Lawyer Profiles

L. Kathleen Katzell, B.A., LL.B.

Prior to joining James H. Brown & Associates in 1994, Ms. Katzell spent several years in a general law practice. Ms. Katzell has been involved in numerous large injury cases involving clients who have suffered serious injuries such a quadriplegia, paraplegia and brain injuries as a result of motor vehicle accidents. She has experience at all court levels in Alberta and has represented clients from Alberta, British Columbia and the Northwest Territories. She formerly held an executive position with the Insurance Law subsection of the Canadian Bar Association and has been a longstanding member of the Alberta Civil Trial Lawyers Association. In addition to being a busy lawyer, Ms. Katzell's schedule is largely dictated by the numerous school and sporting activities of her three children. Having previously worked with Parks Canada, it is her belief that time spent hiking, camping or skiing in the Canadian Rockies is time well spent. Ms. Katzell is married with three children.
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David A. Huculak, B.A., LL.B.

After working as an insurance defence lawyer for several years, Mr. Huculak joined James H. Brown & Associates in 1996 in order to devote himself exclusively to representing people injured as a result of the negligence of others. Mr. Huculak has extensive experience representing clients who have suffered very serious injuries such as quadriplegia, paraplegia and brain injuries as a result of motor vehicle accidents. In addition, Mr. Huculak has successfully handled medical malpractice claims, slip and fall cases, assault cases and cases involving defective automobile components. Mr. Huculak has conducted trials in the Alberta Provincial Court, Alberta Court of Queen's Bench and Yukon Supreme Court as well as appeals in the Court of Appeal of Alberta and the Yukon Court of Appeal. Mr. Huculak is a member of the Alberta Civil Trial Lawyers Association and the American Association for Justice. Mr. Huculak is married with four children and two grandchildren. He is active in the Conservative Party of Canada and enjoys weight training, running and hiking.
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James P. O'Neill, B.Comm., LL.B.

Prior to joining James H. Brown & Associates in 1998, Mr. O'Neill spent several years working in the insurance industry where he gained valuable insight into the practices and tactics of insurance companies. Since joining James H. Brown and Associates Mr. O'Neill has enjoyed outstanding success representing seriously injured clients including those suffering catastrophic injuries such as quadriplegia, paraplegia and brain injury. Mr. O'Neill is a past Director of the Kinsmen Club of Edmonton and also a past chair of the organizing committee of the Canadian Paraplegic Association golf tournament. Mr. O'Neill is a member of the Alberta Civil Trial Lawyers Association and has represented clients from Alberta, British Columbia and the Northwest Territories. Mr. O'Neill is married with two children.
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Alan P. Brackett, B.A., LL.B.

Prior to joining James H. Brown & Associates in 1999, Mr. Brackett accumulated extensive experience in the insurance industry where he was a senior member of the claims department of one of the largest insurance companies in Canada. Mr. Brackett's knowledge of the insurance industry has enabled him to successfully conclude very serious and difficult injury cases including those involving quadriplegia, paraplegia and severe brain injuries. Mr. Brackett has extensive experience as legal counsel in negotiation, mediation and judicial dispute resolution of civil claims. He is a member of the Alberta Civil Trial Lawyers Association, the Law Society of Alberta and the Law Society of Upper Canada. Mr. Brackett is married with three children.
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Richard J. Mallett, LL.B.

Prior to joining James H. Brown and Associates in 1999, Mr. Mallett worked for many years as an insurance defence lawyer at a large Edmonton law firm. Mr. Mallett now acts exclusively for victims of injustice and has handled many catastrophic injury cases including those involving fatalities, brain injuries, spinal cord injuries and other extremely serious injuries. In addition, he has handled nursing home abuse cases, medical malpractice cases and class action cases including representing claimants with respect to Maple Leaf Foods listeriosis issues and the Hepatitis C tainted blood scandal cases. Mr. Mallett has successfully concluded numerous multi-million dollar cases including a spinal cord injury case which resulted in a settlement in excess of $5 million which, to our knowledge, is the largest spinal cord injury settlement ever achieved in Alberta. Mr. Mallett is the past President of the Alberta Civil Trial Lawyers Association and a member of the American Association for Justice. He is a member of the Law Societies of Alberta and British Columbia and is a member of the bar in the Northwest Territories and Yukon. Mr. Mallet is married with three children.
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Lee J. Rusinko, B.A., LL.B.

Prior to joining James H. Brown & Associates in 2003, Mr. Rusinko spent several years with a large Edmonton law firm acting as defence counsel for insurance companies. Mr. Rusinko credits his experience "on the other side of the fence" where he gained valuable exposure to the practices and tactics of insurance companies with the enormous success he has had in representing seriously injured clients. Mr. Rusinko has been involved in many major injury settlements including a $3.9 million brain injury settlement which involved an accident caused by a drunk driver and a $1.3 million settlement for a family who suffered the loss of a loved one in an accident involving a logging truck. Mr. Rusinko has also handled injury cases involving jet boats and other watercraft as well as insurance disability policy denials. Mr. Rusinko has experience in all levels of court in Alberta and has successfully concluded claims in the Federal Court of Canada. In addition, Mr. Rusinko has been involved in cases in British Columbia, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. He is an active member of the Alberta Civil Trial Lawyers Association. Mr. Rusinko is married with three children.
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Terrence M. Kulasa, B.A., LL.B.

Mr. Kulasa obtained his law degree in 1977 and has practised civil litigation since 1978 handling personal injury and disability cases. He was president of the Edmonton Bar Association in 1991 and has been a member of the Alberta Civil Trial Lawyers Association since it was founded in 1985. For many years he was a member of the Multidiscipline Association for the Study of Chronic Pain, an Edmonton group of dentists, doctors, chiropractors, physiotherapists, psychologists and lawyers who have a common interest in the study of chronic pain. He has presented papers on brain injury, fibromyalgia, jury trials, TMJ injuries, expert witness briefing and procedural matters to meetings of the Canadian Bar Association, dental seminars and at the Glenrose Hospital. He has conducted over 30 trials on personal injury matters and established several leading precedents. In 1988 he proved that one can have a brain injury without a head strike or a loss of consciousness. In 1994 he had the first case on damages for loss of housekeeping capacity decided in the Alberta Court of Appeal. Also in 1994 he established that trauma from an accident can trigger the onset of fibromyalgia. In 2008 he had the first case of cervical dystonia. He was also a founding member and President of PAID (People Against Impaired Driving) from 1982 - 1989. Mr. Kulasa is married with two daughters. His personal interests include skiing, tennis, gardening, canoeing and hiking.
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J. Trent Brown, LL.B.

Trent was born and raised in Edmonton. While attending the University of Alberta he played for the Alberta Golden Bear football team and was a two time CIAU All-Canadian cornerback. Trent went on to play 9 seasons with the Edmonton Eskimos (1990 - 1999) as a hard hitting defensive back. Trent earned a grey cup ring in 1993. He was named to the Western Division All Star team on two occasions and was named All Canadian in 1997 and 1998. Numerous concussions led to Trent retiring from football in 1999 after which he completed his Bachelor of Laws at the University of Saskatchewan prior to being admitted to the Alberta Bar. Trent is an active member of the Alberta Golden Bear and Edmonton Eskimo Alumni. Trent is very proud to have played a part in making Edmonton the City of Champions.

During his time with the Eskimos Trent worked tirelessly in the community for various charities. In addition to being the honorary spokesman for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Edmonton, Trent was an integral part of the Eskimos Stay in School Initiative and worked with the Ronald McDonald House, United Way, Carnival of Champions, Alex Taylor Community School, the D.A.R.E. program and Kids with Cancer. Trent's competitive nature and winning attitude serve him well in his legal career. He defends his client's interests with the same zeal and ferocity that allowed him to become a Grey Cup Champion and C.F.L. all star. Trent is a member of the Alberta Civil Trial Lawyers Association and the Law Society of Alberta.
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Michael N. Hoosein, LL.B.

Prior to joining James H. Brown & Associates in 2004, Mr. Hoosein was employed for several years by a major multinational insurance company in Toronto. He brings significant experience and inside knowledge with respect to the workings of the insurance industry to his personal injury practice. Mr. Hoosein practices exclusively in the areas of personal injury law, class action litigation and all aspects of insurance law including life and disability insurance claims. He has successfully handled motor vehicle accident claims, slip and fall claims, disability and insurance dispute cases and has been involved in major cases involving quadriplegia, paraplegia and brain injuries. Mr. Hoosein has participated in trials in the Alberta Provincial Court, Alberta Court of Queen's Bench and the Alberta Court of Appeal. Mr. Hoosein is a member of the Alberta Civil Trial Lawyers Association, the American Association for Justice and the Canadian Bar Association. Mr. Hoosein is married and in his spare time writes poetry and plays drums in an Edmonton band. He is very active in the community and serves on the boards of various organizations.
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