Nick Passalacqua on the $3.2 Million Playground Case, Building a Trial Firm from Zero

What happens when a kid from Utica who argued with every teacher in high school founds the first mock trial team at his college, trains at one of the most selective trial programs in the country, and then launches a firm from a 10-by-10 office with no secretary, no marketing budget, and no roadmap — and grows it into one of the fastest growing law firms in the nation? In this episode of the Trustcast Show, Zane Myers speaks with Nick Passalacqua, founder of Passalacqua & Associates in Utica, New York, about what it really took to build a criminal defense and personal injury firm from scratch, how he secured what is believed to be the largest playground liability settlement in New York state history at $3.2 million, and why doing murder trials in New York with no depositions makes civil trial work look easy by comparison. They also discuss what he learned at the Jeffrey Feiger Trial Practice Institute that law school never taught him, how he uses courtroom technology to hold a jury's hand through complex evidence, the trial development program he built to train the next generation of attorneys, and the father and son who showed up unannounced at his office after his client got out of prison — to thank him for saving his life. Nick Passalacqua is the founder of Passalacqua & Associates, a criminal defense and personal injury firm with offices in Utica and Syracuse, New York. The firm can be reached at cnytriallaw.com, 315-500-NICK or 877-TRIALLAW. Connect with Nick Passalacqua: cnytriallaw.com Phone: 315-500-NICK or 877-TRIALLAW Utica and Syracuse, New York Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Nick Passalacqua 00:55 Mock trial in high school and founding the first team at Sacred Heart University 01:46 Playing Division I football and running a mock trial team at the same time 02:08 Getting into the Jeffrey Feiger Trial Practice Institute at Michigan State 04:10 Clerking for a Supreme Court justice and leaving a Utica firm with no plan 05:17 The first two weeks of solo practice — and the phone call about rent 06:42 Growing the firm through word of mouth with no marketing budget 07:26 The most awkward part of being a solo — talking about fees 08:45 Named 36th fastest growing law firm in the nation based on revenue growth 10:11 The trial lawyer development program from undergraduate intern to courtroom 12:47 How he spends his time now — 75% management, 25% practice 13:54 Criminal and personal injury attorneys staying specialized in separate silos 15:36 The $3.2 million playground liability settlement and how it happened 17:53 How courtroom technology changed the outcome of a murder trial 20:55 Why criminal trial work is harder than civil trial work 23:01 The biggest misconception people have about what a trial attorney does 24:15 Rapid fire questions 25:50 Over 1,500 criminal defense cases — the one that stays with him most 28:38 Why father is listed first on his LinkedIn headline 29:37 His youngest daughter diagnosed with stage four cancer at seven weeks old 30:24 How to reach Passalacqua and Associates Hashtags #NickPassalacqua #PassalacquaAssociates #CriminalDefense #PersonalInjury #UticaLawyer #TrialLawyer #PlaygroundLiability #TrustcastShow #CNYTrialLaw #JeffreyFeigerInstitute