A Letter From Dan and Debbie Dicken

Mark,

I wanted to write and thank the Early and Strauss family for the wonderful job they did handling Dan's mesothelioma case. When we called them in May of 2002, we were scared to death of what was happening to Dan. Jim Early came here to our home and made us feel so comfortable about the lawsuit that Dan was rightfully entitled to. He was very knowledgeable about mesothelioma cancer, which was a new and scary word to us. He assured us that everything would be done to help Dan get a settlement, so he could be at peace knowing that our 16-year-old daughter and I would be taken care of.

Everything happened so fast, Dan wasn't feeling well and Mark was always willing to work around his illness and how he was feeling at the time. Mark was a shear joy and a great friend; we seemed to have a friendship with him the moment we met. He was so confident and knew exactly what he was doing. Dan was amazed at all the things Mark rekindled in his head that he thought he left behind in the Navy, 32 years ago. Mr. Early said Mark knew his stuff when it came to asbestos and the shipyards, and he was right on. Also Pamela Malone, we couldn't have gotten through it without her, we felt as though everyone there at the firm knew us personally and that meant a lot.

Here it is April 2003 and Dan is still hanging in there, he has good days and bad days, but we thank God for every day we have. It has been less than a year since we first met you all and all of the cases have been settled, at an amount much larger than we could have ever imagined. If you only knew what this has done for Dan. He is so appreciative that you have given him such peace of mind.

Dan was diagnosed one year ago, in April, and this has been the worst year of our 35 years together. We have been through surgeries, chemo, blood transfusions, numerous hospital stays, and moving to a new city for 6 weeks. We've had lots of ups and downs, but we are still hanging in there. Dan's determination is so admirable, he is a fighter and he never gives up. We pray everyday that the cure for Mesothelioma will save Dan's life. Thanks to your firm we will be able to do some things that otherwise would not have been able to. Once again, we would like to thank and pray you can help others as you have us.

May God Bless you all,

Dan and Debbie Dicken