Today we’d like to introduce you to Jamaal Jones.
Hi Jamaal, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
Today, I’m the Founder and Principal Attorney of Jones Health Law. We have offices in Miami, Nashville, and Washington D.C. with plans to expand into additional markets. However, my dream of opening the preeminent Health Law firm in Miami started in a study room in college.
I attended Loyola University Maryland and was pursuing a degree in Biology with the hopes of attending medical school. However, I decided that medical school wasn’t for me but I wanted to pursue a non-clinical career in healthcare. One day, while I was studying for a biology exam, a friend of mine suggested that I consider law school.
I took his advice and decided to attend Nova Southeastern University’s Shepard Broad School of Law because it was one of the few law schools in the country that had a concentration in Health Law. During law school, not only did I graduate with a concentration in Health Law, but I was also the President of the Health Law Society and interned at the Attorney General’s Office in the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit in Miami. All of these activities help to open doors for me professionally.
Upon graduating from law school, it took me almost a year to find a job as a health law attorney, which was surprising to me given my background. However, I remained patient (got a part-time job at a clothing store) and eventually, I was able to find a job as a health law associate attorney at law firms in the Miami area. My practice areas included Managed Care Litigation, healthcare transactions, and regulatory matters.
In February 2016, I decided that it was the right time to pursue my entrepreneurial ambitions of opening my law firm. I started the firm without any clients, little savings, and was living in a tiny walk-up apartment in Little Havana. I had nothing but a dream and a plan.
There wasn’t anything that I wasn’t willing to do to get my name out there. I attended every networking event possible and had a rule of collecting at least 3 business cards per event. I wrote articles for magazines in exchange for free advertising space and made YouTube videos to discuss health law issues. I’m proud to say that through hard work and determination, we’ve moved the firm to an office tower in Brickell and have provided legal services to hundreds of clients across our three offices!
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It was not a smooth road and that’s ok. I think that we learn from the challenges that we face. Those challenges have made me a better attorney and a better human being in the process.
I have a motto that I live by: “Patience, Persistence, and Perseverance.” The biggest issue for me was overcoming self-doubt through those struggles. I would look in the mirror and ask myself “Why are you doing this?” or “Am I good enough?”. That motto saved my dream several times along the way.
I didn’t grow up in South Florida, which meant that I didn’t have an expansive network of individuals that I could call on for support in the early days of my practice. Additionally, I’d never run a business before this, so I didn’t know much about accounting, marketing/advertising, pricing of services, etc. This meant that referrals were very slow and almost non-existent, which in turn created financial struggles for my thinly capitalized business.
During the early days, I got a second job doing document review just so that I could keep the lights on, while I continued to establish the law firm. However, I struggled to balance my 9-5, while also holding meetings via telephone with potential clients in hallways and stairwells. Eventually, I had just enough clients that I was able to leave my other job to focus full-time on Jones Health Law.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Jones Health Law provides legal support to healthcare practitioners and healthcare facilities as they navigate the complexities of healthcare transactions and licensing/regulatory matters on the federal and state level. We have offices in Miami, Nashville, and Washington D.C. but we serve clients statewide.
What sets our firm apart is our customer service, knowledgeable and experienced team members, and reasonable hourly rates. We work with individual healthcare practitioners and healthcare facilities of all sizes and budgets. We are always excited to work with healthcare providers who have innovative business ideas but need help to ensure that they comply with applicable state and Federal Healthcare Regulatory laws (HIPAA, HITECH, Stark law, Anti-Kickback, PPACA, ADA, etc.).
I’m most proud of the free content that we publish regularly on our various platforms. We post health law-specific content to our YouTube channel, blog posts to our law firm’s website, and the Jones Health Law Podcast, which can be found on all major podcast platforms. We’ve established Jones Health Law as one of the leading health law firms in Miami and we are only getting started!
We are here for you whether you are starting your Healthcare career (i.e. First Physician Employment Agreement), the prime of your career (i.e. Merger/Acquisition of Medical Practices) or if you are in the twilight of your career (i.e. Sale of your medical practice or Medical Office Building). Our goal is to provide affordable legal services that will allow your business or career to thrive.
Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
Most people are surprised to learn that I am also a Hotelier! I am a co-owner of a hotel in Picayune, Mississippi.
I’m also in the process of obtaining my pilot’s license. I look forward to being able to fly my family to the islands and Aspen during my free time.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.JonesHealthLaw.com
- Instagram: @JonesHealthLaw
- Facebook: @JonesHealthLaw
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/jamaaljonesesq/
- Youtube: @JonesHealthLaw
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/show/6dlU3XM2GPPjVytVBWtbL3?si=24ab9a93266d47ff
Image Credits
Julio Carlos and Manolo Doreste
