The Successful Business and Practice of Law - Presented by LAWCLERK - Jarrett Adams - My Journey From Being Wrongfully Convicted to Now Fighting For Justice

HOST: Greg Garman

Introduction:

Welcome to The Successful Business and Practice of Law. On today’s episode, I’m talking with Jarrett Adams about the changes that need to be made in the criminal justice system. Jarrett shares his tragic and inspiring story about being wrongfully convicted of a crime he didn't commit.  But instead of dwelling on this horrible injustice that has been done, Jarrett decided to go to law school and change things from inside the system.   

Jarrett has worked with the Innocence Project and is the co-founder of Life After Justice, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to preventing wrongful convictions and developing an ecosystem of support and empowerment for exonerees’ as they rebuild their lives after exoneration. He is an attorney, author of Redeeming Justice, and a man on a mission to help those who have been neglected and wronged.

The Successful Business and Practice of Law is brought to you by LAWCLERK. This is a place where we can have conversations with lawyers who have achieved outsized success, those who are building innovative business models, and those who are simply doing things differently. We may also cover how technology is changing what we do. The main focus, however, is on how we run our businesses and practices in order to make them better.

Talking Points:

●      Problems with the criminal justice system

●      The difference between the US adversarial system and the English system

●      The impact of race within the criminal justice system 

●      Jarrett’s experience when he was wrongfully convicted of a crime

●      The realism behind going from warehousing people to rehabilitation

●      What led to Jarrett’s wrongful conviction

●      What it’s going to take to make changes

●      Judicial discretion versus mandatory sentencing

●      Building a business model around doing good

●      What Jarrett wants to build

Resources/Links:

Jarrett Adams: https://jarrettadamslaw.com/

Redeeming Justice by Jarrett Adams: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/624157/justice-for-sale-by-jarrett-adams/9780593395905

Life After Justice: https://www.lifeafterjustice.org/

Innocence Project: https://innocenceproject.org/

LawClerk: official website

Quotes:

“You can call yourself whatever you want but when you’re an attorney, you serve the people.” – Jarrett Adams

“The scariest thing I saw was the people getting out of prison in the winter time, only to return by the end of summer.” – Jarrett Adams

“We have to go with discretion but the discretion can’t be unchecked.” – Jarrett Adams