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 many 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, alongside real estate investing.
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 has lost people he loved. He has been broke — not tight, broke — and started over from nothing more than once. And he has sat on both sides of an IEP table — as a teacher, and for more than twenty years as a parent. None of that is a qualification. It means a client in the worst of circumstances is describing it to someone who likely understands at least a little of what they are going through.
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 — first in general civil litigation, then in personal injury. 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, 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, civil litigation — conducted client intakes, drafted briefs and motions, and managed files 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.
- Sales and sales management across several industries, including insurance and home improvement.
- Real estate investing.
- Formerly licensed as a general contractor and as an insurance producer.
- 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, admitted 2024
- 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