Show Notes

In this episode of Celebrating Justice episode, Matt Nakajima of Rittgers Rittgers & Nakajima shares how his mother’s dreams and struggles inspired him to become a voice for those in need. Her unfulfilled wish to practice law, after a severe car accident and subsequent hearing loss, drove Matt to pursue justice on behalf of others. But his own path was far from easy, including a fight that took him all the way to the Ohio Supreme Court. Supported by two pro bono lawyers, Matt learned the importance of perseverance, later choosing to help everyday people rather than large corporations.

In his “Closing Argument,” Matt reflects on why advocacy matters: “As trial lawyers, we are the last line of defense against corporate greed and injustice.” He encourages fellow lawyers to take on challenging cases, emphasizing the collective power in fighting for justice.

Chapters

1:20 – Why did you want to become a trial lawyer?
6:36 – What makes you unique?
7:23 – A case that matters,
12:15 – Matt’s “Closing Argument”

Takeaways

Inspired by His Mother’s Strength: Matt’s career is rooted in his mother’s desire to advocate for others after her own struggles.
Perseverance Defined His Path: He overcame a difficult battle for his law license with the support of mentors, shaping his commitment to clients.
Authenticity in Practice: Matt prioritizes genuine connections with clients over marketing, building a reputation through word-of-mouth.
Call to Action: Matt urges fellow attorneys to remember their purpose, encouraging them to fight for clients even in tough cases.

Transcript

[Theme Song Plays]

Matt Nakajima: I originally wanted to go to law school because my mom always wanted to go to law school. She was in a very severe car accident when she was 19. Lo and behold, we ended up having to go all the way up to the Ohio Supreme Court to get my law license. These two lawyers were my champions. They were my voice when I was voiceless.

Narrator: Welcome to Celebrating Justice, presented by the Trial Lawyers Journal and CloudLex, the next-gen legal cloud platform built exclusively for personal injury law. Get inspired by the nation’s top trial lawyers and share in the stories that shape our pursuit of justice. Follow the podcast and join our community at triallawyersjournal.com. Now here’s your host, editor of TLJ and VP of Marketing at CloudLex, Chad Sands.

Chad Sands: Welcome back, friends, to Celebrating Justice. In this episode, we sit down with Matt Nakajima from the firm Rittgers Rittgers Nakajima. Inspired by his mother, Matt shares his unbelievable journey to becoming a trial lawyer, a journey that took him all the way to the Ohio Supreme Court. Ever since, he has dedicated his career to fighting for his clients and paying it forward. To get to the stories, I asked him, why did you want to become a lawyer?

Matt Nakajima: I originally wanted to go to law school because my mom always wanted to go to law school. She was in a very severe car accident when she was 19 and suffered horrible back injuries. A trial lawyer helped her and didn’t get the result that she hoped for. She wanted to use her voice to advocate for others. She was on a debate scholarship at the time, and she loved arguing and speaking in public. Well, my mom ended up developing progressive hearing loss at 21. And so, she’s been deaf my entire life. Practicing law was always out of the question, but that’s something she always pushed me to do. To do it for the right reasons—do it to help everyday people, to be a voice for the voiceless. Originally, that’s why I went to law school. When you go to law school, they don’t push being a personal injury lawyer. That’s not something that is considered glamorous. They push trying to get into a big corporate firm, working for large corporations, doing mergers and acquisitions, things of that nature.

I ended up getting a job at a firm called Dinsmore & Shohl. It’s the biggest law firm in Cincinnati. They have a thousand lawyers now. That was the job that everyone in the career center said, “This is the job you want.” So I changed my path. I was going to be doing corporate defense work. And lo and behold, two days before I sat for the Ohio bar exam, I got a letter in the mail saying I couldn’t sit for the bar exam. The issue had come up with my character and fitness. I’d never been in trouble. I didn’t know what it was. There was no explanation.

So at the time, I went the very next day after getting the letter—we’re now one day before the bar exam—and I went to the partner who’d hired me at this big defense firm. I went to him—his name was Frank—and I said, “Frank, I just got this letter in the mail. I can’t take the bar. I don’t know why. Can you please help me? Can you help me figure out what’s going on?” And he looked at me and said, “Matt, there has to be something going on. There’s something you’re not telling me. Did you do something wrong?”

And I said, “No, I passed my character and fitness about eight months ago without any issue. I haven’t gotten into any trouble. I don’t know what’s going on.” And he said, “Something’s not right.” And he said, “I can’t help you.” I remember going out of that elevator shocked because I was so excited to dedicate my life to working for this man in this law firm. And the next day, my job offer was rescinded. So the day everyone else was taking the bar, I lost the job.

I went to all of these other law firms in town who had offered me jobs that I didn’t take, and I said, “Can you please help me? I don’t know what’s going on. I don’t have any money for a lawyer, but I’ll do whatever you need. I’ll work around the office while I study for the bar. Just please help me.” And everyone told me no. Everyone told me no. And I ended up meeting two trial lawyers, and they agreed to help me. One of them was a gentleman named Bob Sanders, and the other was named Mark Schumacher.

I had no money at this time because for the last three months, I’d been studying for the bar. Before that, I was in law school. I mean, I had nothing. I was living in a $300-a-month apartment, literally in the hood. I told Bob, “I’ll do whatever it takes for you to help me.” So, in exchange for him helping me to try to get my law license, I’d go get his laundry, pick people up from the airport, clean the office, and get everyone lunch—all the attorneys—every day. Any odd job they needed, whether writing motions, going to the courthouse to file something, I did it. I was a law clerk, even though I graduated law school.

Lo and behold, we ended up having to go all the way up to the Ohio Supreme Court to get my law license. These two lawyers were my champions. They were my voice when I was voiceless, and they did it for free. I’ll never forget that. I’ll never forget how scared I was, how vulnerable I was, and to have someone who believes in you, who’s going to say it’s going to be all right and follow through and actually make sure that you get this opportunity in life. That changed my perspective. It ended up getting me an opportunity to sit for the bar. I got to sit for the bar that following February. And after I passed the bar, all these big defense firms came back. They were willing to give me job offers, and I spurned them. I spurned them, and I agreed to go work for Bob Sanders for $10 an hour as a lawyer—$10 an hour. He said he wouldn’t pay me to be a lawyer until I also got my Kentucky law license. From that moment on, I dedicated my life to helping everyday people, to be their champion. And that’s how it started.

Chad Sands: Can you tell me what happened with your license?

Matt Nakajima: A dean at my law school said an issue arose during my first year. I’d never had any issues in school whatsoever, but she said an issue arose where I got in an argument with her secretary, and she thought I was not fit to sit for the bar. There was nothing in my law school file, no issues in any capacity, any capacity in my law school transcript. I was never disciplined. She just decided to personally write the Ohio Supreme Court. There’s more of a backstory there, but that’s, in a nutshell, it was an associate dean.

Chad Sands: And you guys had to go all the way back to the Supreme Court to fight to get your chances to take the bar?

Matt Nakajima: She reneged everything that she said in that letter under oath during the hearing. She said it was just a misunderstanding. She said the bar said, “Hey, if any of your students have any issues that you think you need to bring to our attention, please let us know.” That didn’t happen either. She just unilaterally did it, but that’s what she said. She took it back. And I was able to sit for the following bar, but that’s what happened. And I had no idea. No one would tell me. Nobody. The lawyers had to get involved, and they represented me for 100 percent free.

Chad Sands: What makes you unique as a trial lawyer?

Matt Nakajima: I think it’s my dedication and my belief in my clients. A lot of the other trial lawyers that I know that do what I do, they have a defense background. They had an epiphany, you know, maybe they decide to switch sides for better pay, more flexible schedule—they don’t have to bill. Mine was a belief, an unwavering belief in being a champion for others. I put everything into my cases, everything. I don’t advertise. You wouldn’t see me on a billboard or radio, TV. Everything that I get comes from word of mouth. That’s just what I think separates me. I’m not the most eloquent. I’m not the most polished speaker, but I’m authentic. I’m me, and no one’s going to outwork me. That’s just been my mindset ever since I started practicing.

Chad Sands: After all these years of practicing, I’m sure it’s hard to choose one case, but could you share a story about a case that had a significant impact on you?

Matt Nakajima: You know, everyone comes on and, you know, they want me to talk about big verdicts. I’m going to talk about a bad verdict because this is really what changed things for me. So, working for a big-time trial lawyer, I did not get an opportunity to try a case by myself for five years. The first five years of my practice, I was writing motions, defending depositions, doing all the grunt work, but I got to watch. I got to watch how these great lawyers try cases. And I mean, I got to watch some of the best lawyers in the country actively try cases on a regular basis. And I’d go get their coffee during the trial. I’d bring in the binders, all the tech. I had, you know, a foot in the room.

My very first trial, I worked it up like it was the biggest case in the world. It was a rear-end collision with a semi. The semi was under 26,000 pounds and it was a rental by an everyday person during a move. So there wasn’t some big corporate defendant. But no visible property damage to my client’s vehicle. And she had a bunch of pre-existing conditions. And my boss at the time and everybody that I was working with—these top-flight trial lawyers—was telling me, you know, what they thought the case was worth, how to do it. I can still remember when the jury came back, you know, the coldness in the room, the sweat on the palm of my hands. And when these people came in, these jurors, no one would look at me. No one would look at me. I’d asked for $500,000 for pain and suffering. And I’d asked for all of my client’s medical bills and lost wages. And I remember that verdict being read, and it was for 95. It’s 95 bucks for the medical bills. And nothing for pain and suffering.

I felt crushed. I felt horrible about this. Like maybe this wasn’t for me. And I went on then to start trying more cases. And I would literally go around town asking people, “Do you have any cases you want to co-counsel on? Maybe you don’t want to try. Maybe a case that you have a disgruntled client, and you just need help with.” And I would start trying people’s cases. And they were bad cases. They were objectively very difficult cases to win at trial. No visible property damage, pre-existing conditions, delays in treatment. Someone maybe had a history that made them unsympathetic. But I would go try it. And I lost four out of my six trials in addition to that first one.

And I said, “I’m going to give up. This isn’t for me.” My girlfriend at the time, who is now my wife, reminded me of why I got up every day and worked so hard to go to law school. Why I worked so hard to get my law license. And it was those early losses that fueled that fire to keep working harder, allowed me to break through, and finally start winning—really winning. So that’s kind of in a nutshell, what really stands out— that first loss and those ones that followed and that perseverance to keep getting back up in the face of defeat. Those failures are how I learned to be better at my craft.

Chad Sands: Do you think you’ve evolved over the years on how you handled a loss? You know, if you think back to those first six cases that you had, maybe now, how has that changed?

Matt Nakajima: I still think about the losses. I’ve had million and multi-million dollar verdicts, and I seldom think about those. But those losses still resonate with me. Especially in times where you don’t want to prepare for trial. Because I love trying cases. I actually love being in the courtroom. But it’s that grueling grind, that time alone, where it’s you and your thoughts—practicing your cross, practicing your opening, closing, going through all these medical records and binders of information, and just being alone from everybody, because that’s what I do. I have to be alone and really prepare. It’s those memories of those losses and those things that I could do today better—do differently—that really fuel me. I actually changed the way I do things.

In particular, finding who I am was a big part of that. I talked about being authentic. When I was a young lawyer—you know, I’ve been out almost 16 years now—I was not my authentic self. And what I mean by that is I would read someone do it in a book. I would watch some seminar and borrow different things from them, try to emulate their words, their mannerisms. I think that was a large reason why I was not having that success. And I finally accepted the fact that there’s nothing wrong with being me. You know, again, I don’t have to be the most polished. I can make mistakes, but I can be authentic and genuine. And as long as I’m that most authentic person in that courtroom, I think the jurors see that, they appreciate that, and they know I believe what I’m saying, and that they should believe what I’m saying.

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Now, here is this episode’s closing argument.

Matt Nakajima: 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.

Chad Sands: That was trial lawyer Matt Nakajima. Thanks for sharing your stories. To learn more about Matt and his firm, visit their website, Rittgers.com. All right, I’m Chad Sands. Thanks for listening. See you next time.

Narrator: You’ve been listening to Celebrating Justice, presented by CloudLex and the Trial Lawyers Journal. Remember, the stories don’t end here. Visit triallawyersjournal.com to become part of our community and keep the conversation going. And for a deeper dive into the tools that empower personal injury law firms, visit cloudlex.com/tlj to learn more.