YLS Member Spotlight - February 2016
Young Lawyers News
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Jonah Lock, Esq.
The Sader Law Firm
Kansas City, Missouri
What sort of law do you practice?
I focus my practice primarily on real estate and commercial litigation. I represent many local and regional businesses with contract disputes in litigation, and I have had the privilege of representing some of the area’s largest real estate and property management companies, assisting with all aspects of their transactional, commercial landlord-tenant, and general litigation needs.
I also focus my practice on consumer and business bankruptcy, including Chapter 11 representation of businesses in both the debtor and creditor arena.
What does a typical day look like for you?
As with many of our attorney peers, I keep very busy with the traditional trappings of litigation work. There will always be some aspect of pleading/motion work, discovery, and hearing/trial prep that takes up most of my day. That being said, I always make sure to carve out an hour every work day to exercise in our office gym no matter how busy I am. Exercise keeps me mentally healthy and sharp as much as physically healthy, which is important for the job. Lastly, I try my best to spend a little bit of time every morning doing some aspect of client development and maintenance, whether that be a call to a former business client to keep in touch or setting up a networking lunch with prospects.
What’s the most fun or interesting part of your practice?
While being able to find a positive outcome for any client is a fun and rewarding part of the job, I find it most rewarding when those same clients come back to me time and time again with their legal needs. The typical business clients I have are not “one-and-dones” as they constantly have issues coming up that they need assistance with, and to be able to have the trust of the client with the strategies I propose is a very positive aspect of the job.
What do you do for fun away from work?
While most of my off-time is spent running my children around to their various activities and sporting events, I try to carve out time to stay active in sports myself (though I am much slower and out of shape than I used to be). I play in a local men’s indoor soccer league that plays once every week and I try to squeeze in some softball as well with my brother in his league during the summers. Being a “has-been” or “never-was” on the field is very fun, despite the fact that I can barely breathe when I’m playing because I am so tired.
What do you do to market yourself/your practice?
I am involved with various local real estate organizations and try to stay active in those by attending monthly meetings and networking events. I find that these organizations have been very positive in developing and maintaining a decent book of clients. I also try to have lunch or breakfast at least once a week with people who I feel are valuable towards keeping a positive professional network. Lastly, I do my best to create content for various blogs and newsletters.
What Primerus events have you attended?
Despite not having been a Primerus member for very long, I was very lucky to be able to attend last year’s Young Lawyers Section Boot Camp in San Diego and the Primerus Business Law Institute’s South Central Regional Meeting in Chicago. The contacts that I made at these events were tremendous, and I am excited to attend more events in 2016 to further meet the amazing people that make up the Primerus Network.
For more information about The Sader Law Firm, please visit the International Society of Primerus Law Firms.