Conviction Over Fear: Building a Law Firm From Zero with Adam Zayed

Written by Clay Stelzer

You can do anything from above the line or below the line, meaning you can do anything from a place of love and creativity, or you can do that very same thing from a place of fear. When I see someone super motivated, I get really curious. I poke and I prod, looking for the unhealthy motivation driving it. A lot of the time there's a worthiness at stake, some existential attachment to success.

The more I poke and prod and hang out with Adam Zayed, the more I love his playfulness and curiosity around his drive. It feels healthier than a lot of what I see.

Adam is a good friend of mine. We've talked about hiring and culture a number of times, and we've spent plenty of time on the golf course making dumb jokes about all the horrible shots we hit. If you've been in Chicago and seen an orange Z on any of the highway billboards, that's Adam. He's an award-winning trial attorney and founder of the Zayed Law Offices, where he represents individuals and families facing life-changing injuries and wrongful death cases. He started the firm at 25. He answered his own phones for two years, put together his own letters and envelopes, and wore the suit every day because his uncle told him to take it seriously. Sixteen years later, he's recovered more than $150 million for his clients.

In this episode, we talk about:

  • How he secured his first clients when he was just graduating law school

  • Getting called back to chambers by a federal judge who told him, "I'm disappointed. Don't do that again."

  • What he did when the phone wasn't ringing

  • The attorneys who reported him for writing "attorneys" when it was only him

  • Why he's not a big fan of hiring from within for management

  • His one piece of advice for young leaders: don't dabble


My Key Takeaways from this conversation with Adam Zayed:


1. What makes a phone ring?

Adam was looking at a phone that wasn't ringing, and his first question was, what makes a phone ring? That is an entrepreneurial question to ask. That's the curiosity any entrepreneur needs to be successful. I told Adam I think he's an entrepreneur playing lawyer. I don't mean he's not an incredible lawyer. He's an entrepreneur who is deeply skilled at being a lawyer, and he told me I'm not the first person to say it.

2. Opportunity may not equal growth.

As business owners and leaders, we may think opportunity for everyone equals growth. For someone working for you, the opportunity may be not needing to grow at all. It may be kicking ass in this role, knowing their place on the team and supporting the company to become what it's trying to become. That's a huge opportunity for a lot of people, and I wish more companies would reward it.

3. Have the conversation before the promotion.

It's so common for people to get promoted into leadership roles because that's culturally what we do. Adam put it simply: "It's a different skill set, dude." Before we promote someone, there's a different kind of conversation we should be having. Is this actually something you want, or are you just unconsciously trying to climb the ladder everyone tells us as kids we should climb? Get really clear about what turns them on, and see if your interests align. Do you care about each other? That's usually what makes these things work.

4. Don't dabble.

When I asked Adam for his one piece of advice for a young, aspiring leader, he didn't hesitate. "Don't dabble." Once you've made your decision, you gotta learn everything about it and strive for almost encyclopedic knowledge of that particular thing. In his words, "It's the only way you'll be able to lead the team that one day you'll need." And when comfort comes along, and it will, you have to avoid the trap of comfort.

5. Ride the lightning.

Adam is on a vision quest. He wants to ride the lightning. I'm getting him a t-shirt. I got in touch with my own competitive self more in the past few years than ever, probably because I had an unhealthy relationship with it growing up. If I lost, that meant something about who I was as a human being. Now it's fun. I'm riding the lightning in my life much more than I did as a young person, and it's fun to witness Adam doing the same.

When I asked Adam what helps the giant in him rise up when fear drags him down, he said, "I want to do really good for people." That's the one thing he says he can never compromise on. 

Listen to the full conversation: 

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Clay Stelzer
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