Summary
In a special edition episode of The Effective Lawyer, Jack Zinda takes center stage in San Diego as a guest on Simon Law Group’s podcast, ‘Justice Team’. Joined by Attorneys Brandon Simon, Greyson Goody, and Evan Garcia of the Simon Law Group, this week we journey into the experiences that taught Jack how to build a highly successful, multi-state, personal injury law firm that employs 80 members of staff, including 26 attorneys, many of whom are licensed in more than 10 states – from New York to Florida to Texas.
Discussed in this episode:
● An introduction to Jack Zinda and the Simon Law Group team
● Advantages of practicing law in one state over another
● Attorneys with licenses in multiple states
● Time management while practicing law
● Being intentional about making time
● The skills and experiences that made Jack the person he is today
Why file a case in one state over another?
Working backwards from the advantages of a country-wide firm to Jack’s character-building experience as a dishwasher in his father’s restaurant, Jack explains that jurisdictional decisions at Zinda Law Group depends on ‘what is best for the client.’
For example, for small cases it doesn’t make sense to uproot clients to the other side of the country to file their case. However, in other cases one state may have an advantageous rule of evidence over another.
Is it difficult for attorneys to license in several states?
“Once you get past the 5-year mark it is not too difficult to get licensed in other jurisdictions”, Jack remarks. However, it is important to know the rules of reciprocity for different states, since each are unique.
And apparently, some of the attorneys at his firm are qualified to practice in not 10 or 12, but 15 states.
A day in the life of Jack Zinda
“I consider it a victory if I spend 25 percent of my time practicing law. We have nearly 80 employees, and there is always some fire going on somewhere,” Jack admits.
The reality is, between firefighting, admin, and meetings, his caseload has gone from 15 all the way down to 3 out of necessity.
But, it is not all bad. He says over the years he has learned that ‘being intentional about making the time to practice law’ has been the most valuable life and work lesson.
Being intentional
Like he tells his employees, especially the younger attorneys who are eager to please and haven’t yet walked the walk of life, working long hours does not equate to productivity.
“I think there is a diminishing return if you are working so many hours”, he wisely explains.
Instead of sitting at his desk for 80 hours but producing 40 hours of work, he makes time for breaks, keeps Saturday as a family day and, in the end, finds it makes him a better lawyer.
And how did Jack become so experienced?
Well, he says, working in his father’s restaurant was the best lesson on ‘learning how to deal with people’. Then, straight out of law school, a very trusting family law firm gave him the reigns to assemble a personal injury department. Together the experiences gave him the business, legal and people skills needed to craft the Zinda Law Group of today.
Links:
● https://youtu.be/EiEUTPbFiqA
