May 16, 2014

Over the years I have been asked plenty of times how I ended up doing what I’m doing.  I guess the short answer is dumb luck.  I’m lucky that I stumbled into a job that I love waking up and going to everyday, but this was never my intention.  My intention was to get a cushy job in a corner office, sitting in front of a computer and physically and mentally clocking out at 5:00pm every day.  That’s not quite what I got.

I grew up in Dayton, Ohio, just down the road from Toledo.  I went to a Catholic school (though I’ve never claimed to be Catholic).  My dad was a police officer, and eventually retired as a Lieutenant with the Dayton Police Department.  My mother still is still in administration at a retirement home and is a patient representative.  I suppose, based on that it makes sense that I would end up in the legal field representing people.

My parents taught me a whole lot about responsibility, work ethic and helping people out.  They have always been the best examples of doing the right thing by everyone I come in contact with.  To this day this extends to my friends, family and my clients.

After high school I went to Miami University in Oxford, OH where I was lucky enough to meet my wife.  She helped make sure that I reached my full potential and morally supported me while I took the LSAT and applied to law schools.  She didn’t even make too big a fuss when I had to move to Toledo for law school while she was still at Miami University.

She followed me up to Toledo after graduation and got a job.  Pretty much the day I graduated law school was the day that the real estate bubble burst.  She was lucky enough to have a good job, so we weren’t going anywhere.  By the time I passed the bar and got admitted, every business in Toledo was cutting back; no one was hiring.  I fumbled around for a while trying to find a job that I was qualified for.  I was selling power tools at Sears.  Wasn’t a terrible job, but I figured I had $100,000+ worth of knowledge rattling around in my brain. So I did the most irresponsible thing I could think of:  I started a business from scratch in the middle of the worst economy in a century.

I started by taking any case I could find, and accepting just about anything that walked in the door.  Not something I’m super proud of, but I learned a lot.  Eventually I discovered that what I really enjoyed doing is helping people through the worst times in their lives.  I found that I am really good being the steadying force in a small portion of their lives.  My clients stopped worrying so much, and let me worry for them.