Today we’d like to introduce you to James Moore.
James, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
It was April 1, 1991 (April Fool’s Day) when two young attorneys decided to leave their jobs and start a law practice in the heart of downtown Atlanta. Notwithstanding, that my wife and Mr. Hawthorne’s wife would soon be giving birth to both our firstborn. So what better time to quit our jobs?
Attorney Marc Hawthorne and I met in law school and soon came to realize that we both had an interest in the music business. Hawthorne was a songwriter and deejay before law school and I was the frontman for and R&B/Funk Band back at the University of Florida prior to moving to Atlanta and law school. So the goal was set. We would establish the premiere entertainment law firm in the Dirty South. Just one problem, we had no clients. We were fortunate that Attorney Hawthorne’s brother had been practicing law for several years and shared with us the intricacies of personal injury law. Wait a minute, we wanted to do entertainment law, not personal injury law. We soon learned that you do not come out of law school and represent super music stars. Personal injury paid the bills, while we built our music business law practice.
A few years passed and our clients began to reflect the trending Atlanta music scene of the 1990s. Familiar names like Usher, Xscape, Keith Sweat, OutKast and Ludacris became clients of M&H. We were big-time successful entertainment lawyers making deals. So much that we formed a music management and production company representing many major labels acts, including artist/producer A-Kon. We were on top of our game by now. A couple of problems. The income was not coming in. Many of our clients were “baby acts,” meaning first album success. As many of their records blew up and flew up the charts, some chose not to stick with our firm, which had assisted with the early success. Others simply did not care to pay reasonable attorney fees and undervalued our contributions to their success.
Around 2002, determining that we liked to eat regularly, M&H shut down our entertainment enterprise and returned to our roots as personal injury trial lawyers. Since that time, we have represented thousands of injury victims across Georgia. One big difference between personal injury law and entertainment law is that our clients truly appreciate what we bring to the table. Often, what we bring to the table is a check. So unlike entertainment clients who squeezed a check with a vice-grips, we are the ones issuing the check to the client at the close of the case.
Personal injury trial work is also rewarding in that we get to help the small guy against the insurance company giants and the large corporations. Now the courtroom is my stage (just like the days at good ole U of F) and the jury my audience. It’s the best of two worlds AND we get to eat regularly.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Honestly, the greatest struggle was transitioning from big-time entertainment lawyers (stated tongue and cheek) to personal injury attorneys. We were forced to humble ourselves, regroup. Music was our passion. Filing briefs was not.
We’d love to hear more about your practice.
Moore & Hawthorne is a personal injury law firm located in downtown Atlanta. We represent victims who have been injured due to the fault of someone else. While many of our clients come to us for motor vehicle crash injuries, our firm has represented people injured in so many varying ways. Many do not realize that personal injury includes such things as assaults and sexual assaults.
I am most proud of our consistency over the years and our efforts to give something back to the Atlanta community that has supported us now for over 29 years. Over several years, we have via our foundation given away scholarships to deserving graduating high school students. The firm has sponsored holiday parties for senior citizen homes and a group home for girls. We also annually sponsor a Back 2 Books Bash at area elementary schools where provide food, games, haircuts, hair braiding for girls and, of course, fully loaded book bags. As personal injury trial lawyers, we are set apart because we have always believed in personal attention to our clients. We are not a TV ad law firm built more on the quantity of clients, rather than the quality of legal service.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
A downtown law practice is great. But, we are considering opening satellite offices through the northeast Georgia region. Our clients currently come from all over Georgia, but we have some hot spots that have really supported us over the years. So stay tuned!
Contact Info:
- Address: 400 West Peachtree Street NW, Suite 202, Atlanta, GA 30308
- Website: www.mooreandhawthornelaw.com
- Phone: (404) 817-7665
- Email: info@mooreandhawthornelaw.com
- Instagram: mooreandhawthornelaw
- Facebook: Moore Hawthorne
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