Jason Aldridge '14

Jason in an attorney at Zinda Law Group PLLC, Austin. His primary focus is representing plaintiffs who have suffered personal injury.

Any business advice you would give to someone just starting in the profession?

If you dread CLEs, you may be in the wrong area of practice. My career started in administrative law; but I quickly found myself considering signing in and then leaving a full-day CLE. It was then that I thought, “This is my profession. What am I doing if I don’t want to be better at it?” If it is a chore to learn your craft, then consider changing crafts. That is what I chose to do—switching from administrative law to tort claims practice

Where do you see yourself and your firm in 10 years?

I am very lucky in that there are attorneys at my firm that I admire and respect. I can pattern my own career after theirs to achieve success. After approximately one year of practice in this new arena, I am managing a full litigation docket. In three to five years, I want to manage a complex docket with a heavy litigation load. I also want to be licensed in at least two other states. In ten years, I want to focus exclusively on major litigation matters.  There are attorneys in the firm at each of these stages, and the game plan that took each to that stage is in front of me.

Is there a nugget of advice you would give a recent Boyd Law graduate?

Work hard at your craft. Read books relevant to your area of practice. Network. You may move along in your profession with a passive approach, waiting for others to teach you the trade. But those that seek knowledge from every older attorney they meet; that read CLEs not just because it was required; that read trial advocacy books because they want to understand juries and how to best deliver an opening statement--those attorneys will lap all the others. So, seek that knowledge; and learn and apply yourself fully to your profession.