Immigration Lawyer ➡️ LinkedIn Addict | Inspiring professionals and founders daily | Hiring A players to join my firm 📩 me | Cheese is overrated but people still send me free 🧀 … I don’t know why

Most lawyers don’t fail because they’re bad at the law.
They fail because they never learned how to build a firm.

I know this firsthand.

I’m an immigration lawyer who didn’t have top grades, BigLaw credentials, or a sponsor waiting for me.
As a foreigner myself, starting my own firm wasn’t a “nice idea” - it was my only path forward.

So I built it.

In 2 years, I grew a multi-practice, 7-figure law firm, and I’m now building it to 8 figures - publicly, sharing what actually works (and what doesn’t).

Scaling isn’t about hustle or being the smartest attorney in the room.
It’s about systems, hiring, focus, and leverage.

What I do now

For early-stage firm owners:
I help lawyers who are stuck under ~$500k, doing everything themselves, build a firm that:

Brings in clients consistently

Doesn’t rely entirely on the owner

Can scale without chaos

No theory. Just what I’ve implemented inside my own firm.

For individuals & businesses needing immigration help:
I also run an active immigration law practice focused on practical, results-driven representation.
If you’re looking for help with immigration matters, feel free to reach out directly or visit my firm site.

What you’ll see from me here

On LinkedIn, I share:

How I scaled from solo → multi-practice firm

Client acquisition and hiring lessons (including mistakes)

What it’s really like building a firm as an immigrant founder

The journey to 8 figures  -  in public

If you’re a lawyer building (or rebuilding) your firm, follow along.
If you need an immigration lawyer, you’re welcome to reach out.

👉 DM me for the right next step.

My life is unrelatable.

BigLaw didn't recruit me.
Small-Law didn’t recruit me. 
Nobody recruited me.
I recruited myself.

"You are not qualified to work for us." - Every firm said.

Meanwhile, my life is anything but boring.

I built a 7-figure law firm in Oklahoma.
I employ people who depend on us. 
I help immigrants get the yes I never got.
I'm hiring more team members this year. 
I became the firm that would've rejected me.

Everyone is out there living life "how you're supposed to."

Network harder.
Apply wider.
Hope someone takes a chance.
"Keep trying" crap.

But I'm building a life on purpose.

I stopped asking for permission.
I started building my own path.
I'll choose scary independence
over comfortable rejection.

Life on purpose > Life hoping someone picks you.

Every. Single. Day.

P.S. Who else stopped waiting and started building?

Jimmy Lai

I help immigrants secure US visas to start, scale, and succeed in the U.S. | Unforgettable Professionals community for ‘BORING’ professionals l CEO @ Lai & Turner Law

Lawyer Turned LinkedIn Addict | Inspiring professionals and founders daily | Hiring A players to join my firm 📩 me | People send me free 🧀

34 years old.

Running a 7-figure law firm.

And I still don't feel like I know what I'm doing half the time.

But here's what I've figured out:

You don't become the person you want to be by feeling ready.

You become them by having no other choice.

When I started my firm, I wasn't a leader.
I wasn't a marketer.
I wasn't even a good business owner.

But I had signed commitments I couldn't back out of.
I had people depending on me.
I had bills that didn't care about my imposter syndrome.

So I became the person who could handle it.

Not because I was talented.
Because I was trapped.

The fastest path to growth isn't more preparation.

It's more commitment.

Put yourself in rooms you're not qualified for.
Take on projects that scare you.
Make promises you'll have to grow to keep.

The person you're trying to become?

They're waiting on the other side of a decision you're afraid to make.

P.S. The fear doesn't go away. You just get better at moving with it.

I didn't start posting on LinkedIn to build a brand.
I started because I had 800 followers and nothing to lose.

No reputation to protect.
No image to maintain.
Just an introvert who got fat-shamed in elementary school finally saying what he actually thinks.

The fear of being judged disappears when you realize most people aren't paying attention anyway.

I never thought that by 34 I'd already have:

A 7-figure law firm
A paid off Mazda CX-5 
24K LinkedIn followers
Clients living their American dream
20 team members (and the 2AM anxiety that comes with it)

Especially after failing the bar 3 times with zero job offers and zero backup plan.

Turns out rock bottom was the foundation.

We got played.

Hired someone who came highly recommended.
By someone we admired and we thought we found a great fit.

20 cases assigned.
Hours spent training.
Salary paid.

Then the message came suddenly:

"Personal matter. Have to prioritize that over working. Quitting today. Hope to make things amicable to come back one day.”

Me: Okay. Take care of what you need to take care of. Door's open when you're ready. 

24 hours later?

Opens their own law firm.
Takes 6 clients from us.

That door is forever closed.

Here's what I'm learning:

Trust is expensive.
Betrayal is a hell of a teacher.
But bitterness is a trap I refuse to fall into.

We failed at identifying this person.
We got played as fools.
That's on us.

And we're still hiring.

Because one bad actor doesn't get to define how we build this firm.

You can't grow a team without risk.
You can't scale without trusting people.
And sometimes, people will burn you.

But I'd rather get burned occasionally than build alone forever.

We adjust. We learn. We keep going.

P.S. If you've ever been burned by someone you trusted in business, I see you. It stings. But don't let it make you stop believing in people.

P.P.S. No food picture today.

I almost quit my law firm 9 months in.

Not because of the hours.
Not because of difficult clients.
Not because of the work itself.

I almost quit because the stress was crushing me. And I didn't even have success yet.

Everyone sees lawyers who "made it." Nobody sees the ones barely holding on:

→ Worrying about making payroll when cases aren't closing
→ Trying to make the phones ring
→ The negative review that could tank your reputation before you even build one
→ People problems and workplace drama
→ Bad actors coming into your business and stealing from you
→ Hundreds of emails and tasks demanding attention daily
→ Clients who want you available 24/7

When I saw myself as a lawyer, I had one job: practice law.

As an owner, I had 99 jobs. None of them came with a manual. And none of them were paying off yet.

The stress didn't come from working hard.

It came from decisions that never stopped competing for my attention — while the bank account stayed scary low.

Most people think owning a firm means freedom.

The truth? It means trading one type of pressure for ten others you didn't know existed.

And you feel all of it before you see any reward.

I'm not saying don't do it.

I'm saying go in with your eyes open.

Because the stress before success is real. And nobody talks about it.

P.S. To every law firm owner quietly drowning while everyone thinks you're "living the dream" — I see you.

P.P.S. If you're considering starting your own firm, ask an owner about their worst month. Not their highlight reel.

I didn't start my own law firm to get rich.

I started because no one would hire a 152 LSAT scorer.
Failed the bar 3 times.
Zero job offers.

Everything pointed to pack my bags and leave.
I built my own door instead.

Rejection doesn't close paths.
It reveals which ones were never meant for you.

Fat. Introvert. Quiet. "Boring."
Failed the bar 3 times.
Wasn't supposed to make it.

vs

Resilient. Thoughtful. Consistent.
Passed on the 4th try.
Built the firm anyway.

The facts never changed.

Just the person telling the story.

Same resume.
Different author.
Completely different life.

I fired the narrator who didn't believe in me.

I'm losing 11 hours of productivity every day. 

Because I'm paying my team to be on LinkedIn.

Not a typo.

For the next 2 weeks, everyone at Lai & Turner gets 30 minutes a day to have 'fun' on LinkedIn and build their presence.

On the clock. Fully paid.

Most law firms would call this insane.

I call it investing in my people.

Why?

Because LinkedIn changed my life.
It can change theirs too.

So get ready to see more of the Lai & Turner Law Firm PLLC crew in your feed.

P.S. The only bad part? I sent this announcement in our internal chat at night instead of scheduling it for the morning. My team probably thinks I've lost it. They're not wrong.

P.P.S. If you see one of my team members posting, show them some love. A LinkedIn addict's gotta spread the addiction somehow. 

Ayushi B. Adurakoya D. Kassandra Quintela Jaxon Skaggs Chase Kile Julie Gragg-Landes Andy McIntosh  Braden Turner Eric Strocen Alicia McLean, PhD, JD Kylie, Jodi, Elizabeth, Irish Regine Repato Jimmy Flores, Maythird, Crisha, Tristen Albanis Salazar Oğuz Erzincan, Esq. Matej, Camilla Rocha, PhD.

My Gen Z staff texted me at 10:47pm. 
"I need to talk to you about something."
 
My heart sank. In my experience, late-night conversations that start like this end with resignations.
 
"I've been here 1 year," he said. "And I've noticed something about you."
 
Here it comes, I thought. The criticism. The resignation. The—
 
"You're the only boss I've had who admits when you're wrong."
 
Wait, what?
 
He continued: "Remember when you insisted on that new intake system? It failed spectacularly. But instead of blaming us, you called a meeting and said 'I messed up. Let's fix this together.'"
 
That conversation changed how I think about leadership.
 
Here's what I've learned running a 7-figure law firm with 20 team members:
 
→ Vulnerability creates loyalty 
→ Admitting mistakes builds trust 
→ "I don't know" is a complete sentence 
→ Your team already knows you're not perfect
 
The old Jimmy would've pretended to have all the answers. Failed the bar 3 times? Hide it. B- grades? Never mention them. Spending five figures/month on ads that aren't working? Keep quiet.
 
But here's the thing:
 
My team doesn't follow me because I'm perfect. They follow me because I'm real.
 
6 months ago, I made a $20K mistake. Old me would've buried it. Instead, I called an all-hands meeting:
 
"I screwed up. Here's what happened. Here's what we're doing to fix it. Here's how we'll prevent it next time."
 
You know what happened?
 
Three team members shared their own recent mistakes. We created a new review system together. Team morale went UP, not down.
 
The most dangerous leaders are the ones who can't say these five words:
 
"I don't know. Help me."
 
Your team isn't looking for perfection. They're looking for humanity.
 
P.S. That Gen Z staff who texted me late at night? He asked for more responsibility, not to quit. He's now our intake supervisor.
 
P.P.S. To every leader pretending to have it all figured out: Your team knows. They're just waiting for you to admit it.

Brenda Baker MBA

By 34, I don’t have:

A paid-off house
$100,000 in “passive” income
A beach house
Perfect balance

Most people online claim they do.

I’m building something real instead.

Truth scales slower than fantasy.

"It's so hard to hire great people."

I've said this a hundred times.

Turns out, it was holding me back.

I'm at a law firm owner workshop hosted by Erik and Elliot. And they called me out on something I didn't even realize I was doing.

Every time I said "it's so hard to hire great people" - I was telling my brain to stop looking for solutions.

That's what limiting beliefs do.

They sound reasonable.
They feel like facts.
But they're just stories we've repeated so many times we forgot to question them.

Here's what I learned:

→ "I can't" really means "I've decided this is impossible"
→ "It doesn't work" really means "I tried once and gave up"
→ "It's so hard" really means "I don't know how yet"

The fix? One question:

What would it take?

Not "can I do this?" but "what would it take to make this happen?"

That question forces your brain out of shutdown mode and into problem-solving mode.

And here's the kicker - you don't need massive proof to break a limiting belief.

You just need one small win.

One great hire.
One closed deal.
One week of showing up consistently.

That's enough to make "impossible" feel ridiculous.

I'm not saying it's easy. I'm saying the story you're telling yourself might be the thing standing in your way.

What's a limiting belief you've been carrying around?

P.S. If you're an attorney or legal support staff in Oklahoma and interested in doing family law, reach out to me. We're expanding. 

P.P.S. Erik and Elliot’s company Empirical360 has done an incredible job with managing our family law PPC that a local friendly competitor also hired the to do PPC! And I’m not even mad about it. If you need an introduction, let me know or mention to them Jimmy sent you.

At 13, I was a straight A student.

I got pulled out of class for an English language assessment.

My American classmates were getting C's and D's in English.

But I was the one who needed testing.

Because I was from Taiwan.

What they didn't know:

I spoke 4 languages by the time I was 4 years old.

English. Mandarin. Taiwanese. Japanese.

They saw "foreign."
They assumed "deficient."

This is what it's like being an immigrant in America.

They label you before they know you.
They assume before they ask.

And yet.

Immigrants built this country.
Immigrants are still building this country.

We start businesses at higher rates than native-born Americans.
We file patents. We create jobs. We pay taxes.
We raise families who contribute even more.

I went from that kid getting pulled out of class to running a law firm that helps other immigrants get the yes I almost didn't get.

America doesn't succeed despite immigration.

America succeeds because of it.

P.S. If you've ever been underestimated because of where you're from, I see you. Keep building.

P.P.S. You may now call me DJ Jim Don’t Lai

You THINK you lack talent (you don't).
You THINK you don't create value (you do).
You THINK you're not interesting enough (you are).

But the reality is:

You lack visibility (not ability).
You lack self-belief (not value).
You lack consistency (not personality).

That's why building a LinkedIn audience is the answer.

Here's 3 notes on how (and why) to start building today:

→ Increase your visibility

Add new connections regularly.
Engage with content you actually enjoy.
DM people that seem interesting.
Treat LinkedIn as a networking event that never closes.
Post regularly. Even once a week works.

→ Simplify communicating your value

Write posts about your life (professional & personal).
Make notes, document and list things.
Share experiences, insights, mistakes, lessons, wins.
Use voice memos or notes apps to capture ideas fast.
Edit and tweak until it feels like you.

→ Expand your pool of opportunities

1 billion+ users on this platform.
Unlimited access to decision-makers.
Attract likeminded people with your posts.
Open doors to opportunities you've never had.
Consulting gigs. Job offers. Partnerships. Speaking invites.
Become well known in your industry.

(Or you can learn from the #1 LinkedIn expert today in our community at 10am central time https://lnkd.in/gbpWdMZ4 )

And it can be straightforward:

15 minutes daily after work.
10 minutes daily during breaks.
5 minutes daily in-between tasks.
20 minutes daily while commuting (if you’re not driving) 

Spend time now, to save time later.

Become a more leveraged version of yourself.

And, honestly:

Back. Yourself.

P.S. The people who seem "ahead" just started before you did. That's it.

P.P.S. Here’s me checking my LinkedIn while delicious hotpot was staring at my face 🤦‍♂️ may you not become a LinkedIn addict like me.

Here are 7 lessons I learned about business and life from a billionaire last night:

Just kidding.

I don't know any billionaires.
And I'm definitely not on any billionaire's radar.

But you know what I've learned?

The best lessons don't come from people you'll never meet.

They come from the commitments you can't back out of.
The mistakes you had to pay for.
The 2 AM decisions when no one was watching.

I didn't learn how to run a law firm from a podcast.
I learned it by signing a lease I couldn't afford.
By hiring people who depended on me before I knew what I was doing.
By showing up every day until I became the person who could handle it.

You can't borrow your way to growth.

You have to live it.

Stop waiting for wisdom from people who don't know your name.

Start making decisions that force you to become who you need to be.

Peace ✌️

P.S. What's one lesson you only learned by going through it yourself?

We've grown to 20 team members but 6 people left our team during the last 3 years. 

Each departure taught me the same painful lesson.

When a team member left, I did one thing - look in the mirror.

I didn’t overanalyze their resignation letter.
I didn’t blame market conditions.
I didn’t resent their search for better opportunities

Because every departure traces back to leadership failures:

• Wrong hire? I failed to see the mismatch
• Poor performance? I failed to train properly  
• Lost motivation? I failed to inspire growth
• Cultural misfit? I failed to communicate values

It's ownership.

The moment you blame the person walking out the door is the moment you stop growing as a leader.

My failures over 3 years:
- Assumed training once was enough
- Focused on tasks, forgot about dreams
- Celebrated wins, ignored frustrations

Each departure stung. But each one made me better.

Here's a reframe for when someone new joins your team:

Have you chosen wisely?
Will you train consistently?
Can you inspire daily?

Because if they leave, that's on you. 

Not them.

Leadership isn't about having all the answers. It's about owning all the outcomes.

P.S. What leadership failure taught you the most?

I didn't bet on myself because I believed I'd succeed.
I bet on myself because the alternative was unbearable.

Waiting for permission.
Chasing people who'd already decided I wasn't worth it.
Wearing a suit to impress hiring managers who'd never hire me. 

Desperation isn't weakness.
It's the first honest conversation you have with yourself.

I got credit for leadership yesterday that I absolutely didn't earn.

Here's what happened:

A team member, Alicia, publicly praised me for noticing she loves Coke Zero and stocking the office with it.

Sweet gesture, right?

Except… that's not what happened.

The truth is way less impressive:

I was mindlessly buying random snacks for the office on Amazon, and Prime's algorithm suggested adding Coke Zero to my cart.

I clicked "add" without thinking twice.

Zero leadership skills involved. Just Jeff Bezos's AI doing its thing.

Look, I could've stayed quiet and let everyone think I'm this thoughtful, detail-oriented boss who remembers every team member's preferences.

But that's not how I operate.

If I'm going to build a firm based on trust and integrity, I can't start taking credit for wins that aren't mine - even the small ones. 

So Alicia, thank you for the shout-out. I genuinely appreciate it, and I hope this confession doesn't completely shatter your perception of me.

(Though let's be real - if Amazon keeps making me look good, I might just keep listening to those suggestions.)

Here's my actual leadership philosophy:

Show up. Be honest. Admit when you mess up or when you accidentally stumble into doing something right.

Your team doesn't need you to be perfect. They need you to be real.

What's the most credit you've gotten for something that was pure luck or accident?

Drop it in the comments - I need to know I'm not alone here.

If I met international student me,
he'd think I ruined my life.

No H-1B sponsor.
No safe corporate job.
No guaranteed green card path.

He wouldn't understand that I traded security for building something nobody can take away.

Here’s the biggest secret to my LinkedIn addiction.

I didn't have many friends growing up.

I was that introvert kid who got fat shamed in Taiwanese elementary school.

I got in trouble in 6th grade for drawing a comic and calling the English teacher (who I liked) a 'hag' as a joke because I thought it was funny.

My second time ever being called to the principal's office.

(Btw I'm free writing this post without AI)

I played varsity tennis (yea me a fat kid) while in middle school. My record was 1-29. I guess no one liked playing tennis in that tiny town in South Dakota.

And just when I've finally got the hang of making friends during freshman year of high school, I received a phone call from my mom telling me that I can't stay in wonderful USA anymore and instead to start preparing to spend my high school years in Japan, Germany and England.

Skipping ahead to make my point here.

I am addicted to LinkedIn because of YOU.

People I've connected with and engaged with my posts to leave encouraging comments.

It's truly addicting for an introvert like me. 

Who doesn't socialize.
Who doesn't party. 
Who declines outings unless food is involved.

So from the bottom of my heart:

Thank you for feeding my addiction. YOU.

Your friendly LinkedIn addicted friend,

Jimmy 

P.S. Can anyone else relate? 
(Repost if you like it ♻️)

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