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What almost ruined my life was an addiction to prescription painkillers from the age of 17-25.
My junior year of high school, a Doctor prescribed me a painkiller for my recovery after surgery for a wrestling injury. In a year, I went from a kid who took his first painkiller to a kid who would do painkillers before school to a kid who would always have a bag of painkillers to a kid who showed up high at senior prom on a bunch of painkillers and an ecstasy pill.
I’m considered “cool and edgy” because of drugs, and I’m the President of the Class, the guy on stage announcing the prom king and queen, good friends of mine. I actually had pride in my lifestyle even though I was hiding it from my parents. (A little context, it was 2010, and it was the middle of the opioid epidemic. Everybody on my football team had tried painkillers, and so had lots of my friends).
My girlfriend knew, and when we broke up right before I went to college, she called me a “pill head.” I didn’t see myself that way, and her label bothered me so much I vowed not to do pills at Penn State, which I upheld for two years. But then I joined a fraternity and I was back to the races with the pills.
In my junior year, I told my parents about my drug issues because I owed several guys in our fraternity thousands of dollars, and I had no way out.
Prior to this, my parents had the utmost confidence in me, but after my confession, they questioned my future. I went through withdrawals in their house, and one of my biggest regrets was my mom having to see me like that.
I thought I was a bad person. I was lying to the people I love, and I was full of crap. The opposite of self-confidence is the feeling no matter what you do, you’re destined for the bad life you’re living.
I stopped doing drugs and applied myself working on both a Juris Doctorate and an MBA at the same time. I went from the 99th percentile admitted to the top 10% after the first semester. But addiction is a bitch, and in my second year, I fell back into the pills.
It all came to a head one day after a week in Las Vegas drinking and doing drugs. I took a red-eye flight home and went straight into a legal writing seminar. I had my first-ever panic attack, which felt like a heart attack, and I thought I was going to die. I left the seminar and urgently called my therapist who said, “Are you finally ready?”
I was finally committed to getting sober, and I found recovery in 2016 with the help of a 90-day outpatient rehab program and a twelve-step. I’ve been sober since.
I graduated near the top of my class and landed a dream job offer with a well-known and respected law firm in Philadelphia at $120,000 per year. I shocked everyone when I turned down the position and instead, I started TopDog Law.
Most people had written me off as someone whose life would be ruined by drugs. The beautiful thing is that God put me through the experience for a reason. What was once my biggest liability is now my biggest asset. I’m grateful for my struggle and wouldn’t have it any other way. It allows me to connect with people on a deeper level and offer my experience, strength, and hope to those who are dealing with addiction or going through the devastation of a catastrophic injury. , I
I could have told a story about how successful TopDog Law is and how our network of local personal injury attorneys get their clients top dollar because we do, but I choose to honor my story and share my struggle with painkillers because everyone has a struggle of their own.
TopDog Law is a national marketing network that collaborates with James Helm, Helm Law Group, LLC, and other experienced local attorneys across the country, licensed in the states where they practice, combining our extensive resources and knowledge with their deep understanding of state-specific laws and regulations.
Helm Law Group, LLC maintains at least joint responsibility for each client file, and most cases are referred to TopDog Law’s network of attorneys across the country for principal responsibility. This strategic partnership allows us to provide you with the best of both worlds: the power and reach of a nationwide network of law firms, coupled with the personalized attention and local know-how of attorneys in your community.
With TopDog Law’s network of local attorneys on your side, you can rest assured that you have a tenacious, experienced team fighting tirelessly to secure the maximum compensation you deserve, regardless of your location.
TopDog Law is a national marketing network for law firms, including Helm Law Group, LLC, which license the TopDog Law name and separately operate in states where they are each licensed. James Helm is licensed to practice in Arizona and Pennsylvania. Helm Law Group, LLC operates in Arizona.
Rick Houghton
122 S Main St #220
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
3225 Cumberland Blvd, Ste 100
Atlanta, GA 30339
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Alexander Shunnarah Trial Attorneys
600 Peachtree St NE UNIT 3710
Atlanta, GA 30308
111 Presidential Blvd., Suite 251
Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004
1 South St, Suite 2125A
Baltimore, MD 21202
950 22nd Street N. Suite 600
Birmingham, AL 35203
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Alexander Shunnarah Trial Attorneys
2201 4th Ave N
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361 Newbury Street, 3rd Floor
Suite 310
Boston, MA 02115
305 E 204th St.
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101 N Tryon St. Suite C
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Volta Personal Injury Lawyers
1009 East Blvd
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Law Offices of Sobo and Sobo
5764 S Archer Ave
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2217 E 9th St, Suite A
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Law Offices of Sobo and Sobo
2215 E 9th St
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66 S Logan St Suite B
Denver, CO 80209
645 Griswold Street, Suite 1309
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204 Courthouse Rd
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863 Massachusetts Ave 2nd floor Suite B
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McCready Law Injury Attorneys
8200 Haverstick Rd Suite 210
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317 E Capitol St suite 200C
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1701 Troost Ave suite 202b
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Richard Harris Personal Injury Law Firm
6900 S McCarran Blvd # 1010
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Richard Harris Personal Injury Law Firm
801 S 4th St
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116 Ottenheimer Plaza Suite 4B
Little Rock, AR 72201
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Alexander Shunnarah Trial Attorneys
116 Ottenheimer Plaza Suite 4B
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8124 W 3rd St, Suite 201
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Oakwood Legal Group
8123 W 3rd St. 2nd Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90028
5350 Poplar Ave, Suite 850B
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Keches Law Group
2 Granite Ave #400
Milton, MA 02186
1433 N Water St Suite 400D
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Law Offices of Sobo and Sobo
606 West Wisconsin Avenue
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Lawfty Law
8 S Main St
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1770 Park St STE 200
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600 Mount Prospect Avenue, Suite A
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Law Offices of Sobo and Sobo
600 Mt Prospect Ave
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Law Offices of Sobo and Sobo
5008 Broadway
New York, NY 10034
66 Franklin St, Suite 300C
Oakland, CA 94607
5627 Germantown Ave Suite 420
Philadelphia, PA 19144
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Rodden, Rodden & Breslin
125 N 20th St
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2700 N Central Ave Suite 320B
Phoenix, AZ 85004
6425 Living Place, Suite 200
Pttsburgh, PA 15206
920 West Sproul Road, Suite 201
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4625 Lindell Blvd Suite 200 & 300C
St. Louis, MO 63108
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The Bruning Law Firm
555 Washington Ave Ste 600A
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LM Law
1775 Tysons Blvd
Tysons, VA 22102
1150 Connecticut Ave NW, Suite 802B
Washington, DC 20036
6832 W North Ave Suite 2A
Chicago, IL 60707
3509 Haverford Ave, Suite 102
Philadelphia, PA 19104
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Lawfty Law LLP
1701 Rhode Island Ave NW, 4th Floor
Washington, D.C. 20036
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