Legal Revolutionary: James Helm Defies the Odds

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Addiction rewires the brain, giving power to outside forces that use those who struggle, creating a psychological dependency that births shame. But not all who struggle are lost. Challenges are not designed to create failures or make us bad but to provide opportunities for growth and success while strengthening our resilience. For James Helm, now a top personal injury lawyer, addiction almost ruined his life. Keyword: almost.

As a young adult, Helm’s life looked great from the outside. He had friends, played sports, and enjoyed the popularity of being his high school class president, but behind the prom king and queen announcer was a darker truth. After enduring a wrestling injury, Helm’s doctor prescribed painkillers to help with his recovery, and within a year, his pockets were full of Percocet.

It wasn’t until Helm was a junior in college and several thousand dollars deep in debt from his drug habit that he hit rock bottom. But it was Helm’s faith that allowed him to see his once biggest liability as his biggest asset. His ability to take his greatest struggles and learn from them highlights his resilience, and his journey has made him an empathetic human who is better able to connect with people on a deeper level—which ultimately makes him a stronger lawyer.

Helm finally committed to breaking his addiction, getting sober, and entering recovery in 2016. Despite his struggles with addiction, Helm was able to maintain and succeed through his undergraduate and law school years. After law school, he landed a dream job with an established and esteemed law firm in Philadelphia, pulling in $120,000 a year. But this dream job wasn’t Helm’s dream job, and he stunned everyone when he chose to turn it down.

In an oversaturated U.S. law market, Helm chose to start his own business journey by establishing his own accident and injury law firm. Starting a law firm straight out of school with no money and no clients is no easy task, and like many entrepreneurs, Helm found the journey extremely challenging. With a credit score that had banks denying him funds left and right, it took time and burning through lots of cash to get the business off the ground.

Helm defied the odds and has become one of the youngest lawyers to have founded a national firm. This champion for injured victims has become one of the best personal injury attorneys, recovering millions of dollars for accident victims not just in Pennsylvania but across the US.

However, entrepreneurial success is rooted in innovation and standing out from the pack. This fact weighed heavily on Helm when deciding what to name his firm. Breaking away from the traditional firm names that consist of founders’ and partners’ names that all blur together, making them indistinguishable, Helm took an innovative marketing approach and named his firm TopDog Law.

As an “idea guy,” it can be hard to resist the temptation of taking on new business ventures, but James Helm’s life journey has proven his willpower. Now, Helm wants to strengthen what he is already doing, what he has proven successful at: helping people receive top dollar through their injury cases. Beyond that, Helm hopes his story can inspire others to know that it is never too late to decide to change your life.