In this Business Blast Podcast episode, host Tyler Wagner interviews Cleveland attorney Ziad Tayeh about his professional journey and practical advice. Tayeh recounts being laid off from a large law firm after eight months, partnering with a former classmate and military comrade to launch their own practice, and ultimately finding greater success than they would have had staying at the big firm. He warns listeners about "ramble lawyers"—aggressive but ineffective attorneys who rely on loudness rather than legal skill—and advises clients to seek lawyers respected by peers and capable of winning on merit. Tayeh emphasizes the importance of asking for help, cultivating mentorship relationships, and leveraging consultants to improve practice efficiency. Reflecting on his early years, he advises his younger self to develop systematic business processes before chasing clients. He links personal happiness to clear goal‑setting, tracking, and rewarding achievements. Tayeh shares his favorite non‑religious book, Malcolm X’s autobiography, highlighting resilience and purpose, and cites a Prophet Muhammad quote about controlling anger as a guiding principle for lawyers. The episode concludes with his online contact points (tayelaw.com and Facebook).
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Welcome to the Business Blast Podcast. I'm your host, Tyler Wagner. This episode is brought to you by Authors Unite. Authors Unite provides you with all the resources you need to become a successful author. You can learn more about Authors Unite and join the free community at authorsunite.com. Now let's jump into the episode.
Alright everyone, welcome back to another episode of the Business Blast Podcast. I'm your host Tyler Wagner. Today I have Ziad Taya with us. He is an attorney at law in Cleveland, Ohio who runs his own practice. So welcome to the show, man.
Hey Tyler, thank you for having me on, sir.
Of course, pumped to have you here. We'll dive into the first question. The first question I have for you is what is the best story from your life that has an underlying valuable message?
Spanish? Well, good question. So I graduated law school in about 2011, and my first job out of law school was with this big law firm downtown. When I was hired, I was happy. They paid pretty well. It was a good job with a nice law firm. Unfortunately, after 8 months, I was laid off with the wave of employees who were hired with me. Now, when I was laid off, obviously it was a very difficult time. I was very unsure about my future and I had no real resources aside from a small severance package that the large firm gave me on my way out. Luckily, I had a partner, William Norman, who I had previously went to law school with, and before that we served together in the military. He was with the group of new hirees that was also laid off. So we decided that we should try working for ourselves, so we did. We threw up a shingle almost immediately. We were immediately profitable, and at this stage in our career, I think we're each doing better than we would have done if we would have remained at the larger firm. Now, Will and I recently split up, which was mostly just a business decision. We still do business together and we're still really great friends. But the lesson I take from this is you never really know what's good for you. So I felt really hopeless at the time I was laid off, but in retrospect, that was probably the best thing that ever happened for my career.
And what is the most valuable piece of information we should know that's within your expertise or industry?
I would say watch out for who I like to call the ramble lawyer. Now everyone wants an aggressive attorney, someone who's passionate and who cares about their situation. Unfortunately, a lot of people mistake aggressive for loud, obnoxious, or angry. Now oftentimes lawyers adopt this persona as a way to distract from the fact that they're not very good lawyers. And oftentimes they turn their anger against their own clients. People should understand that lawsuits are not a hammer. You go to court to get justice, not for revenge. Your good attorneys don't need to scream and threaten to get good results for their clients. So if you're choosing a lawyer, you want a professional who understands the law, someone who's respected by their peers in the courts, and who can win cases on their merits by putting together good legal arguments, not someone who has to scream and yell to get their way.
And what's your best piece of overall business advice, not necessarily industry-specific?
I would say don't be shy to ask people for help. So whatever industry you may be in, at some point everyone in that industry was new at one point or another. So everyone during their career has had someone that would guide them or mentor them along the way, and because of that, they're usually willing to help out themselves. Over the years, I've personally developed a several relationships with older attorneys who mentored me and guided me through the process, and now I'm lucky to be able to do the same for some younger lawyers. Um, an added bonus, it also opens up the door for referral business and collaboration. And along those same lines, um, you should consider outside consultants, uh, including business consultants. For example, I have a business coach and friend named Gary Kishbaugh who's really helped me develop my practice and to make it much more efficient and profitable.
And if you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would that be?
If only, right? I would probably go back about 6 years when I first started my law firm. At that time, I was obsessed with getting new clients, and I really didn't devote any time to developing my systems. I just went right to marketing because I just wanted to get clients in the door. If I could go back, I would tell myself to take at least a month and really work on the systems before bringing in clients. Um, as a result of not doing that, I developed systems over the course of time, a lot of trial and error, um, and my systems continue to improve. But if I would have taken the time back then, I could have saved a lot of time and effort on the way to where I'm at today.
And kind of going a little different path, but in your opinion, what's the key to happiness?
The key to happiness, I would say setting goals. You should write down your goals, track your goals, and work hard to achieve them. And once you achieve your goals, you should reward yourself for achieving your goals.
And what's the best book that you've read and what was the number one thing you learned from that?
The best non-religious book that I've read, I would say, is the autobiography of Malcolm X. He really has an amazing story. He was an orphan. He suffered from abject poverty. He fought against a racist society and eventually members of his own community that had turned against him. He was able to overcome all odds to become one of the most influential people in American history. And if a man can overcome these odds to achieve success and to stand up for what he believes in, what's our excuse for not doing so?
And what is your favorite quote and why?
Okay. More of a narration than a quote, but I'm a practicing Muslim, so I'll give you one from the Prophet Muhammad. One time he was standing amongst a group of his companions and he asked his group of companions, who is the strongest from amongst you? And at that time, the companions, believing the question to be literal, they pointed at one or the other saying, he's the strongest, no, he's the strongest. And the Prophet Muhammad said, no, the strongest amongst you is the one who is able to control his anger. And it's very meaningful for me because my patience is tested a lot in this profession. All lawyers have their patience tested. You have Rambo attorneys, you have sometimes difficult clients, difficult judges, but it's important to be able to control your temper, take a deep breath, maintain your professional bearings, and do a great job for your client.
Thank you so much for coming on, man. Such a valuable episode. The last question I have for you before we let you go is where's the best place for people to find you online?
I have a website, tayelaw.com, T-A-Y-E-H law dot com. And I also have a Facebook page. Perfect.
Thanks again, man. We really appreciate you coming on.
Thank you for having me on, Tyler.
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