Today's guest is Houston personal injury lawyer Matt Greeberg of Zehl & Associates. Matt and I talk about the importance of who you work for, things to include/exclude on a resume, and why plaintiff's lawyers are the surgeons of law practice.

What's happening in personal injury law right now
Automation when it comes to vehicles (Tesla/Google/Uber); what happens when there is no driver of the vehicle involved in the crash?

What he learned as a young lawyer
find a good mentor
Don't just come out and ask them to be your mentor; instead look for a project you can volunteer to help with
Pick a complicated piece of the project and offer to throw yourself into it and take care of it
be picky about who you work under as a young lawyer
to the extent you can, surround yourself with great staff and take advice and critique from them

When seeking / interviewing for a lawyer job
demonstrate good writing ability through writing samples or recent writing projects
high school is irrelevant and shouldn't be on a resume
Maybe national merit scholar can stay; Eagle Scout (Daniel)
leave interests off or make them more broad (though Daniel mentions there is a split on this between employers)
Highlight what you've done in practice that is especially distinct (federal court? corporate rep depo? Daubert?)
Careful with political affiliations and conversations
Research the firm in advance of the interview (old cases, etc.) and prepare questions
research.txcourts.gov

To impress as an associate
Be the person who says yes to everything (Thanks Professor Powell)
partners will like this
you will get a wide range of experience

To bring in business
Can depend on the practice area (not a lot of repeat clients in personal injury)
websites (AVVO)
Let everyone know the kind of work that you do, especially your former classmates - great referral source!
Be involved with your law school alumni groups and events
Buy your own domain name in case you ever want to to out on your own

Work/Life balance issues
It's never going to be equal; work is going to be the majority of what you do
Try to carve out times in the evening/weekend that are yours (not the entire evening or weekend, but like 7-8pm are protected)

The case for personal injury work
If you want to do this, start by doing some type of litigation wherever you are; it is translatable
The most exciting area of practice: depos, hearings, motions...the surgeons of the law practice

Rapid fire
trait/characteristic in associate - drive
key habit - sleep
app/tool - One Note
legal movie - A Few Good Men