Attorney Samir Hadeed is a practicing criminal law, personal injury, & auto accidents lawyer located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Samir graduated with a Bachelors degree from Duquesne University before moving on to receive his law degree from Case Western Reserve University. While Samir was completing his degrees, he had the opportunity to intern in the Allegheny County solicitor’s office and intern for a Judge in Allegheny County as well. Both of these offered Samir great insight and experience in the career that he would eventually pursue. Working with a judge gave Samir insight into how a judge thinks and analyses cases. Working with the Solicitor’s office gave insight on prosecuting and defending cases such as slip and fall and other injury type of cases. Samir was also heavily involved with athletics, specifically hockey as well as track and field while receiving these degrees. He knows the difficulties that student athletes face while at school.
Attorney Samir Hadeed has been practicing criminal defense, personal injury, auto accidents and traffic tickets since 2008. Samir speaks Arabic, Portuguese, Spanish, and Italian. He also plays piano, and is an avid strength athlete/powerlifter. He understands the importance of maintaining balance between his work and personal life and he hopes to continue his successful career moving forward while expanding his knowledge and experience is other areas of life as well.
In the last few years, what lifestyle, habit, or behavior change has had the biggest positive impact on your life?
I have learned to be content with anything that life throws at me. I make it a habit of mine to deal with the difficulties of life with a positive attitude. I believe that no matter what the trial or tribulation, if we endure it with a good attitude, we are going to develop even more strength and courage and positive things will come from the situation.
When you feel unfocused, what do you do?
When I feel unfocused, I will pray. The Eastern Orthodox way of prayer is more of a meditational type of prayer, and it will help me to focus again. This is something that not only helps me when I feel unfocused but also when I am stressed or overwhelmed. The combination of stepping away from my work or whatever it is I am doing and taking the time to pray and meditate is beneficial for so many reasons.
What advice would you give a smart and ambitious recent college graduate? What advice should they ignore?
Be sure to still make time for time things that are important, like your family, your fitness and health goals, and anything that is important to you. You need to have a balance between your work and your personal time. Don’t pay attention to the people who tell you how difficult something is or how impossible it is for you to do something. They might say something is stressful just because they don’t know how to deal with stress, but that does not have to be the story for you. Also, do not pursue money as your main objective. If you always chase money, you will always be poor. Seek trying to help others as the main objective and you will always be rich.
How did you know you wanted to be a lawyer?
I did not know that I wanted to be a lawyer until I realized what type of difference a lawyer can make and just how much you can help people who are going through stressful times. When I was an athlete in college, I saw my teammates getting into trouble. One lawyer helped him save not only his criminal record but also save his college scholarship. I was always told by teammates that I was the mouthpiece for the team, so I started to combine everything together and discover what I may be able to do to help the unfairly accused or the people who have made mistakes but are looking for a second chance. It quickly became very rewarding.
What is one lifestyle trend that excites you?
I am into power lifting. I love the aspect of fitness that challenges me to do more, while training safely and responsibly. I am currently training for the Strongman contests. This training is another way I like to help improve my overall health. Activity, especially rigorous training like this is good for the mind and for the body. These workout sessions are a daily reminder to continue to have discipline in everything I do, as well as a way to relieve stress and improve my health.
Who has been the biggest influence in your life and why?
My family is Syrian. I have a big family that is super close and very tight knit. My family and my parents have been the biggest influence in my life. My parents taught me how to treat people, to have a good attitude, and to be good to people. They emphasized always working hard and staying disciplined. My family definitely encouraged me to never give up on things and especially to never give up on people.
What’s one of the biggest life lessons you’ve learned (can be personal or business related)
Be content with whatever life throws at you. Handle very difficult situations with a good attitude. Have courage and do not be anxious for anything in the future. Everything will work out if you persevere and have a good attitude.
What do you think it is that makes you/someone successful?
What makes someone successful is hard work, discipline, and never giving up. Also, knowing how to treat people is crucial to success. You catch more bees with honey. It’s also good to remember to keep yourself open to different experiences, especially when it comes to your career. The more experience that you have in different areas, especially in ones directly related to a field you want to pursue, are monumental into your growth as an individual and as a professional. Exploring areas like volunteer work, can be extremely beneficial in opening doors for career success. Building relationships with people you meet along the way during these experiences can help you achieve your end goal.
How do you stay motivated?
My faith motivates me every day to be as sincere and authentic as possible. Waking up with that in mind and just thinking about my faith before I start my day helps me to have a great start. My athletic background also has a big hand in my motivation. All the of the experiences I have had in sport have helped me to stay disciplined not only as an athlete but as a professional as well. These virtues translate directly from your athletic career into your professional, so keeping a positive overall mindset throughout everything you do is beneficial to all that you do.
What are your favorite shows and why?
A Turkish show called Resurrection Ertuğrul. It is on Netflix, but I love seeing how the people there deal with adversity. It is really inspiring to see it and motivates me to handle adversity with a similar mindset of faith, perseverance, and discipline. I also like Last Kingdom because I like historic epics and watching the main character navigate through his destiny is fascinating to me.
What legacy do you hope to leave behind?
I would like me legacy to be that I treated people well, that I listened to them, and did everything in my power to help them. It is important to me to always be good to people. I enjoy my work as an attorney because of the way I am able to help people.