He was delivering newspapers to help make ends meet when a car driven by an older woman plowed into my father’s.
Dad hired a lawyer when he was out of the hospital. But he hired one who advertised in the Penny Saver.
The guy was a volume shop who never litigated cases, so he passed my dad’s case to another lawyer with a litigation firm.The minute this lawyer came to our house, I, a 14-year-old boy, could see his lack of confidence. I thought to myself, ‘If this guy graduated law school, anybody can.’
The amount of money they got for my father was a joke.
I felt awful when I saw my father’s deep disappointment and the measly amount, and a thought raced through my mind, ‘One day, I’m going to be a lawyer.’
It was a big dream considering my upbringing.
I’m from New York. I’m a latchkey kid. Mom did clerical work. Dad did odd jobs and started training me to box when I was six years old. Money was tight, but we had “three hots and a cot.”
Growing up, I had a giant chip on my shoulder. I inherited my father’s Napoleonic complex. Kids picked on me because I was small, and my dad taught me to respond like an idiot; he expected me to beat up bullies. In college, I learned what trauma behavior is; there are many moments I wish I could redo.
After college, I did a brief stint in Los Angeles as a production assistant. I worked on the Donnie & Marie Show and the movie, Suicide Kings. But quickly, my desire to be a lawyer won out.
After law school, my first job was a baptism by fire. I was an associate for a prominent trial lawyer, and it put me in front of judges regularly, litigating, doing depositions, and trying cases. And in my first three years, I did five jury trials. (Unheard of).
