The law firm, which specializes in medical malpractice, Social Security, class action, mass tort and criminal defense, has four attorneys listed on its website, including principal Brian Dailey. It was founded in 1927 in Iowa and relocated to metro Detroit in 1992, with additional offices in Chicago and Indianapolis.
Dailey did not return a message for comment, nor did Scott Kwiatkowski, attorney at Southfield-based Goldstein Bershad & Fried PC representing Dailey’s firm in the bankruptcy case.
The financial trouble for Dailey Law began with family issues and a cancer diagnosis, which was exacerbated by liquidity shortcomings brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the bankruptcy cover sheet.
Then in 2021, the law firm discovered that a former employee allegedly “wrongfully diverted” $600,000 in settlement proceeds. The firm was ordered to pay $600,000 into Wayne County Circuit Court in connection to the settlement from about five years ago, the filing said. Unable to pay the sum, the firm was appointed a receiver.
Dailey Law filed a lawsuit earlier this year against insurance company Travelers Indemnity Co. in an attempt to recoup the $600,000 that was allegedly embezzled. According to that lawsuit, Dailey contracted Travelers in 2010 to protect