Daring Greatly

Since he was a young attorney, LA plaintiff attorney Ron Makarem has been thinking about and quoting from Teddy Roosevelt’s 1910 speech, “The Man in the Arena.” He says it inspires him to do what he needs to do. In turn, Muhammad Ali, who is also on Makarem’s office wall, exemplifies the man who “spends himself in a worthy cause.”

Much like lawyers, says Makarem.

“I feel like we, in our profession, are those who are constantly daring greatly,” Makarem told us for a 2019 feature in Southern California Super Lawyers magazine. “We fail, but without failure we can never feel what it is to succeed. That’s what it is to be a boxer, to be a lawyer, and that Teddy Roosevelt quote is one I’ve always appreciated and consistently share with my 18-year-old daughter, who I dare to be that person who doesn’t fear failure and dares greatly.”