There’s no doubt that owning and running your own law firm is both exciting and terrifying at the same time. When you own a law practice, the buck literally stops with you. When we noticed that many of our top performers were formerly solo or small firm practitioners, we asked, “Why did you decide to leave your firm and join Farah and Farah?” Their answers may surprise you.
What Inspired You to Join the Team at Farah and Farah, Easa Mousa?
Easa Mousa is pretty much a staple here in Jacksonville. With an impressive legal career of nearly 40 years, most of which were spent running his own practice, Mousa has seen more than most. He also stays sharp, teaching business law as an adjunct professor at Florida State College in Jacksonville. So, why would such a prominent and successful attorney like Easa leave his firm to join Farah and Farah?
“I’ve always stayed in contact with Eddie and Chuck over the years,” starts Easa. “I used to refer cases to them, and they referred back to me for ones they didn’t handle, like bankruptcy and student loans.” This professional relationship was mutually beneficial to both firms’ clients and proceeded amiably for many years.
And Then, COVID Hit
“When COVID hit, I was in this large office I owned by myself,” says Mousa. He went on to explain that with staff working remotely, the practice suffered. Still, the intrepid Mousa found many ways to stay busy. “I was getting more requests to speak to insurance and industry groups about debt and legal issues. Those speaking opportunities grew and grew,” Mousa explains. When a buyer came along for his building, and with the difficulties of managing a law firm during a global pandemic weighing on him, Easa decided to concentrate on his consulting work and teaching at FSCJ.
Despite all of these things keeping him busy, Mousa still found he had time. While talking with the Farah brothers one day, they mentioned “needing people with experience.” Mousa quickly seized the opportunity to join a firm he’d always admired. “If I would have gotten an offer from anywhere else, I would have turned it down,” Mousa remarks. “There was an opportunity here, I knew these guys, I know how they function, and I know they are attorneys who care about their clients. I knew if I were going to leave my own firm to go anywhere, it would be here.”
Managing Cases and Taking Care of Clients
Having come from private practice, Mousa spent a great deal of time on peripheral tasks such as marketing and sales, or client intake, rather than taking care of client cases. His experience at Farah and Farah is worlds different.
“We’re large enough here to have experienced professionals in every facet of the business,” he explains. With an army of support staff taking care of so much behind the scenes, Mousa is free to do what he loves—manage cases and take care of his clients.
Getting Used to Working in a Large Law Firm
Now, his transition wasn’t without its challenges. “My whole career was just me; then I had to become acclimated to a big firm.” While he admits there was a learning curve to learning all the policies and procedures, he readily points out that he finds someone willing to help whenever he has a question. “They even go out of their way to help. Everyone wants you to be at your best. That support is the biggest eye-opener as part of my switch as a sole practitioner to a firm of more than 100 attorneys.”
Why Would You Leave Your Own Firm for Ours, Jason Robbins?
Jason Robbins ran a solo law practice for ten years in Melbourne, Florida, where he’s well-known and respected as a personal injury and workers’ compensation attorney. “Spending close to a decade running my own private practice here in Melbourne was one of the hardest but most rewarding experiences of my life because I was in charge of every aspect of the firm,” Jason starts. “Here, I just get to be a lawyer and help the client.”
Meeting with Eddie and Chuck
Jason says he saw where Farah and Farah was looking for a pre-suit personal injury attorney in Melbourne and thought he’d take a shot. Thinking he would support Farah and Farah’s needs part-time while still running his own practice, Jason sat down with Eddie, Chuck, and others on the Farah leadership team. By the end of that conversation, Jason remembers thinking, “when do we start?” and Eddie telling him directly (as he is apt to do), “we want you yesterday!”.
Working out how to wind down his own practice didn’t take much back and forth between the Farah brothers and Robbins. The big caveat was that Jason didn’t want to leave his present clients without representation. So, he took them with him. “I came onboard with 75 clients, so I hit the ground running,” he laughs.
I’m Still Very Much a Local Attorney
“In private practice, I’d get maybe 3 to 7 new clients monthly. I didn’t advertise, so that was all word of mouth with local clients here in Melbourne,” Robbins explains. He says that because he’s so well-known in Melbourne, he will often get asked who he recommends for a practice area he doesn’t do.
“People still call me and say my brother-in-law got hurt, and I tell them to call me.” Having the total weight and resources of Farah and Farah behind him means being able to do more good for more people.
Their Trust in Me Is Everything
“There’s no micromanagement here, and they don’t do corporate bureaucracy,” he says. At Farah and Farah, we seek to empower each attorney to do what they do best—fight for their clients without distractions. Over the years, we’ve found that level of trust is powerful. It helps attorneys like Jason feel free to utilize their strengths to get the best results possible.
“I’ve been offered jobs at other firms and always turn them down. They were never worth it to me,” he says. Now with a full caseload of Farah and Farah clients, Jason Robbins shows no sign of slowing down anytime soon.
Real People, Real Help from the Client-First Firm
Having some of Georgia and Florida’s best attorneys decide to leave their firms and join ours is humbling but not unexpected. Eddie and Chuck Farah have created a firm where we favor collaboration over competition. The result is an entire team of hundreds of top legal minds all working together for the benefit of our clients—no corporate ladders, no bs, just full-out effort to maximize each client’s recovery.
Being “client-first” isn’t something we say in the commercials and then forget about. We put our clients’ needs first in everything we do. From promptly returning phone calls to following up after a case, the little things add up to make each client see how much they mean to us. If you’ve been hurt or are getting the runaround from insurance, please get in touch with our team. Any time you call, a friendly, knowledgeable Farah and Farah representative will always be available.
