Interesting Lawyers Podcast: Ryan Weschler- Litigation is all about the fight

TRANSCRIPT

Hello, and welcome to the Lawyer Better podcast. Today we have Ryan Wechsler, a trial lawyer at the law firm of Long Jean and Wechsler, located in Pompano Beach. By way of background, Ryan attended Florida State University undergraduate and law school. He’s been practicing for eight years. And before we get into it with Ryan, the reason I selected him for this podcast is because I want to have up and coming lawyers. Not just the stars of today, but the stars of tomorrow.
And I really believe that Ryan is one of those. Ryan, thank you so much for coming on today. How are you doing? I’m doing great, and thank you for that introduction. No worries. So, tell us why you are,
you know, one thing about you, and not only have I known you for a couple of years and had the privilege of working with you. with you, but just last week I was at a trial in the Palm Beach County Courthouse,
and I got to see you in action, and not just against any defense attorney, but a guy who’s been practicing for, from the looks of him, at least 40 years. A real, no, a real pro,
and, you know, I think you had a great judge and a great experience, but we’re going to get into that. Well, it’s funny, during motion practice, we were… He and I got… got, it was a combative issue,
and I said, Your Honor, the defendant’s lawyer wants to act like he doesn’t know what the rule is, but he’s been practicing law longer than I’ve been alive. And it’s funny because at the end of the trial, he said,
Mr. Wexler, that line you hit me with that I’ve been practicing law longer than you’ve been alive, I’ve never heard one like that. And he started laughing like he loved it,
you know, but he didn’t love it when we were in action. but he loved it after the trial, which is kind of funny I think he was in fact practicing before you were born. He was he’s been practicing 42 years and I’m 36 next month So he definitely has great.
So not to digress, but let’s start by telling the listeners a little bit about your law firm So I have two partners Alex Jean and Lyle Long and we are you know We hold ourselves out as a boutique a personal injury law firm We truly try to focus on the quality over the quantity.
We do not want to become a mill. And we’re just three young guys that are really pushing as hard as we can to establish a reputation for the firm that we’re not screwing around.
This is serious business. We know the ends. We know the outs. And we’re going to push cases in litigation. litigation and to trial unless or until the right kind of money for our clients shows up.
Okay. You know, getting to know you, what really makes you stand out in my mind is your determination and your love for the fight.
Where does that come from? Well, I’ve always been that way, that that’s just innate in my nature. nature. When I was a kid,
I was the guy that was getting into into fistfights all the time. It’s just who I am. I’m not that way now, but it’s it’s it’s interesting. I look back on my life and a lot of the mistakes I made, some of those mistakes I made,
such as, you know, getting into bar room brawls and idiotic stuff like that is part of that came from probably what is a gift for me and that I am a fighter. And now I’m applying that. in my law practice and I And now being where I am and as I’m continuing the truck forward I look at I look back and I say I’m glad I have that fighter in me because it’s what keeps me going and it’s what in Certain ways makes
me Very good at what I do What’s your favorite movie? My my favorite movie would probably be the godfather and that comes as no surprise to me because I’m,
you know, and I often wonder, how does an Italian like you end up with a last name like Wexler? Well, I’m a Jew gazey. I’m a Fugue gazey. I’m not a real Italian, so let’s just get that out the bag right away. I tried to change my name to Wechslerini,
but it wasn’t going to fly, so I am a proud half Jew, and I’m not 1 % Italian, I’m zero, but I love Italian food, and I love Italian people. Okay.
Okay and you know I’ve had the pleasure to meet some of your friends I think you have a lot of Italian friends you grew up with were they an influence on you in terms of your personality the way you are and you know wanting to you know be a fighter.
Very much so but my dad is also from the Bronx he’s from Pelham Parkway and you know that’s a Jewish Italian Irish neighborhood back then my dad grew up in the the 50s 60s and 70s so if you’re if you’re a Jewish guy from the Bronx in Pelham Parkway,
you’re practically Paesan Italian. So we kind of adopted their culture and their ways. So that’s probably part of it,
too. Right. So I know you have those genes in you. As I was heading up to watch this trial, it’s the first time I’ve seen you in trial. I’m wondering– you know,
she’s pretty– going to be like my cousin Vinny, gone to law school this guy. But I have to tell you, I was really, I was frankly, I was blown away with you and your partner lie along.
He’s not here in the studio today. Christian, can you pop up the website photo so we can, you can introduce us. Yeah. Absolutely. To your partners. Okay. Who do we have here?
The most handsome guy on the far left is me and then middle guy, Alex Jean, and far right is Lyle Long. I love both of them, and I’m blessed to have them on.
I’m blessed to be part of their team and them being part of my team, because we’re very like -minded, which I love. They’re all about proper representation of plaintiffs,
and I think that there’s a lot going on that isn’t always true. conducive to what’s best for the client and we’re very much client focused How long has the firm? existed with the three of us in action Three years,
but the the the law firm has had a little bit of a metamorphosis It’s very beginnings were probably six or seven years ago. All right, so many of our followers and viewers are going to be or or are young lawyers in different places and different positions.
But another reason I have you on the podcast is because you’ve had tremendous success, both in terms of getting big cases, getting big numbers, talking about it on social media,
which is really a requirement. It’s an expectation of the public these days. Okay, but… But how, you know, what about this synergy between you and your partners?
From your point of view, how have you been able to get where you’ve gotten in such little time? What’s your secret? – Well, when I came in the door with them, I, you know,
when we were talking about joining up, I really told them what my goals were, and I had a little bit of a different experience than they did in that I worked. on the defense side for Cole Scott and Cassane at the inception of my career and then I joined.
I think that Cole Scott is now the largest defense firm in the state of Florida am I correct? Yeah that’s right and they were when I worked there as well at the beginning of my career and then after that I worked for a personal injury firm and I was litigating cases pretty much on my own really actually totally on my own and I was litigating a lot so I had a lot of litigation experience coming in into the firm
and they were that law firm that I was with was more of a mill you know they had they had a Quasilian cases and there were things I really didn’t like about that business model and when I came in the door with Alex and Lyle what I really told them right away and I put my cards on the table because I wanted to make sure that we were all on the same page.
I said, “Look, I’m about quality over quantity. “That is what’s most important to me.” And fortunately, both of them totally agreed. That’s what they wanted too.
And I think in a way they listened to my experience ’cause I told them, “Look, you can be the richest guy “in the business, but that’s not gonna make you “the best lawyer, and you can have the most cases “in the business,
but that doesn’t mean that you’re rich.” all those clients are getting treated the right way. And fortunately, Alex and Lyle, like me, are very conscientious about their reputation,
and they want to be perceived as strong, plaintive lawyers when they walk in the room. And that was the footing that we got off on right when I joined the firm.
What does make you the best lawyer? Well, paying attention, I’m I’m a firm believer in preparation. You have to prepare. You have to do, you have to take steps to also make yourself better,
especially, especially as a young plaintiff lawyer. We don’t have the benefit, Alex Lyle and I, we don’t have the benefit of working at like a Searcy Denny,
for example, which is an outstanding law firm. A young guy like me working at that firm. you know, every other office is gonna be a guy that’s been practicing longer than you’ve been alive and they’re also,
you know, an esteemed plaintiff’s counsel. So you’re gonna get that kind of mentorship. For us, you know, we have tried to gain mentorship through others,
you being certainly one of them, but you also gotta do the other things. So you don’t attend conventions. you know, I’ve gone to three years in a row, I’m carving myself out as a trucking lawyer,
I go to the National Trucking Convention for a trucking plaintiff lawyers, and that’s one way that I’m really starting to carve myself out. And then CLE events,
asking questions, being humble enough to know that you’re not going to know the answer to every single question, and you can’t be too proud to ask. Let me ask you first about before you carved yourself out as a lawyer when you were more of just a block of wood with a law degree.
Sure. You mentioned that you were at Colescott and Cassane. Agreed. Huge firm, really good firm, great reputation. Yes. Personally my exposure to them was actually a trial when I sued LA Fitness in a wrongful death case for not having a defibrillator for a member who’d had a heart attack and passed away.
But anyway that case went to trial. And it was three of them against me. It was Gene and two of his top guys, triple teaming me at trial, great trial, great verdict,
until it got to the appellate court and they felt differently about it. But knowing how these guys aren’t how they practice, can you just tell us for the benefit of our viewers,
especially those who might be on the defense side or might be young like you, looking to make a career in litigation, how did that experience impact you and how did that change you as a lawyer?
Well, the first thing I can say is I’m very grateful to Colescott and Cassane for giving me my first gig. They have a tremendous infrastructure to train young lawyers, like that.
But looking back, I’m blown away at the way that they were able to provide mentorship to brand new lawyers to fit their business model. So that is a huge testament to that firm.
What do they train you so well to do? Well, you know, I’m coming in as a brand new lawyer. I really don’t know anything. And right away,
I start litigating. And I had another associate attorney. who had like five or six years experience already, which is a world of experience compared to somebody that’s brand new.
So I had her mentoring me and teaching me the basics of litigation. I had the partner who was above her overseeing everything, who was also correcting me and teaching me.
So I got a lot of experience very quickly on the defense side, but I also very, very quickly realized that I had a lot of experience. that the defense side was not for me. – Okay, but litigation overall,
your background as a lover of the Italian culture in some ways, and the godfather, you told me like Casino as well. How did that seep into your mannerisms and your personality as a lawyer back then and now?
Well, you’ve got to have that you’ve got to have that MF in you I can’t curse right so I you got to have that MF in you you can but well you’ve got to have that motherfucker in you and I have that I’ve always had that again this is something that listen I I got my teeth chipped a couple times I’ve got scars on my head because of the motherfucker that’s in me but that was before you were a lawyer just to bro
correct I didn’t get into a fist fight in the parking lot coming in here but but that was who I was as a kid, and I carry that still, it’s innate in my character. I can’t turn that off,
I’ve only channeled it to be a non -idiotic adult human being, and it works very well in litigation because litigation is all about the fight. So litigation is something,
some people don’t enjoy it. I love litigation because I’m all about this. you know, this, you know. Okay. But, you know, coming — and by the way, for the record, during the trial, I thought you were outstanding and,
you know, there was no yelling, there was no screaming. You never grabbed anyone by the throat, although, you know, we can’t control our thoughts. Just overall, in terms of, you know,
how you are, your personality, how did that work out in that trial? Because that was your first real trial you had with your partner live. Lyle. I know you’ve had a lot of cases set for trial,
and you do now, but as we all know, the good ones tend to settle. Because the courthouse really is one big casino, you know? So aside from the fact that you may not have gotten the best result in that trial,
what did you take from that trial that has, because you told me, this has changed me, me, Ryan, and my partner. How did you change? How did it affect you? you, especially moving forward now?
Well, I really wanted to win. And in really wanting to win, I really prepared. I prepared the case law that I needed for the issues that were in the case. I knew my case in and out.
I knew every deposition transcript. You know, I knew every line, well, almost every line of every deposition transcript. I knew the case. I knew my client. I knew her story.
And it was the preparation that– and I appreciate your compliments, but it was the preparation that helped me go in there. And really, in terms of performance,
do an outstanding job. And even the defense lawyer on the other side gave me a very strong compliment after the fact. I also knew that, look, I’m going against a guy that’s been doing this longer than I’m alive.
I better prepare. I can’t think that I’m just going to waltz in there. and be successful. And fortunately I’ve had a lot of trial lawyers that have been doing this for years and years and years that I look up to that have always told me you’re never going to be great at this unless you prepare.
So it was really in the preparation that gave me the opportunity to stand on that stage and do a fine job. Yeah, you know they say that preparation beats talent when talent is not prepared.
But I will tell you, in this case, as usual, that lawyer who is from another really good defense firm, he was prepared, and he knew the file inside and out.
So did you feel afterwards that, you know, in hindsight, you were ready for him? – I felt ready for him, but I feel even more ready for the next trial because this is just a…
another notch under my belt. I wish the result was different than this trial. I think this is one where the jury got it wrong, and it’s unfortunate. And I played this trial over in my head a million times,
and I’m trying to move on to the next case. But it’s hard, because I love my client to death, and I wanted to get her the best result possible. What made me feel good is she hugged me after the trial.
the trial and cried and Said I’ll never forget What you did for me and how well you did it and you know She was actually a was really flattering about that is she was like clerk of court in Illinois like for for a decade So she was around trials all the time She and she gave me these this high praise and her family hugged me crying.
So I I knew I left it all in the courtroom I just wish the result could have been different, but that’s the risk we take Yeah, and that’s what makes a horse race, you know That’s why cases go to trial because the other side thinks that you know,
they might be able to have success Absolutely, but as you now know, it’s not just about the result It’s a lot about the experience and getting you’re ready for the next time. Do you agree with that? 100 % I’m ready to I want to go back out there yesterday.
I’m ready to go You told me and I won’t forget this one either that man trying cases is such a rush. Tell us about that rush rush from your point of view. Yeah, I mean, it’s like, it’s the quintessential lawyer experience,
that’s what we went to law school for. I didn’t go to law school to sit in front of my desk all day, you know, and push files just from behind a computer. And certainly, look, there’s aspects of that that I love,
but I don’t want to do that all the time. I want to get in the courtroom. I have a personality, and I have a skill set that I think applies very well to being in the courtroom and putting on a show. And I love,
I love… the performative part of trying a case. And I told you before, cross -examining that expert and having it go the way it went was one of the greatest experiences of my life.
Like, I want to do that again. I think that was one of the highlights of the trial when you texted me after the cross and you said that that expert is in a coffin.
[LAUGHS] now and now it’s funny we canceled one of his depositions earlier in the case and now all of a sudden he’s coming after us for his fee and I think it’s because he’s salty because of what happened to him in the courtroom and I’m fine with that you know that I’m glad because I wanted to slaughter him okay and did you so my next question is what are your what do you feel your weaknesses are worth it really
weaknesses, but things that you struggle with that we’ve talked about over the years, and we’re still working on, and let’s talk about that first. Impulsivity. How so?
Well, I can be one that will fly off the handle, never in the courtroom. I know all too well that that will never be favorable, but from behind the computer or when you’re on the phone.
phone, it’s easy to fly off the handle, especially when the other side is, which the defense often does, is doing their usual tricks and their usual bullshit. And I have a very low threshold of patience for that,
especially when I’m doing things the right way. Do you ever think that you’re getting baited or that they’re trying to take advantage of you due to your perceived inexperience in their eyes? Yes. All the time it happened in this trial,
you know, they’re going to try to run one over on me, and I’m not letting that go down. I’m much more equipped for that fight than they might initially perceive if they’ve never worked against me before.
But I have to continue to take a deep breath and be smooth, cool, and calm, and not fly off.
the handle, you know? It’s like, you brought up “The Godfather” earlier, it’s one of my favorite movies, and I can analogize it to this. Sonny Corleone is like one of the greatest characters, the guy James Cohn played, but he’s the type that flies off the handle like that.
Compare him to, like, Vito Corleone, who is totally collected, calm, calculated, nothing gets a rise out of him, and how does the movie end up turning out,
for those who, you know, hope I’m not spoiling it if you haven’t seen the Godfather may God have mercy on your soul but Sonny Corleone ends up losing his life because he flies off the handle he goes right into a trap and and and they whack him out and then Vito Corleone this is a guy who lives longevity it’s because I think he’s smart he’s under control and he can see the angles and he doesn’t fly off the handle
and you want to be more like Vito Corleone than you do Sonny Corleone is that what you’re trying to be like Yeah, because I think I have more of the sunny Corleone Instincts and and that’s something that I have to be aware of and I have to channel because I I don’t think I’m naturally The wise one to sit back and be patient.
I think I am the type instinctively to React and it’s better to respond than it is to react Wide shot, okay Christian Christian? Wide?
OK. What about when I think of you sometimes, I think of Joe Pesci and Goodfellas. I take it that’s another favorite, one of your favorite movies. Well,
he’s my favorite. OK, so what qualities do you like in him? And has that found a way into your practice as a lawyer without actually killing people or doing anything physical? Yeah,
I haven’t killed anybody, but yeah, I love Joe Pesci. He’s my favorite. He’s probably my favorite actor. His toughness is what I love. I love his toughness, you know,
and I emulate that toughness. I always have my whole life, but he’s also a guy in those movies who’s one to make a lot of mistakes based on impulsivity. And,
you know, if you’re too impulsive in those movies, you get whacked. In our business, you’re too impulsive, you’re gonna make a fatal mistake. – Right. Well, and you know also Maybe not think objectively,
right? 100 % because when you when when when you’re dealing with emotion, you’re not always acting logically They say that anger is never without an argument, but seldom with a good one.
Do you find that as well when you get upset? Well, whether it’s at home in your life or in litigation, you know in the office that that can affect your ability to have clarity and see both sides of the coin.
Yeah. And another way of putting it is this is an EDM I come back to is let a cooler head prevail. If you let a cooler head prevail, 10 times out of 10,
you’re not going to regret having not made that decision the day before. 10 times out of 10, you’re going to say to yourself, at least in my experience, “Wow, I’m really glad I gave it 24 hours to respond because it’s if I responded a day ago,
it would have been a nightmare, and it wouldn’t have gone as smoothly. And it wouldn’t have been as wise and as smart, and I wouldn’t have gotten the result that I want. So, how — from your — I have my own opinion, but from your point of view,
how have you progressed in the past almost three years, working on impulsivity, dealing with it, and actually pulling it off in these situations where it can be stressful?
And you know that sometimes — others Probably mostly lawyers on the other side are going out of their way to try and push your buttons Yeah,
I think the first thing is you’ve got to acknowledge that you have this Gift slash flaw and and an impulsivity It can be a major flaw that will manifest itself and hurt you and so the first step is recognizing it – Yeah,
it is a default setting. You know, we have, back from the days when we were cavemen, the fight or flight reflex, that’s where it comes from. – Right. – But now, are you more mindful of that? – Extremely, because I care so much about,
I also care so much about the perception of me by my counterparts. And the optics are not good when you’re flying off the handle. The optics aren’t good when you’re being impulsive and you’re reacting.
It’s better to respond, especially when you’re a young lawyer. because not that I’m you know I’m not 25 years old but I’m about to be 36 I’m still a lot younger than a lot of these guys again that have been litigating you know since before I was born and I think that the stereotype that they’ll label me with is this guy’s gonna be impulsive he’s gonna make knee -jerk decisions and we can capitalize on him by way of
that and I don’t want to give them that ammunition so when I respond like a more mature seasoned lawyer by not being impulsive and by taking a deep breath and better calculating my response I think it catches them really by surprise and then all of a sudden they’re like oh shit this guy’s this guy’s a serious lawyer he’s a force to reckon with.
Right so they feel that they have their hands full. Yeah absolutely and I love catch and I love when these defense lawyers at the end of the case when when I’m they’re all done We’re all done.
They tell me they’re either gonna start referring me cases, which has happened multiple times or they say Man, you know Ryan, you’re a damn good young lawyer and I had one guy recently tell me You know,
I gotta tell you I have very low expectations for your generation And he’s like you change that and that was like one of the this is a guy I was fighting with the whole time location. I was like blown away by that remark.
It meant so much to me. So, Ryan, I’m really happy that people are sending you cases. There’s a few greater compliments from a defense attorney telling you how great of a job you are.
But remember, what do we always say when it comes to things like that? Because it’s easy to get a really big overinflated head and to get a certain reputation based on perceptions that you don’t want to have.
What do we– always talk about when it comes to that? – Well, you tell me not to, you don’t let stuff get to my head and don’t be cocky. Is that what you’re referring to? – How about your ego is not your amigo? – Your ego is not your amigo.
And that is a lesson that you’ve kicked down my head and I’m aware of it, yeah. – But it’s been a positive experience for you somehow? – Yeah,
because this goes, that ties right into the impulsivity part. – Mm -hmm. impulsivity comes from my ego and my pride and my fight and That is not my friend So my ego is not my amigo when I’m when I’m reacting like that it it works against me and it works against my client You do have a very soft side though because I’ve also seen you interact with clients right not just the lady Whose case you were trying but in
the past they’re just you know briefly. How are you with you know? What’s the soft side of you with clients? I hope you’re not yet at them. No, well– You wouldn’t have very many clients if you did. Sometimes I got to yell at a client or two,
but they’re usually really asking for it, and they’re usually the clients that if I yell at them, they’re actually going to respect me more. But no, I have to have a soft and compassionate side, and I do. That’s why I do what I do.
And that’s why I’m not a defense lawyer anymore, because I found myself at the beginning of my career taking depositions of people that were injured and– the insurance company doesn’t want to pay and I’m feeling bad for these people I was like this is not who the insurance company should have in the seat me taking this deposition because I feel compassion for this person I want this person to get a great result and
and and that’s my that is my compassionate side and I realized very quickly that I wanted to be the one that listens and advocates for them not the person working against them to not pay them.
That’s great because not everyone has that passion and frankly there’s a lot of lawyers out there who care more about money than their clients and even though they may reach success in the short term in a relationship business it doesn’t always bode well for them.
Yeah and I have no respect for that at all, I’ll be very blunt and I just don’t respect that way of practice and I don’t don’t respect plaintiff lawyers that view themselves as more important than their client.
Those lawyers know who they are, and sometimes they even broadcast that that’s who they are. And they might be the richest, they might have five bentleys, but you don’t have respect. And you’re not honoring the title that you’ve been given because our job is to advocate for our clients.
Our job is not to stuff our pockets, and it’s– it’s greedy pigs like that, that first of all do a major disservice to their client. But they also give the true champions for plaintiff lawyers,
of plaintiff lawyers, a bad name, and they smear us. And I have no respect for those lawyers. Okay. But when it comes to the defense, you are aware, I hope, that regardless of what you think of them or the tactics,
it’s always important to really, you know, what they say, friends close, enemies closer. To be really nice to them to the point where they like you, you don’t have to be friends with them, but you should be friendly.

• I get along with most of the defense lawyers I litigate against, you know, they have a job to do, so what I was just talking about were the plaintiff lawyers that I think are selling out their clients, that those are the ones that I don’t have respect for,
  but I respect defense lawyers and they have a job to do. And, and they have a job to do. a lot of them do it well and some of them do it by sliding in some tricks,
  but as a plaintiff lawyer you’ve just got to be ready for that because that’s what the battlefield is. Well said. So, Ryan, I have a little surprise for you because I’m proud of you and how much progress you’ve made.
  I’ve bought you a little gift, early holiday gift. I’d like you to open it on camera and let’s see what that is it’s better not be a bomb not a bomb don’t worry about it yeah put it put it up on the counter so that audience can see that please yeah box and take open it up for us the punching it’s a punching bag a desktop punching bag I need to get a picture of you and just paste it on there as you you wish
  I’ve always told you I don’t make you feel uncomfortable then I’m not doing my job hundred percent stick that you stick on a table in between us over here absolutely there you go so this is a little desktop punching bag for when you get frustrated maybe instead of yelling because you know there are other people around and you know you have lovely employees who somehow really seem to like you despite your craziness.
  Yeah, they do. So this punching bag will allow you to get your frustrations out. There you go. Take a shot. I think if I punch this thing, it’s going to end up in your lap. Yeah. Well, you might have to have it screwed down to your desk.
  Yeah, I think so. But this is a great grip. Thank you for that. I wish you well with that. Thank you. I’ll put that on my desk. So, Ryan, let’s end this podcast with my final question about your advice.
  to other lawyers. Perhaps your advice to your younger self five years ago. There’s lots of lawyers out there who not only haven’t practiced for very long,
  but, you know, since 2020, there’s been almost no live court appearances, no live depositions. Everything’s on Zoom, right? And you’ve been through those three years as a lawyer.
  What is your advice to to young lawyers who want to lawyer better? Want to live up to the name of our podcast, but also to achieve the success and the happiness and the life balance that you have?
  Because I know you have a little girl at home and you’ve got another one on the way. Yeah. The first the first question you’ve got to ask is who do you want to be? And I borrowed this from you.
  Who do you want to be in five years? And if you want to be a great lawyer, then that’s great. Because not everybody really cares about that. Some people care more about other things.
  Or it’s just a job to them, and they don’t take it home with them. Or they just want to get really rich. And that’s not always the same thing as being a great lawyer. Those two things don’t always run hand in hand. So if your answer is that you do want to be a great lawyer in practice and reputation.
  you just have to know that you’re going to have to put in the work and there are no shortcuts. And it’s not going to happen overnight, you know. It’s going to be day by day, you know,
  adding those building blocks into your arsenal and it takes things like going to CLEs, finding a mentor, litigating cases yourself, not over -delegating to your staff and having them do that.
  do all the work for you. ‘Cause you might have a paralegal underneath you that has a lot more experience than you, and then you use that paralegal as a crutch. That’s not gonna work either. You’ve gotta actually do it to learn it.
  And look, I just ordered on Saturday, like six books for plaintiff lawyers. Like as you know Russ, I read plaintiff books.
  I, who will speak for the victim by Jim Perdue is like, an incredible book. I love that book. But I just ordered six more books, and I’m going to read them, and these are written by esteemed trial counsel for plaintiffs.
  And this is how — these are the things you have to do to continue to grow, and it’s going to take that effort, and if you think that it’s going to happen overnight, it’s not going to happen overnight. And if you think it’s going to get there by taking shortcuts or cutting corners,
  it’s going to happen overnight. never going to happen. But one of the thrills, at least when I practiced, of being a plaintiff’s lawyer is you wake up every day and say, “What call am I going to get today? Maybe today is the day I get that really big one.” And that thrill or the anticipation of that happening,
  it sounds like from where you’re at now, you’ve had many calls like that. Do you have that thrill as well? Definitely. Definitely. Okay. Great. Okay. and every client matters in certain cases are a little more exciting than others,
  but you have to, you should never sign up a case where a client is gonna be neglected. That’s another thing, and I try to pride myself on that. To the extent where now there are certain cases, I just turn down, and I respectfully decline them.
  I say, look, this isn’t the right case for me or for my law firm, but there’s other attorneys out there, get a second opinion. – All right, well, they say that success is getting what you want and happiness is wanting what you get.
  And it sure sounds to me like you’ve got both. – Thank you for that, Russ. Well, you’ve been an instrumental help. – And so there you have it. Ryan Wechsler for Long Jean and Wechsler, a rising star in the legal field.
  And I’m sure you’re gonna see and read more about him over the years. And this wraps up this episode of the “Lawyer Better” podcast. If you like our podcast,
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