Todd Olivas and Rick Castro, of TOA Storytellers, have a podcasting goal: Interviewing luminaries in our field. They interviewed the firm’s General Counsel and Co-Managing Partner, Jeff Adelson and below is an summary of the interview, with some great quotes.
Jeff started in Comp in 1978. His cousin Marvin, now a judge, inspired him to be an attorney. “According to my dad, the best experience for being a lawyer is selling shoes.”
Ultimately, it was a book he read in college that got Jeff started in Workers Comp.
Working by Studs Terkel
“I’m really fascinated by everything that goes on in the workplace. Because it’s real. It’s that center cut of America. Taking the depositions of working people, you will learn a lot about our country through the stories of the people.”
“Terkel asked people what they do at work? He asked veterans what they did in the war. Everyone’s story is unique. In particular, every immigrant’s story is unique, more so than you can imagine.”
Note: Jeff Adelson’s family were immigrants.
“There are a lot of people with a lot of courage walking around in this world. You might not look at them and think they are courageous people because maybe their job isn’t prestigious. But they still had the courage to leave their home, to come to an unknown place, to try to find a better life. There are a lot of things in the world that are right in front of us that we don’t see or appreciate.”
“Inspiration can be found anywhere. Everywhere. If you take the time to talk to people.”
“All people want is someone to be nice to them. Smile. Be nice. Say thank you. Do good work.”
Listen to the interview by clicking here. (Run time: 1 hour, 22 minutes)
