Matt Nakajima’s “Closing Argument”

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You know, a bit of my backstory as far as how I got my license and my mother pushing me to law school and the failures that I had early in my career. But there’s something to be said about perseverance. And not forgetting why we do what we do. We have clients that come to us in the most devastating moments of their lives, in their time of need. Often when they’re facing insurmountable odds on paper against some of the biggest insurance companies and corporations in the world. You know, I think it’s important for us not to forget why we do what we do. As trial lawyers, we are the last line of defense against corporate greed and injustice. And if we don’t have the strength, if we don’t have the perseverance to go try our cases when justice requires it, who else will? And so I would encourage everybody to go try their cases.

 

You might not always win them. You might come up short sometimes, but everybody has that client who’s not going to get that fair settlement offer, who’s not going to get justice. Maybe it’s because you spent time with them on a human level, went to their house, met their family, and have seen how their injuries have really impacted their life, their mobility, their freedom—freedom from pain. And someone’s undervaluing that, or not appreciating what was really taken.

 

It’s so easy to say, “Hey, let’s just settle this one.” Or to tell your client all the reasons that you shouldn’t be going to trial. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. You have to worry about appeals. There’s always a risk of losing. But I would encourage everybody to go look in their office, to go find those cases where you have a client who you believe in, and go try that case. Because if we’re all trying cases, if we’re all taking cases to trial, and then doing the best we can for our clients, it rises the tides for everybody because that’s the way I live my life—because I never forget how hard it took and how much time it took for me to get here. And what my life could have been like if I didn’t make it here—if I didn’t get to pass the bar, if I didn’t get to become a trial lawyer.

 

And I want to give it back, and I want to pay it forward.