Haute Lawyer hosted a webinar with expert attorney, and member of the exclusive Haute Lawyer Network, Robert Zarco.
Hosted by Haute Living’s April Donelson, Zarco, Founder of the law firm Zarco, Einhorn, Salkowski, & Brito, P.A, gave ample answers on every question with the vibrato and confidence that comes from being at the top of the game. He also told the story of humble beginnings as he immigrated from Cuba to the U.S. at the age of two. He inherited the strong work ethic that he saw in his parents, leading to present-day success that includes handling cases that have made legal precedent throughout the country. Watch the webinar below.
He also spoke about challenging insurance companies’ denials of business interruption insurance claims that have come as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. “I realized that many insurance companies were blanketly denying claims because, in their view, policies had a (pandemic) exclusion. You have to understand the world that I come from; I represent the little guys. All of those contracts are written very much in favor of the franchisor. They’re extremely one-sided, yet I have made a tremendous business out of winning cases like these because my very creative legal arguments have allowed us to pierce those contracts. If I were already able to pierce bulletproof franchise agreements, how could I not pierce insurance contracts? I started focusing on it and came up with all sorts of arguments that the insurance companies that we are dealing with have become rather concerned.”
His business advice is on par with his legal one. For the current state of the economy, he says, “I think that people need to implement self-help procedures, semi-insure themselves. Don’t over-leverage yourself. Don’t stay cash poor. You need to have enough personal money to live your life for at least six months. Plan ahead and conservatively.”
“The CARES Act was frankly a very much needed injection of cash and fuel into businesses,” Zarco said about the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act. “When you have a lot of employees furloughed and you have relationships with employees that you want to keep but you know your business just cannot afford to be able to operate, it became a situation where it was a much-needed generation of income in order to help the business sustain itself.”
Detailing a day in the life of a trial lawyer during quarantine and virtual hearing, he said, “We were having a lot of Zoom calls with opposing lawyers, and a lot of FaceTime. The technology is not perfect. You have situations where the impact is not the same if you’re not there (in person), taking a deposition with a witness over video, but we made it happen.”
“I’m not one of those senior partners at a law firm that, after doing this for 35 years, decides to let the younger people do it (all),” he said, on being hands-on in every part of his firm. “I have fantastic relationships with my clients because of the fact that they see that we care.”
“Rely on hope and believe in hope that things are going to be just fine,” Zarco said is what business owners should learn from the experiences endured during the quarantine. “There is hope that the future is going to be much brighter. I think the economy will come back much stronger. There’s a major change in America in how people live their lives and businesses. I think that everybody who is running a business needs to expect the unexpected. Look and analyze what are the things that hurt you now and plug that hole for the future.”
Closing the hour-long, engaging dialogue, Donelson asked Zarco why his clients have been so loyal in retaining his and his firm’s services. Without missing a beat, he said “I am extremely honest and, most importantly, straightforward. I call it the way I see it. The feeling of camaraderie, friendship and support (that the firm has), we provide (to) the clients. They feel protected when they come here (to our offices). I am surrounded by a tremendous group of partners, lawyers, staff members, and employees that make my operation run in a way that best services my clients, and that’s why clients keep coming back.”
