Akron Beacon Journal: Tim Misny: Who’s the man behind the raised eyebrow and ‘make them pay’ promise?
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When Lisa Alleman’s husband Ronald was killed in 2008 by a semi that jackknifed on black ice, she was in shock and didn’t know what to do.
Her father called attorney Tim Misny, who had represented another family member in a personal-injury case.
“It’ll be okay,” Misny told Alleman, who was barely able to speak. “We’ll handle it.”
Misny helped Alleman through the early days after the crash, then spent several years negotiating a settlement with the semi driver’s company that included both a payout and a change in procedure aimed at preventing future accidents. He also helped Alleman with simple tasks, like learning how to start a lawnmower.
When Alleman asked Misny to be the godfather of Gray, her then 2-year-old child, he agreed. Last spring, he attended Gray’s graduation at Lakewood High School.
“I just can’t say enough good things about him,” Alleman said. “I feel like Ronald’s looking down on us and kind of had a hand in the whole thing. It’s a blessing.”
Misny, who got teary when talking about Gray’s graduation during a recent interview, points to Alleman’s case as the heart of what he does. He said he “makes them pay” — the trademarked phrase that’s featured on his billboards and TV ads — but also tries to force improvements to prevent repeats of the accidents that devastate his clients.
“I change the way people do business,” he said during a recent interview in the hunting lodge on his 80-acre estate in Waite Hill that’s known as Misnyland.
Misny, who will turn 70 in April, has been an attorney for 43 years. He’s become famous in Northeast Ohio and across the state for his billboards and TV spots that feature his bald head, raised eyebrow and pointed finger, along with variations of his “make them pay” promise. A mockumentary of his life is in the works and is expected to come out next year.
The Beacon Journal talked to Misny about his life, his rise from humble beginnings to fame, and his future plans. He admits to not having a successor in mind yet, though he is at least pleased that one of his three kids can copy his signature eyebrow lift.
Misny works his way through high school, college and law school
Misny grew up in a one-bedroom bungalow in Euclid.
To pay for his tuition to St. Joseph’s High School, he worked at a golf course, where he made 50 cents an hour cleaning locker rooms and bathrooms. If he worked all day on a Saturday, he’d take home $5.
“At that moment, I realized that if I truly work hard, I can have anything I want,” Misny said.
Misny, who had been the editor of his high school paper, worked as a full-time reporter for Sun Newspapers while he pursued his undergraduate degree at John Carroll University. He filled in for other journalists, writing about everything from politics to obituaries.
He was told he could no longer write obituaries, though, after he – facing a deadline – wrote a fake one.
Misny said being a reporter taught him how to tell a story succinctly, which was useful with his legal career and in marketing.
Misny worked at the Euclid Prosecutor’s Office while attending law school at Cleveland State University and after he passed the bar in 1981. He tried and won 100 trials, though he said he picked cases that he thought he had a good chance of winning.
Misny said Prosecutor David Lombardo taught him valuable lessons, including not to lie. Lombardo told him that a lie is like a drop of black ink in a clear jug of water. In 10 minutes, it will be gray.
“I live by that creed,” Misny said. “I’m not smart enough to lie.”
Misny worked for the Cleveland Patrolman’s Association for about four years and represented many officers involved in accidents. This helped propel him into focusing on personal-injury cases, though the seed for this had been planted years before.
Veronica Vulich, Misny’s maternal grandmother, took him to Tower City when he was 8. She told him about how Joseph Vulich, his grandfather, was an immigrant bricklayer and worked on this downtown Cleveland building. He died when faulty scaffolding collapsed. Veronica’s only compensation was her husband’s final paycheck.
Misny asked his grandmother if people lived at Tower City.
“Lawyers have offices,” she told him. “One day, you too will have an office. People will need you.”
Misny starts small and builds up to big
Misny started his practice with a small office in Euclid and a secretary.
“I did everything,” he recalled. “I watered the plant. I went to the bank.”
He lived in a one-room apartment, where he had no lamp and opened the fridge for light. When he could afford it, he went to Sedlak Interiors and bought a floor lamp.
“Someday, I’ll have a nice place to put it in,” thought Misny, who now has this lamp in the hunting lodge of his estate.
Misny started advertising on television in the 1990s, when he still had some hair. He said he writes and directs his own commercials and tries to make each a “mini movie.” He’s done 67 commercials that are rotated among the television markets.
Misny did end up getting an office in Tower City and was able to share this with his grandmother, who was then in her 90s. He still has an office in Cleveland, though no longer at Tower City, and in 19 other Ohio cities, including Akron, Canton, Columbus and Youngstown.
He said the offices are mainly to help steer clients his way when looking online for an attorney. He mainly meets with them at the hospital or their homes.
Misny, who calls himself “a marketer with a law degree,” said the idea for advertising on billboards came when he was driving with his family and saw a blank billboard. He called the company and made them a deal – he would rent their blank billboards at a discounted rate.
Misny started with 12 billboards, with one near Cleveland Hopkins International Airport netting him a call for a good case. He boosted this to 24, then 50, then 75. He now has 299 billboards across northern Ohio.
The billboards mainly have variations of his slogan, “I’ll make them pay,” and target people who have been hurt in car crashes, workplace accidents or surgical mishaps.
Misny says he takes ‘prime-cut’ cases
Misny said his office gets about 12,000 inquiries a week.
He said he and his staff whittle this down to 100 “prime-cut” cases that they take a week.
“We only take cases in which we can prove clear liability and real damages,” Misny said.
Misny has about 20 people working for him, but he is the only attorney. He said his staff helps with marketing and case acquisition, management and resolution. He said he partners with six lawyers who have areas of expertise, such as pediatric malpractice.
Misny gives his clients his cellphone number and tells them they can call him anytime.
“Communication is absolutely critical,” he said, noting that this is normally the No. 1 complaint people have about their attorney.
Most of Misny’s cases settle before going to trial, though many end up in mediation. His website includes a list of big settlements, including $50 million in a class-action lawsuit and $7.5 million in a medical negligence suit.
Misny has a class action suit that he’s expecting to go to trial this summer in Lake County Common Pleas Court. He represents hundreds of residents who live near the Kirtland Country Club, which has skeet shooting on the weekends.
His clients include a family with a 12-year-old autistic boy who is sensitive to loud noises and a Vietnam War veteran who has flashbacks when he hears shooting.
Misny said the country club has so far been unwilling to reach an agreement, and he thinks the first of several trials will start in June.
“I look forward to it,” he said. “I love being in front of a jury.”
Mark Petzing, the general manager of the country club, did not respond to requests for comment.
More:5 questions with attorney Tim Misny, who promises to ‘make them pay’
Misny forms lasting bonds with some clients
Anthony Iosue hired Misny as his attorney in 2015 after a woman who was texting and driving slammed into the back of his car at a red light while going 45 mph.
“Who else do you go to but the guy who will ‘make them pay?’” asked Iosue, 64, who lived in Cleveland but now resides in Florida.
After the crash, Iosue had back surgery to repair damage to two of his vertebrae.
He said Misny gave him his cellphone number and answered his calls right away.
Misny negotiated a settlement in the case in about a year and a half. Iosue said he was satisfied with the six-figure deal.
Iosue reached out to Misny a few years later when he reinjured his back at work when a chair broke. This time, Misny referred him to another attorney who specializes in worker’s compensation cases.
Iosue said he has kept in touch with Misny, including getting birthday and Christmas cards from him. He has suggested that others injured in accidents hire Misny.
“If anybody calls me and they need help, I send them to Tim Misny,” he said. “He will ‘make them pay’ and he’ll do it in a kind way. He’ll represent you because he represents the truth.”
Alleman, who lost her husband in the crash with a semi, said Misny also gave her his cellphone number and answered her calls. She said he was patient when she had questions.
Alleman said Misny negotiated a settlement, though it took several years. She said the agreement didn’t just involve money.
“Making them pay does not exclusively pertain to monetary references – there are also changes in the way things are done, which is what I appreciate most,” she said.
Alleman said Misny has been a great godfather to Gray, including being there for birthdays, holidays, shopping trips and phone calls. She said they have lots of “Misny merch,” which he sells online for charity.
Gray said having Misny at their graduation was the highlight of the event, especially introducing him to everyone.
“He’s an all-around great guy,” Gray said. “He’s really cool. He’s very accepting of everyone.”
Misny – and his image – are in high demand
Misny regularly gets interesting requests from people wanting to use his image or have him take part in an event.
Jarod Gordan, a Cleveland State engineering student, emailed Misny last September to ask if he would allow their astronautics team to use his image on the front of their robot in a NASA Lunabotics Competition.
Misny agreed to his image being used and offered to provide $500 for the team’s travel expenses when they compete in May.
Gordan said he was “extremely” surprised and pleased that Misny agreed to the request. He hopes this fun twist will bring them luck.
Misny recently agreed to help the Cleveland Institute of Music with an April Fool’s Day spoof. We won’t give away the prank, but we’re sure he’ll “make them play.”
He also agreed to be a guest model at the next Fashion Week in Cleveland.
“I’m working on my catwalk in which I raise an eyebrow — and point,’’ he said.
Misny reached 50,000 followers in late January on Facebook, where he regularly posts videos and photos and has features like “Tell Me Something Good Tuesday” and another in which his 15-year-old son Max teaches him phrases popular with youth. He also has a presence on Instagram, TikTok and Reddit.
Misny, though, isn’t well known outside of Northeast Ohio, which can be perplexing to visitors.
A Reddit poster in December said he saw a “guy in a gold suit wishing me a ‘Safe 2025’ and, everywhere I went, I kept seeing him. None of the billboards even say who he is.”
Another Reddit poster explained, “Tim Misny is a lawyer who turned himself into a local meme. His billboards evolved from ‘Tim Misny makes them pay’ to ‘You know what he does’ and now just often feature his eyebrows or bald head or him in silly costumes. We love the confusion he causes visitors.”
Misny’s future plans include mockumentary and music festival
Misny is the subject of a mockumentary about his life by BrainDagger Films, which has made 13 independent films.
Moe Taylor, the director, said he emailed Misny and said, “I want to do a mockumentary kind of ‘Spinal Tap’ film.”
“Heck, yeah,” Misny responded. “Let’s do it!”
The next day, Taylor had dinner with Misny at his home and they shot a promo for the film. Taylor said they now have a “bro-mance.”
Taylor, 46, put out a call for originally composed songs about Misny, and more than 400 were submitted. He said not everyone understood the rules, though, with some providing songs that had nothing to do with Misny. He said the best songs are on Misny’s Instagram page.
Taylor said a scene for the film will be shot during a free concert on March 29 at 5 O’Clock Lounge in Lakewood.
The movie is expected to be finished by next summer, when it will be shown in Cleveland-area theaters and then be put into the international film festival circuit.
Misny said he agreed to do the movie because “I want to spread my philosophy.” Though the movie with be fun, he said it will touch on more serious issues, like the importance of honesty and hard work.
Misny regularly speaks at universities, including past talks at Kent State University. He will speak at the University of Akron in April.
Misny said there will be a “Make Them Pay” music festival in July at nine venues in Cleveland. The festival will benefit the City Mission, a Cleveland homeless shelter where Misny also donates the proceeds from his merchandise store, misnymerch.com.
Though Misny will turn 70 on April 22, he doesn’t show any signs of slowing down. He also doesn’t have a successor in mind. He did say, though, that his daughter Ruby is the only of his kids who can do an eyebrow lift and has taken an interest in his work.
“I want to raise my kids to be good kids,” he said. “If there happens to be a law degree …”
Misny, though, said he can imagine himself continuing to work on his death bed. A nurse might come in and say she was rear-ended on her way to work, and he will tell her, “Grab my card and call my office.”
“I’m going to be hustling to the very end,” Misny predicted.
View – Where the billboards are: A sampling of attorney Tim Misny’s Akron-area signs
