John W. Adams III is the attorney behind ESQs Law PLLC, a general civil and criminal practice serving clients across Utah.
He came to law late enough to have done other things first. He served in the United States Air Force and was honorably discharged. He spent four years at the Veterans 1st Center at Las Positas College mentoring student veterans, promoting veteran programs, and pressing state legislators for better active-duty-to-civilian transition services in public colleges. He taught third and fourth grade at a Montessori public charter school. He has built and run two small businesses — a phone repair and accessories retailer that took the Best of Greater Idaho Falls gold medal in its category two years running, and a disaster mitigation and restoration contractor he is still a member of.
That history is not decoration. A client who owns a small business is talking to someone who has made payroll. A parent fighting a school district over an IEP is talking to someone who has stood in front of a classroom of eight-year-olds and knows what a differentiated lesson looks like when it is actually being delivered, and when it is only being promised.
He earned his J.D. from Golden Gate University School of Law in San Francisco in 2019, where he made the Dean's List, held a merit scholarship, earned a litigation certificate, and competed on the National Mock Trial Team. The summer after his first year he completed 1st STEP — the school's Summer Trial and Evidence Program, a nine-week trial advocacy intensive run by its Litigation Center, built around evidence in the courtroom, presentation and persuasion, and brief writing and motions advocacy, taught in working courtrooms with critique after every exercise.
He clerked through law school and after it: civil litigation at Tenax Law Group in Point Richmond, California, then personal injury litigation at Curtis Legal Group in Modesto. He volunteered with Prisoner Legal Services at the San Francisco County Jail, helping inmates navigate the jail's law library and their own research questions.
His first job as a lawyer was on the other side. As an Assistant Prosecutor for the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes in tribal court at Fort Hall, Idaho, he drafted complaints and carried arraignments, motions, and Drug and DUI Court dockets for both adults and juveniles. It did not take long to learn something useful about himself: he was more interested in representing people than institutions. An institution can absorb a bad outcome. A person cannot.
That is what the practice is built around. Having sat at the prosecution table informs how he defends. Having worked the plaintiff's side of personal injury files informs how he reads an adjuster's first offer. The practice is broad because the training was.
Approach
- Answer the question that was actually asked. Clients are usually not confused about the law — they are confused about what happens next week.
- Say what the case is worth, including when the answer is unwelcome. A realistic assessment early is worth more than a confident one that does not survive contact with the record.
- Price the work before the work starts, in writing.
- Litigate when litigation is the right tool and settle when it is not, rather than the reverse.
Education
- Juris Doctor, Golden Gate University School of Law, San Francisco — 2019
- Dean's List; merit scholarship recipient
- 1st STEP, the school's Summer Trial and Evidence Program — a nine-week trial advocacy and evidence intensive taken after the first year
- Litigation certificate
- National Mock Trial Team, 2018–19
Experience
- Assistant Prosecutor, Shoshone-Bannock Tribes Tribal Court — Fort Hall, Idaho. Drafted complaints and appeared for adult and juvenile arraignments, motions, and Drug and DUI Court dockets.
- Law Clerk, Curtis Legal Group, APLC — Modesto, California. Personal injury litigation: corresponded with insurance carriers, drafted written discovery and dispositive motions, reviewed evidence, wrote research memoranda, and prepared files for mediation.
- Law Clerk, Tenax Law Group, P.C. — Point Richmond, California. Civil litigation: client intakes, briefs and motions, and file management across personal injury, probate, employment, family, wills and trusts, property, contract, and landlord-tenant matters.
- Volunteer, Prisoner Legal Services — San Francisco County Jail. Law library and research support for inmates.
- Member, All About Cleaning & Restoration, LLC — disaster mitigation and restoration contractor.
- Member, eTECH One, LLC — retail phone repair and accessories; Best of Greater Idaho Falls gold medal, 2021 and 2022.
- Elementary school teacher, third and fourth grade — Montessori public charter school.
- Student Services, Veterans 1st Center — Las Positas College, Livermore, California. Mentored student veterans and advocated for transitional services in state-owned schools.
- United States Air Force — honorably discharged.
Admissions
- Utah State Bar — License No. 19429
- Utah state district and justice courts
- Utah Court of Appeals and Utah Supreme Court
- Utah Labor Commission — Adjudication Division and Appeals Board
Areas of concentration
Work directly with your attorney
There is no intake department here. The person who evaluates your case is the person who handles it.
West Jordan, Utah 84084