Joy. Personal injury lawyers don’t often use the word joy when discussing their practice. Chapel Hill attorney Adam Langino uses the word joy quite a lot in his conversations.
He said, “If your lawyer enjoys the practice of law they’ll be better advocates for you.” They will handle your case with passion, grace, and patience. They will be inspired by your intellectual challenges and will work hard to find the best legal avenues to resolve them.
Langino is a lawyer who handles cases involving fatalities and catastrophic injuries, many of which involve children in North Carolina and Florida. Langino represents clients who have suffered emotional, financial, and physical traumas, such as drownings, faulty child safety seat design, exploding cell phones, and commercial truck crashes.
Langino stated that “I don’t take joy in my practice by avoiding my clients’ pain. Instead, I believe I can only be an advocate by connecting with my clients.” I meet clients at their homes, and spend time getting to know their families. It helps me to remember the importance and joy of my work, which I can then share with them when the case is over.
Langino Law was founded in January after he left a large national law firm to start Langino Law. He put much thought into the values of his firm, which he called his pillars Joy, kindness, diplomacy and courage. These pillars are the foundation of how Langino approaches all aspects of his work: client intake calls, interactions, expert witness depositions, jury arguments and the crafting of jury arguments. The last half hour is spent quietly reading “The Way of the Trial Lawyer.”
GOLDEN GLOVES
Adam Langino was raised in Long Island, NY. He is the son of a pharmacist and a special education teacher. Both of them instilled in him a strong sense of ethics. Langino, who was hungry for challenge after college, chose The University of Minnesota to study law because of its proximity to a renowned boxing gym.
Langino stated, “I saw it not only as an opportunity to improve my educationally but also emotionally and physically.” You have to train for fights with the understanding that winning a fight is only possible if you are able to keep going forward and be hit. Langino won three of the four fights at the weight of 152 lb. Before he retired from law school, he was a Golden Gloves champion. He quickly moved to Florida, where he gained valuable trial experience in West Palm Beach as a public defense attorney.
“The focus, the discipline, and the competition are what I love about boxing. All that I loved about boxing, I found in my work as a trial attorney. Strategic thinking is essential. You don’t always get the best shot, so you need to be open for opportunities. This is true both in law practice and in the ring.
A LOT OF CAUSES
Langino was a Florida resident for 12 years. He worked at a prominent national law firm that had a Florida office focusing on plaintiff’s cases. As a member the American Association for Justice, Langino was the lead attorney in many cases. He also spent 10 years building valuable relationships with other attorneys.
Langino and Tiffany, his wife, wanted a change of lifestyle for their children. Truman is now 10 years old, Arthur is 7 and Nelle is 5. They searched for “best places to raise children” and were led to Chapel Hill by Google. This was a place neither of them had ever been to nor where they knew no one.
Langino stated, “It just felt right.” “Taking a chance and trusting my instincts have been the best decisions I’ve made in my life.”
Langino stayed at the national law firm that had a Raleigh office. “The pandemic caused changes in the legal profession and provided opportunities for reflection. My family, my community, and my hometown all became smaller. Langino stated that although there are many terrible and big things that I cannot control, how can I make a difference on a smaller scale?
Langino stated that he tries to keep his practice to a few cases, helping only good, hardworking people who are fighting against companies that really hurt them. Large corporations have the money and resources to do all they can to tilt the balance in their favor. They don’t have the ability to defend themselves in most cases. They attack the victim, the family, the attorney, and drag the case along as long as they can. It’s unfair, it’s cruel.
Langino stated that he does not want to take on cases from clients looking for quick settlements. Langino stated, “I believe in my clients, like them, and respect them. We’re likely to work together for at least two years to resolve their claims.” It should be a good match.
“When I sign up clients, I personally give them an “What to Expect” letter in plain English. It explains the process of what will happen if they have to file a suit or if the claim can be resolved. Also, the timeline to expect.
A FOCUS ON THE COMMUNITY
Langino stated that one of the reasons I opened my law firm was to give money back to the causes and communities I care about. “Years back, I went to Lauren Greenfield’s art show “Generation Wealth”. It influenced my thoughts on greed and its destructive power. My law firm is now in operation and I am eager to share the success that I have had.
He said, “It’s important that you remember that this is my family’s school, neighborhood, town, and the people who will influence the experiences of our family.” We are indebted and grateful to this community. It’s thrilling and motivating to give back. We keep a running record of “if this case settles”, this is where we want the money to go.
Langino was a participant in the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s “Dribble for Victory Over Cancer” program earlier this year. He said that he enjoyed watching his children dribble at the Carmichael Arena and sharing a good time with them.
This program was designed to raise funds and awareness for lifesaving research at UNC’s Children’s Research Institute. “It brought back memories of my daily work for people whose lives were forever changed by a sudden disaster.”
“I see it every day in my profession – life can turn on a dime. It’s impossible to be constantly looking for the next great thing. You must be grateful for what you have now and find joy in it.
The post Adam Langino – The Ability to be Strategic was first published on Attorney at Law Magazine.