad variety of litigation at Ice Miller Donadio & Ryan. Jim has also handled several cases at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, including three oral arguments in that forum. Jim's general litigation experience includes UCC warranty defense for automobile and other manufacturers, black lung and other coal-related cases, both before administrative agencies and in court, product liability defense, commercial disputes and a wide range of health-care-related litigation, including defense of nursing homes.

Doris Sweetin has been litigating cases in Ohio for seven years and in Indiana since becoming licensed in the State in 2000, including both jury trials and bench trials. She has participated in numerous hearings before the Worker's Compensation Board of both states, representing both plaintiffs and defendants. In addition to trial work, she also has extensive experience in the appellate courts, including published opinions rendered in favor of her clients in the States of Indiana and Ohio. Her areas of expertise include insurance defense, worker's compensation and employment law.

Our attorneys have experience in both state and Federal courts, both at the trial and appellate levels. As with our insurance-defense cases, an integral part of how we handle all litigation is to learn from the client what that client's objectives in the litigation are, and report to the client on a regular basis regarding both the developments in the case, and our assessment and recommendations.

Our Approach To Litigation

Know Your Adversary

In litigation, as in any competitive endeavor, it is absolutely crucial to know your adversary, including the strengths, weaknesses, styles and strategies commonly utilized by an opponent. Our experience in litigating against a large percentage of lawyers across Indiana provides us with knowledge of our opponents that we repeatedly use to the advantage of our clients in planning a specific strategy tailored to defeating that particular adversary.

Know Your Stuff

Similarly, litigation, like other competitions, generally rewards the party that is the most prepared and has gathered the strongest resources for the competition. We pledge to be better prepared than our adversary and to avail ourselves of the resources we have developed over many years of defense litigation, particularly with health care providers, who play a crucial role in a broad range of litigation involving personal injuries. We attempt to utilize the expertise and contacts developed through the representation of hundreds of Indiana health care providers to produce a streamlined but thorough strategy to the medical aspects of each case.

Prepare With The End In Mind

Litigation, like life, tends to be most successful when prepared with the end in mind. We realize that most cases do not require a trial and that time devoted to each case must be used judiciously. However, we firmly believe that every case can be prepared best by developing, as early as possible, the theme of the case that would ultimately be presented to a judge or jury if the case goes to trial. Specifically, we endeavor to construct the outline of our case strategy and key themes to allow discussion and critical review by our client before the first deposition occurs in each case. This requires more hard work and preparation early on in the case, but yields superior results and cost savings by assuring that legal efforts are targeted at the optimum final outcome.