Meet Nick McGregor

Today we’d like to introduce you to Nick McGregor.

Nick, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I grew up in California and went to law school in Ohio. I had planned to move back to California after graduation, but changed my mind and came to Nashville instead. I had visited once and thought Nashville would be a good place to live, which, at the time, was a unique story but now it seems like the city is full of people who came on vacation and stayed.

I like to think that I was the first one with that idea. I didn’t have a plan or any job lined up so I worked at a restaurant while I studied for the bar exam. While awaiting my exam results I had heard about representing indigent defendants in criminal cases. I wouldn’t have guessed that to be where I’d start but I didn’t have anything else so that’s how I began.

I fell in love with practicing criminal law and started my practice representing defendants charged with crimes as small as Trespassing and as serious as First Degree Murder.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I’ve been really lucky. I have seen other attorneys come and go, either because they didn’t like it or they couldn’t sustain their business. Criminal defense isn’t for everyone, but it fits my personality. Each day is different, each case is different, and often the stakes are very high.

It’s one of the few areas of law that deals with someone’s freedom. The combination of those brings out a drive to work harder and harder every day and that mentality has eliminated many of the hurdles an attorney may face when starting his or her criminal law practice.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m able to handle any type of legal issue, but criminal defense is my main focus. There is a myth that criminal defense is merely helping the bad guys go free, but the reality is many people who find themselves charged with a crime have deeper issues than the offense charged and their arrest is just the tipping point.

Representing defendants comes with an opportunity to steer someone’s life in the right direction and keep them from complete self-destruction. I don’t reflect on it much because it’s in my ordinary course of business, but I’m certain that I have saved and changed lives by being on the side of someone who felt hopeless. Each Thanksgiving and Christmas I receive messages from people I’ve represented in the past letting me know how well things are going and that they are either sober or have reconnected with their families.

That being said, I also recognize not everyone who finds themself charged with a crime is a good person who just needs help. It would be naive to think so, but I’m competitive and like pushing myself so I work hard for the bad guys too.

Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
Setting goals and achieving them because I stay motivated.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.mcgregorlawtn.com