Tara S. Cannatella began working for the firm as a law clerk in November of 2002, became an associate attorney in November of 2004 and was named partner in August 2011. Since that time, she has litigated several trials and traffic matters and has successfully settled or won dismissals in many more cases.
She won a “no cause of action” jury verdict in a one-half million dollar property loss case and through pre-trial motions, was able to reduce a potential jury verdict by more than 70% in another product liability case. Tara has also obtained multiple nuisance-type settlements and court dismissals in premises liability cases.
Tara is also a presenter of several seminars for insurance adjusters on Michigan No-Fault Claims, how eyewitnesses and jurors process information, and how to use thematic litigation when settlement negotiations fail.
In her spare time, Tara enjoys softball, bowling, and spending time with her husband and three sons.
Mike founded the firm in 1992. Since then he has established an impressive record winning and settling cases involving life and death issues. Mike’s trial experience includes auto negligence, commercial vehicle litigation, construction accidents, premises liability, products liability, public utility liability and subrogation. This is why larger corporate and insurance clients turn to Mike to defend their interests and their public image in emotionally charged cases.
From 1998 to 2008 Mike served as the resident agent of Schneider National, Inc., one of the Nation’s largest trucking companies. The firm currently handles all of their personal injury, property damage and cargo claims in the State of Michigan.
Mike founded Professional Claims Management Systems in June of 2005 and successfully bid on the outsourcing of a Fortune 500 company’s general liability, workers’ compensation and asbestos litigation. PCMS provided state-of-the-art claims management services to this Fortune 500 company and its various subsidiaries, advice and counsel on general liability issues and supervision to outside counsel.
Mike has completed over 90 jury trials. One factor in many of those successes in court, and equally important in his most effective negotiations or mediated settlements, is the strategic use of a very intensive form of focus group research applied to presentations out of court, as well as in trial. Mike has successfully used focus groups in more than a dozen cases in recent years.
In his spare time, Mike enjoys working out at the gym with friend and competing in triathlons and open water swims. Mike As a member of a 3-man relay team, he has been swimming Lake St. Clair for charity for the last 8 years to raise awareness and money for the treatment of Cystic Fibrosis.
Dennis W. Klimek joined Hutchinson Cannatella, P.C. in August of 2018. In law school, he was a member of the Moot Court program and chancellor of the Student Trial Advocacy Program. He also took on the role as a law clerk at a prominent criminal defense firm, and worked in probate and estate planning.
Dennis focuses his expansive docket on commercial trucking defense, Michigan No-Fault and auto negligence, premises liability, and public utility litigation and subrogation. He continues to focus his attention and efforts on the ever-changing application of No-Fault reform as it applies to situations not contemplated by the Legislature. When he is not focusing on work, he enjoys working on cars and spending time and traveling with his loving wife, their beautiful daughter, and their loyal dog. Future plans include visiting every national park and as many historically significant sites throughout the world as is logistically possible.
Sean Broderick joined Hutchinson Cannatella, P.C. in May of 2016 as the Office Manager. In August of 2021, he started his first year of law school at the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law and shifted to a part-time role with the firm. At Detroit Mercy, he is a Senior member of the Moot Court Board of Advocates, and serves as an Associate Board Member for External Competitions for 2023. He is the center of the firm’s communication and supports each attorney’s docket and file management.
His organizational skills and extreme discipline are applicable to case management and promoting attorney efficiency. Sean specializes in background research, investigation and analysis, and even provides IT support to his coworkers within the office. When he’s not in the office, you can find Sean running, swinging kettlebells, golfing, listening to podcasts, smoking some elite cut of meat, and walking his dog, George Orwell.
Patrick McTighe joined Hutchinson Cannatella, P.C. in July of 2016. Since then, he has served as the backbone of day to day administrative functions. As of August 2021, Pat assumed the majority of the behind the scenes functions and day to day operations for the office. His mindset plays a crucial role in the the firm’s maintenance of an ever-expanding docket. Patrick oversees the firm’s daily billing and invoicing while providing litigation support to attorneys on-demand. In his free time he enjoys hitting the links, talking baseball and listening to music. Patrick is in the process of obtaining his Paralegal Certificate from Oakland University and is on schedule to earn that in December of 2023.
Samantha Riddle joined Hutchinson Cannatella, P.C in October of 2019 as a Legal Administrator. Sammi has proven to be a crucial addition to mitigating the busy workflow the firm has experienced. The attention to detail and sound review skillset demonstrated in her work product took the weight off of each attorney and staff member’s crowded schedules. In her free time she enjoys spending time with her family, fiancé and her beloved pup, Dex.
Tiffany Ghannam joined Hutchinson Cannatella, P.C. in August 2021. Before joining the firm, she worked in several crucial litigation support roles. Since her arrival she has demonstrated a clear willingness to learn on the fly and help limit the workload by any means necessary. In her free time she enjoys traveling, cooking and finding any excuse to be outside.
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