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Henke is a REAL
BIKER LAWYER
not like some auto
driving lawyers who
pretend to be bikers so
they can claim to be
"Motorcycle Lawyers."
It is very common for auto driving auto accident lawyers to refer to themselves in advertisements as "motorcycle accident lawyers" or worse, "biker lawyers." As the result, Mr. Henke finds himself compelled to lay it out for you that he is the real thing. Henke is the founder of Motorcyclists Against Dumb Drivers. He is a member of ABATE, and a member of Bikers of Lesser Tolerance, a small, invitation only, national bikers rights group devoted to protecting the dignity and freedoms of all riders, both in the legislatures and in the courts.. And in addition to publishing 30 articles in legal jounals, including "Trial," the journal of the American Trial Lawyers Association, he has also published serious biker rights articles in numerous biker magazines, including a regular column in "BIKER" magazine, also in "Born to Ride," "Thunder Press," and other motorcyclist magazines.
Henke isn't saying that being a real biker is the beginning and end of what you should consider in selecting a lawyer for your motorcycle accident. The reasons why we suggest that it is one important factor are discussed in the center column of this page. Very important for your to consider is the lawyer's qualifications and track record as a trial lawyer. Henke has also candidly set forth on the other pages of this site many of his legal qualifications and accomplishments. A lawyer who is not a biker could learn what I've referred to here as "motorcycle physics" and conceivably he could do just as well interrogating, for example, the sophisticated opposing motorcycle accident reconstruction experts. This may also be something that you might wish to consider inquiring about with the auto driving "motorcycle accident lawyers" whom you may choose to interview. But there is another aspect of the attorney-client relationship, and that is trust. What Henke doesn't want misunderstood is that he is telling the truth when he represents himself to you as a "biker laywer." Henke is the real deal. He is a real biker. And he is an accomplished lawyer.
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Two Reasons:
- You want your motorcycle accident lawyer to be able to understand what you tell him.
- You want your motorcycle accident lawyer to be able to competently explain it to your Jury.
A Biker Lawyer - an Attorney who is a Biker - Will Understand Motorcycle Physics.
Do you really want to deal with an auto driving personal injury lawyer who scratches his head and asks you, "Well, why didn't you just turn the handlebars more to the left if you wanted to tighten your left turn?", or "Why didn't you just slam on the brakes in the turn when the car pulled out into your lane?"
Your Biker Lawyer will Understand What You Mean When You Explain How You Maneuvered Your Motorcycle
Do you really want to look into blank or disbelieving eyes as you explain to your "motorcycle accident lawyer" how your two-wheeled bike turns as a function of its lean and counter steering? Do you think you should have to explain to your lawyer what would happen if you slammed on your brakes in a turn?
A motorcycle rider starting at age 11, driving the neighbors nuts, cutting up the orange groves above his rural home.
A biker now at 51, a real biker, just like you.
Yeah, that's right - a real biker, just like you, and that is whether you ride one of those sport bikes that always leave Henke eating their dust when taking off from intersection stops, or a cruiser, or chopper, or touring bike, or moto cross, enduro, dual purpose bike scooter or moped. Do you feel the loyalty for your two wheeled brethren? Well, so does Ray, which is why he considers himself a biker, and a real biker, just like you.
Ray Henke is a biker who has also known the feeling of the rear wheel slipping out from under him at 50 mph in a sharp heavily freeway turn as it encounters a patch of oil, and then climbing atop, sparks flying behind, rides that baby in, picking the bike up by its left bar, and limping with it to the hospital.
Ray is a biker who knows first hand what it is to take a direct hit from a car pulling out from a side street, finding himself airborne, and then running back to his bike, now a pile of twisted metal, the car's front license plate embedded in the bent back brake pedal, searching his split second memory, but unable to recall lifting his right foot from where the license plate lay.
You will be able to talk to Ray, the Biker, and count on being understood.
"IT'S ALL ABOUT UNDERSTANDING!"
That's what a Biker lawyer like Ray can do for you that an auto driving personal injury lawyer can't.
Henke, the biker lawyer, will understand what you tell him in "biker physics," the language that only bikers really understand.
Just consider exactly what it is that you do with your left grip when you go to tighten you left turn and ask, "How would I explain that to an auto driving personal injury lawyer."
Henke, the biker lawyer, will understand the effect that sand or oil can have on bike traction, and what would happen if you tried to turn or brake a bike on a gravel road. As a biker himself, Henke will understand that you cannot just "slam on your brakes" when someone pulls into your path in a sharp turn. As a biker he will understand what you mean when you say you attempted to "swerve" around an object, those two rapid fire consecutive "countersteers" that sometimes can get us out of trouble. You won't have to teach Henke the principles of motorcycle physics in order just to have your points understood.
Ray will also understand your anger, and as a fellow biker he will be angry too. Auto drivers more commonly than not have little regard, if not conscious disregard for the lives and health of bikers. Over Eighty percent of motorcycle accidents are caused by negligent automobile drivers without any fault on the part of the biker.. They turn left in front of us. They change lanes without bothering to turn their heads to see if a biker is in that ever present blind spot in their rear view mirrors. Bikers don't pose a danger to auto drivers, so they don't make certain to avoid us like they might another car. It is reprehensible! It is shameful! Bringing that out in settlement negotiations or presenting it at trial thoughtfully, forcefully and persuasively, to make the jury see it from the biker's perspective, will be one part of yours and Ray's primary objectives in the prosecution of your lawsuit.
Ray will also understand your despair, and, if you feel regrets, Ray will understand those too. He will empathize, one biker to another. He will listen. And if you ask, he will share with you his realizations and those of others who have had to come to terms with the consequences of their life's decisions ~ such as the decision to ride ~ which in retrospect may at times seem to have been a decision less mindful of your future welfare than the transient thrill of the moment. But, you chose life, meaning to live life fully, and you made a positive life decision. Life dealt you a bad hand. Like it sometime deals a bad hand to an innocent child walking right smack in the center of the cross walk, just like his mother told him to. You cannot blame yourself. And you can count on getting no ignorant comments or questions from Ray about why you chose the life of an eagle in flight rather than that of a caged in parakeet.
So that you may also guage that Ray Henke is a lawyer truely committed to motorcyclist safety and biker rights, you may also consider that Henke is the founder of Motorcyclists-Against-Dumb-Drivers, located at m-a-d-d.com, a think tank devoted to identifying solutions that will significantly reduce the incidence of motorcycle accidents and hence the full panoply of motorcyclist injury. Henke also frequently writes articles for motorcyclist magazines, including BIKER magazine, Born to Ride, Thunderroad, MRF Reports. Henke is also a bikers rights advocate, and a member of BOLT and ABATE of California. As a BOLT member he served as informal legal sounding board for BOLT of California Director, Richard Quigley. Henke grew to have great respect for "Quig," and wrote an article remembering him, Richard Quigley, Our True American Biker Folk Hero
Some have written in to ask Henke for photographs of his bike, which he has accomodated on a sepate page: Ray's Harley Powered Custom Street Bike
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