For Attorney Joshua Malher, personal injury is a passion born from his own life experience.
Years ago, as a younger man, Josh was rear-ended by a driver while sitting at a traffic light. Josh escaped without injury, but his then-girlfriend, now-wife, suffered substantial injuries to her neck and back. The young couple sought out an attorney to help them with their claim for personal injury. The attorney they hired was curt, dismissive, and ultimately recovered only a fraction of what their case was worth. He also left them with huge medical bills and a very bad taste in their mouths.
So, Josh did what any rational person would do: he went to law school to become a personal injury attorney.
While in law school, Josh clerked for Judge William Boklund in LaPorte Superior Court and Judge Gregg Donat in Tippecanoe County Superior Court. Josh became a published author, contributing to the Justices of the Indiana Supreme Court (available at Amazon.com and Google Books). Josh was also a member and Associate Justice of the Moot Court Honor Society.
After graduation, Josh was fortunate enough to work with one of Lake County’s preeminent civil attorneys, Michael Back. When Mr. Back passed away, Josh spent the following five years honing his skills as a personal injury and civil attorney and focusing on recovering substantial settlements and judgments for his clients. Then, seeking to broaden his experience and sharpen his trial acumen, Josh joined the Lake County Prosecutor’s Office, where he successfully tried misdemeanor and felony cases, including acting as the sole prosecutor in a murder trial, which was a rarity at the time. While working for the Prosecutor, one of his most challenging cases was against Paul Stracci and his team at Stracci Law Group. Shortly after the trial, Mr. Stracci approached Josh and asked him to join the firm to develop a personal injury practice offering the same kind of relentless advocacy it offered to their criminal clients. Josh happily accepted, anxious to return to working with injured and aggrieved parties in the civil courts while using the skills developed at the prosecutor’s office to help criminal defendants. He joined the Stracci Law Group in 2018.
In his spare time, Josh enjoys exploring hair replacement options, collecting vintage fruit stickers (stickers on fruit, not of fruit), playing the music of Stephen Sondheim on the theremin, pondering the infinite, mocking houseplants, reconciling the false dichotomy of free will versus determinism, taunting shellfish, struggling with post-modern solipsism, practicing sandwichcraft, challenging the iron grip of the czars of fashion in the world of haute couture, competitive handshaking, and writing silly, mostly made-up personal facts to see if anyone actually reads this stuff.
Education:
Valparaiso School of Law, Juris Doctorate
Purdue University, West Lafayette, Bachelor of Arts; graduated with Highest Distinction
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