The Motorcycle Lawyer Law Firm
The Motorcycle Lawyer® focuses on serious motorcycle accident injury and death cases — not a general personal-injury menu of every claim type.
Riders and families come here after a crash to understand insurance pressure, evidence, medical impact, and next steps. The scene, vehicle damage, witnesses, helmet and gear, medical records, and insurer communications can all matter, and some of that information is lost if it is not preserved.
Jason A. Waechter
Owner, Senior Litigator · The Motorcycle Lawyersm
Jason A. Waechter is the owner and senior litigator of The Motorcycle Lawyer. His work for injured riders includes a publicly reported $27.5 million Michigan motorcycle injury verdict in May 2024.
Public professional recognition includes Super Lawyers and The National Trial Lawyers Top 100. He is the author of Litigating Motorcycle Injury & Wrongful Death Cases.
Nationwide Network
The firm has multiple lawyers in every state, vetted for trial experience and motorcycle accident wrongful-death work. Wherever the crash happened, that network is how the file gets to a specialist.
Sean P. Murphy
Senior Litigator
Sean obtained a $2,000,000 jury verdict on a loss-of-consortium claim in a motorcycle accident case — the claim for the uninjured spouse of a severely injured plaintiff.
In jury selection, the panel was asked whether they could treat that loss as real: that the spouse of a severely injured rider also suffers.
He speaks to Michigan motorcycle groups about Michigan law and rider safety.
- State Bar of Michigan; Michigan Association for Justice
- Trial College, Michigan Association for Justice, 2010
- University of Michigan, B.A., 2004
- Wayne State University Law School, J.D., 2007
Susan J. Thomas
No-Fault Attorney
Susan has practiced law for more than 25 years, with a no-fault focus for injured clients.
- State Bar of Michigan, Illinois, and North Carolina
- Michigan Association for Justice
- Baldwin-Wallace College, B.A.
- University of Detroit Law School, J.D.
Stephen F. Hardy
Senior Litigator
Stephen is a trial lawyer with 15 years of experience representing injured people. Reported results include settlements of $1,250,000, $1,000,000, $800,000, and $765,000. Results vary by case and are not a guarantee of future outcomes.
His work includes motorcycle crashes, car crashes, and premises liability. He has represented clients throughout Michigan and has defended results in the Court of Appeals.
He attended Thomas M. Cooley Law School on scholarship, graduated a semester early with honors, and served as a Law Review editor. Peers have selected him as a Super Lawyer Rising Star.
Outside the courtroom he coaches, travels, smokes meat, and spends time up north — in the woods, on a boat, or on a golf course — with his wife and two children.
Aaron Martinez
Litigator
Aaron is a trial lawyer with more than 10 years of experience in legal and legislative work, including political consulting and media strategy. He is focused on defending clients in court.
He is a graduate of James Madison College at Michigan State University and the University of Detroit Mercy Law School. Michigan Lawyers Weekly named him to the 2026 Class of Up & Coming Lawyers.
- State Bar of Michigan
- Michigan Association for Justice
Julie Taylor
Personal Injury Paralegal
Julie joined the firm in 2016 with more than 30 years in the legal industry, including defense-side litigation. That background is how she reads insurance companies and defense counsel on motorcycle, truck, auto, slip-and-fall, and dog-bite claims.
She handles day-to-day claim work and stays with clients through the file. A Downriver resident, she has two grown sons and a teenage granddaughter. She and her husband spend time in Traverse City, with family, and traveling.
Tina M. Beckes
Personal Injury Paralegal
Tina joined the firm in 2018. She has more than two decades of experience in personal injury and family law.
She grew up in Dearborn, Michigan, in a family tied to the motorcycle community. Off the clock she spends time with family, travels, and kayak fishes.
Cris Vivian
Personal Injury Paralegal
Erika Michel
Legal Secretary
Erika has more than 25 years in the legal industry. She comes from a family of attorneys — grandfather, father, and brother — and spent Saturday mornings at her dad’s office as a kid, sipping coffee she had no business drinking, “taking care of clients.”
She works personal-injury files and is in it to help people get the best outcome available. When she is not at the office she is with family, on a cruise, or in Augusta with her two grandsons.
