Episode 62: Scaling with Purpose – Building a Law Firm & Legacy with Tim Semelroth

Scott Vicknair, injury attorneys, we fight for the win. Good afternoon and welcome to the Overruled podcast. Brought to you by the Scott Vicknair Law firm. We are excited to bring you an exciting episode today. We have a great guest, a friend of both Brad Scott and mine, Mr. Tim Semoroth from Iowa. Good afternoon, Tim, and welcome to the Overruled podcast. Good afternoon. I’m happy to be here.

Well, Tim, we know about your firm because you’re such a, I don’t know how to say it, very professional, humble, and fantastic person who runs a law firm in Iowa. We’ve met you through different groups, and in different classes that we’ve done together. And, but I was hoping, besides like our knowledge of your firm, I know it’s grown, it’s a very large practice that you have there in Iowa. You’re in three locations, Cedar Rapids, Des Moines and Dubuque. I hope I didn’t butcher that word. I was hoping you could tell every, all of our listeners a little bit about your law firm, what it is you all do, and just kind of walk us through it.

Sure. So, you got it right. We are the largest injury and disability firm in the state of Iowa. We’ve got 17 lawyers at three different offices around the state. And so we cover things statewide. What I tell folks is, we only have 3 million people in the whole state. So if you’re going to be trial lawyers like us, you have to do everything. So we have lawyers that do everything from, you know, traditional personal injury, car accident, premises case, to workers’ compensation, to social security disability, to plaintiffs employment law. And then some of us have more, select practices. Like personally, at this point in my career, all I do are truck accident cases. I have a partner, Presley Henningson, who is, the premier nursing home abuse disability lawyer in the state. So, when I tell people is that, you know, if you’re injured or disabled in Iowa, we have a lawyer who can help you.

Awesome. And I know how, so you have 17 lawyers now, which is very large for, a personal injury practice. And a lot to manage, especially with three locations. Tell, tell me a little bit, and maybe our listeners, a little bit about your journey. Like, how did you go from being a law student at a law school to a very large company that you now have to manage? Like, what was that experience like for you?

Well, it, it happened very organically. I, when I was in law school, all I knew is that I wanted to be a trial lawyer. I didn’t know what kind of trial lawyer I wanted to be. And then through, law school and the different summer clerkships you can do, I, I was able to check things off the box. Like, you know, like I knew I didn’t want to work for the government. You know, after, getting the chance to do, you know, some work with, you know, prosecutors’ offices. I, I then went to the largest law firm in Arizona, you know, over 400 lawyers for the first summer, realized I didn’t really want to work for corporations either. I, I then went and clerked for a federal judge, here in Iowa after law school. And it was at that point, I got a chance to watch a lot of different people in trial.

And I realized that ultimately what I wanted to do was, was represent, working people, people like my parents, and the best opportunity to do that was to join a, a small plaintiffs personal injury firm, which is what I did right out of law school. And how long has it been now, Tim, that you’ve been out on your own? Well, so I’ve never, I’ve never left. I, I tell people I’ve had the same parking spot for 28 years. Yeah, I was, I was hired by two lawyers who started this firm. It had been in existence for, you know, 10 years, but it was a very small boutique, it was probably best known as a boutique medical malpractice firm. And I was the, the first lawyer that they, they hired. And then, as one of them left to become a judge, I, I learned a little bit about, you know, what life is like when, when you’re just relying on that one big case to come in, you know, a couple times a year and covered the bills. And that’s when I realized that I wanted to diversify our practice so that our income would be more steady. And, and I could focus on cases besides just medical malpractice cases. And not suffer from crippling anxiety about where is your next revenue going to come from, right? If you’re just, no matter what business you’re in, and we talk about it a lot in law, it’s like systematizing your practices and operations and marketing so that there is certainty.

But it really doesn’t matter what business you’re in. You want some certainty in your income and revenue for both your employees and team members, safety, and having their group positions being positions that they’re able to grow and succeed in, but also your own crippling anxiety, right? Absolutely. Yeah, I think, one of our mutual mentors, you know, teaches that the most dangerous business, or the most dangerous number in business is one. Whether it’s one client, or one type of case, or one revenue source. And, and so, you know, I knew as, you know, a young father, you know, with kids that, I need to take care of, that I wanted to make sure that I was going to be getting a, a steady paycheck, regularly. And, and so that’s why, that was one of the driving forces for diversifying. I’d like to say it a little bit differently. I think I am stealing this from Ben. I think he says when you have one, you have none. But that’s amazing. Now, the firm, kind of has cases all throughout Iowa and has all those different practice areas. What has been some of the challenges that you’ve faced and having multiple locations and that wide of a practice? Has it been, able to like implement the culture throughout or can you talk through some of the challenges that you’ve had as you’ve gotten as large as you are?

Well, the, the biggest challenge, is, is just making sure that you’ve got multiple lines of communication. Because, you know, as you know, in any, in any business, you learn a lot from your coworkers. And it’s almost always, a negative when you feel isolated from the other people that you work with. And so, I, I tell people, you know, obviously the pandemic was a, you know, a horrible thing for the most part. But, it, it forced us to develop systems and tools that allowed us to have a good line of communication, regardless of whether or not we’re working in the same office.

Yeah, that’s a fantastic point. What is, Tim, what is it, what kind of drives you? What is your main motivator at this stage of your career? Because you’ve had a lot of success and you’re a very large practice and firm now that you’re running. I know your answer is not going to be money. Like, what is it that motivates you and really drives you to continue to like grow your firm and make it sort of on the forefront, whether it be AI, and processes, and different pieces of technology that help you deliver a better experience to your customers. I would say it is, I, we have been very purposeful about the people that we’ve brought into the firm. And, you know, we grow when we have the opportunity to add talent. And, and all of these talented lawyers, that, it’s exciting to work with them. It is exciting to, you know, help them grow their practice. And so, honestly, I, I probably put in the hours now because I want all of them to succeed. You know, I, I’ve been very fortunate, in terms of, you know, the success of our practice so far. And I want them to have the same sort of experience. It’s interesting because I was telling somebody this week at these meetings that I was at. I, I think now, like one of the main things that gives me satisfaction, which is like real and not bullshit, but deeply meaningful, is watching something that you’re managing and growing, positively impact your team members’ lives. Not just in them making more money, which is a piece of it, and we want them to make more money, right? As we grow. But watching them personally and professionally grow as people. It is meaningful, isn’t it? You know? Absolutely. And, and the thing is, I like lawyers. I, I, I, I admire good lawyering.

And, and, you know, we’ve been, we’ve been very successful in being able to recruit, you know, some of the best lawyers in Iowa and then the country to our firm. And so, you know, when they succeed, it is, you know, it’s fulfilling, sure, but it’s just fun to watch. It is. It’s fun to watch people reach their potential. How much of your, I know you’re very involved in teaching trial practice, which is cool. And, and you have been for many decades now. And that’s a big, I think a big driver, a passion project, if you will, for you and being able to teach the next generation of lawyers and pass on the skill set that you’ve developed over the years. Can you talk a little bit about that and why you do that? Sure. So, I grew up, in a very blue collar, family. My dad worked in a factory, my mom was a teacher. I never met a lawyer until I was in junior high when, I learned about a program called mock trial. And that’s, you know, that’s an extracurricular activity where lawyers come in and they help coach you and, and, teach you how to put on a trial, and then you compete against other schools, you know, regionally, statewide, nationally. And so, that changed my life. I, I did mock trial in junior high, I did mock trial in high school. I went to college. I was on, the national championship college mock trial team.

I went to law school, was on the trial team there. And so I always knew that was, that was a huge driver in terms of who I became. And so the first chance I had to start passing that on to other people, coaching other people at the middle school and high school level, at first, I did. I actually started coaching my, my old middle school and high school teams when I was a third year law student. Amazing. And you’re still, I, I think from reading some things, some different posts that you put on LinkedIn, and knowing a little bit about you, you’re still involved in all that. Absolutely. Absolutely. I, I tell people that when, when the sun is shining, when the weather is nice here in Iowa, you know, I play, I play sand volleyball. I’ve played with the same guys for almost 30 years now. Nice. And, and when it’s cold or rainy, I coach middle school mock trial in the, the fall and I coach high school mock trial in the winter. That’s amazing. And I just think, you know, it says something about your values system. From an outsider’s perspective, that at the success that you’ve had and the point that you are in your career, that it still is, that you’re still giving your time to that. And developing that next generation. Like it is, it matters. In my opinion. Well, it’s, it, I, you know, I wish I could say it’s because I’m altruistic, but the reality is it’s just so much fun. You know, it’s like we talked about with the lawyers in the firm, watching, middle school or high school students commit to being great at something. And then, you know, seeing where hard work takes them is, is a real thrill.

And people always ask me when I’m going to stop doing it. And I tell them, yeah, I, I don’t know, because I, I keep having fun every year. Well, and I actually this week had a discussion with a friend of mine. Is there anything that is purely altruistic? There probably isn’t, right? I mean, like I’m very involved in volunteer organizations. And in some ways, I think the big secret is that like, I feel selfish because I get so much out of it. That, yeah, you’re helping others, but you get a lot back. And it’s the same with like, you know, your law firm, just like ours does a lot of community marketing. Is that a business purpose? Of course. But like, is there any pure altruism, right? So, I’m sorry, I’m going down the altruism, rabbit hole now. But, before we kind of get into some fun questions I have for you personally, I want to first talk about Iowa, the state of Iowa. What is the best food in Iowa? Well, I would tell you that we have some of the best steak, in the US. You know, we, we raise a lot, yeah, we raise cattle here in Iowa. But we’re probably best known for our part, our pork tenderloins.

So, you know, we, I, I don’t know if it’s, I think we, we’re in an arm wrestling match with, North Carolina as to who has the most, pigs per capita each year. But, a, you can’t beat a good breaded pork tenderloin. Gotcha. And if I’ll find myself in, is the primary office I may have asked this before and I forgot already, it shows you how good my memory is firing on a Friday, Tim. Is the primary office in Cedar Rapids, or Demoin? Well, we started in Cedar Rapids. So that’s where most of our employees are. But we’ve got a pretty good sized office in Demoin too. But if, if you find yourself in Cedar Rapids, and, you, you want a good pork tenderloin, there are a couple of places. There’s a place called Tornadoes, I’ll take you to. Okay. Tornadoes. There’s a place called, the Starlight, that I’ll take you to. And, and the thing about pork tenderloins in Iowa is, if they are not as big as your head, then you’re in the wrong place. That’s a good tip. Now, what about the Moines? Where do I eat, where does the restaurant that when Tim Semoroth is visiting Demoin, where are you going? Oh gosh. So, I’ll tell you, there is a, a very high end steakhouse called, the 801, where when Iowa hosted all the presidential caucuses, that’s where you would see all the, the, you know, TV political reporters eating at. But also downtown, there is a surprisingly good seafood place. And, and, and I always liked it, but I, I took a, a trial lawyer, that probably most of your lawyer listeners know, Keith Minnick, to, to this restaurant called Splash, in downtown, Demoin.

And he told me after the fact, he was nervous because, you know, we’re a long way from an ocean, but it was one of the best seafood meals he’s had in his life. Interesting. You know, I actually have some Iowa facts for you. I have a, a close friend from the fraternity. I’m an SA, his name is Steve Churchill, and he was very close to a former Iowa governor Terry Branstad. And when Terry Branstad became the, ambassador to China, when President Trump was the president first term, Steve actually was his chief of staff and moved to China when COVID was hitting and all the things. But I never realized in that whole experience and talking to Steve about it, that Terry Branstad when he was younger, had become friends with a very like, upcoming person in the Communist Party named Xi Jinping. Yes. And was very close friends with him, which made him actually an ideal candidate for the president to make him the ambassador. Because I believe China imports a ton of meat from Iowa. Is that right? Yes. Yes. Absolutely. That’s why, you know, whenever there are issues related to, beef production or pork production, Iowa was usually right in the thick of it, because, because we export so much. Is Iowa, is there a big trucking industry? I’m assuming through Iowa, which would maybe lead to more trucking cases?

Because I know that’s your primary focus. You just have a lot of trucking coming through there, in the beef and meat industry. Is that one of the reasons or? Well, it actually has more to do with, the, the corn and grain. Gotcha. Most, you know, you have to get, you know, the crops to, a facility. And so there are a lot of, small trucking companies and individual, farmers who have small trucking companies, because during, harvest season, you’ve got those grain trucks, you know, going through the state. And then we’re in the middle of everything. So we’ve got big interstates, you know, running east and west and north and south. And so, our interstates are full of semis taking, taking goods from, you know, one edge of the country to the next. Makes sense to me. Where do you fall on the great Iowa divide? Are you a University of Iowa or are you an Iowa State? I mean, like, where are you? So, I, I’m a Hawkeye. I went, that’s where I went to law school, the University of Iowa. But, my wife went to Iowa State. My mother went to Iowa State. And my daughter goes to Iowa State. So I tell people that, that Iowa has my heart, but Iowa State has my checkbook. I like that a lot. And Brad would appreciate that because considering he, is a family of one when it relates to him, he’s outnumbered everyone else’s three daughters and a wife.

Okay, I would like you to give us just some random, first thing that comes to mind, one or two as we conclude our, round trip of the state of Iowa, just some facts that some people may not know about Iowa. So I’ll just let you go. Well, I’ll tell you, the best sporting event that you can go to in Iowa is to go to a University of Iowa college wrestling meet. I think that, Iowa City, Iowa is the only place where you can watch 15,000 people, the vast majority of whom wrestled themselves, at some point, just standing up and cheering and, and, screaming through, through an entire meet. So it’s, it’s one of the, the most, unique sporting events that you’ll ever be able to attend. Interesting. Amazing. I’ve never heard of it. When is it? Is it? Well, the, the, the college wrestling season, is, is in the winter. So, you know, things start kicking off in November and goes till March. Okay. Tim, now it’s time to talk about a hard answer. What is your most, what is your favorite book? And I’ll let you give away with two. And they can be, it could be, it could be fiction or it could be business related. I always go down this rabbit hole of, like every freaking book I read is like a business motivational book. I need to like get some interesting things in here, but I’m just going to let you name one or two of your favorite books. Sure. Well, I, I’m going to go with an oldie but a goodie. It’s a Tool Gonde’s, The Checklist Manifesto, which came out I think 17 years ago. And, a Tool Gonde is actually a surgeon.

And, and he wrote a book about the power of checklists, whether it’s in, airplanes, medicine, rock and roll, and, and how, in any endeavor where, we’ve gotten to a certain point where there’s more details and more information than the human brain can keep track of all at once, a checklist can, can perform miracles. And so he’s a talented writer. I, I read the book, you know, 15, 17 years ago. And, it transformed my practice before I ever had even heard of what a standard operating procedure was. Love it. Let me ask you too, Tim, it could be a young lawyer thinking about going to start their own practice or anybody who’s thinking about starting their own business. If you have to give somebody who’s thinking about, going out on their own or running their own business, some advice, what would it be? It would be keep track of and stay in touch with everybody that you ever do work for. It is very hard and very expensive to convince people that you know what you’re doing. But it is a sin to lose track of people who, presumably, if you’ve worked for them in the past, know you, like you and trust you.

Because, if you can keep in contact with those people, they will keep you fed. Amazing advice. And believe it or not, that is my go-to answer for what’s the one mistake you made starting your own business that you would fix from the outset. And, luckily, we had glass. So I learned pretty quickly I was making that mistake and fixed it. Okay, what is your superpower, Tim? What is like the one thing? I know you’re a very humble guy. This is probably a question you’re uncomfortable with, just like I am whenever I get asked. But what is the one unique trait or characteristic that you believe you either were born with or you’ve worked on that’s helped you manage and grow this incredibly large firm that you now have and manage? Well, I’m going to go back to, you know, and maybe I, maybe I’m not as humble as I should be. But I, I am the best mock trial coach in the state of Iowa. And, and what that has meant for our firm is that, I now have four former students that I coached, who are lawyers in my firm. And so people ask me all the time, how do you get such great lawyers in your firm? People who, go on to be such great trial lawyers. And I say it’s easy. You meet them when they’re 14 years old and you start coaching them. I love that. So, see, there is no complete altruism.

We’ve circled back all the way back. Well, this has been a great discussion, Tim. If anybody wants to find you, let’s say it’s like referral council, down here is looking for an attorney in Iowa, or anybody who just wants to learn more about you. He tells us about the website, what socials, things, different places they can find information about the firm. Obviously, we’re going to link it all in the podcast. Yes, sir. So, our firm’s URL is fightingforfairness.com. And so you can learn all about, my firm, RSH legal there. And all the different types of cases we handle. If you’d like it to connect personally, the social media, channel that, that I spend most of my time on is LinkedIn. And I try to post at least a couple times a week. Sometimes it’s a book review, sometimes it’s a lesson I learned. Sometimes it’s just great takeaways I get when I go to a mastermind or a CLE. So, any, any connections that I can make from the, the good people of Louisiana, you know, hop on LinkedIn. I’m the only Tim Semeroth there. Well, Tim, thanks so much for being on the show. I really enjoyed chatting with you but about the firm and your practice and journey. Absolutely. Thank you. And thanks to all of our listeners. It’s been another interesting episode of the Overruled podcast. Brought to you by the Scott Vicknair Law firm. I almost butchered that as well. We’re talking about butchering meat in Iowa, I’m butchering our law firm’s name. In any event, thank you all for listening. We can’t wait to see you next time. Scott Vicknair, injury attorneys, we fight for the win. Information is for illustrative purposes only and does not constitute tax, investment, or legal advice. Always consult with a qualified investment, legal, or tax professional before taking any action.