John Zavitsanos Interviewed on CNBC About Why Trial Lawyers Need to Work in Person  

HOUSTON – AZA co-founder John Zavitsanos appeared on CNBC’s Squawk Box show in a segment called “How Businesses Could Approach Return to Work in 2022.” 

“Being a trial lawyer, that requires a great deal of collaboration. During the pandemic we had a number of jury trials. To get ready for a jury trial requires countless meetings as ideas come up, as issues come up,” Mr. Zavitsanos told CNBC anchor Kayla Tausche, adding that working remotely simply does not allow for the kind of impromptu collaboration – sometimes 30 to 40 brief meetings in a single day – required to prepare for trial. 

Mr. Zavitsanos appeared on a Squawk Box panel with Harvard Business School professor Tsedal Neeley whose work focuses on how leaders can scale their organizations by developing and implementing global and digital strategies. Part of the interview can be seen here. 

“There are professions where you can be productive working remotely. For what I do? No way,” he said. The AZA trial team proved its point in early December when in a closely watched trial, a Nevada jury handed AZA client TeamHealth yet another trial victory on behalf of underpaid emergency room doctors, this time with a $62.65 million award against United Healthcare, the largest insurer in the nation. See AZA Victorious in $62 Million Nationally Watched TeamHealth Trial Against Insurance Giant United Healthcare. 

Mr. Zavitsanos wrote a July 2021 essay in The New York Times about going back to the office during a pandemic and AZA’s success in doing so. You can see it here. And in August 2021 he was interviewed on NPR about pandemic office openings in “Houston-Based Law Firm Insists That Employees Return To The Office.”  

AZA, or Ahmad, Zavitsanos & Mensing is a Houston-based law firm that is home to true courtroom lawyers with a formidable track record in complex commercial litigation, including energy, healthcare, intellectual property, and business dispute cases. AZA is recognized by Chambers USA 2021 among the best in Texas commercial law and intellectual property; by U.S. News – Best Lawyers’ Best Law Firms as one of the country’s best commercial litigation firms for nine years running; has been named Litigation Department of the Year by Texas Lawyer; and was previously dubbed by Law360 a Texas Powerhouse law firm. National corporate counsel named AZA one of the country’s best in client service among law firms serving the Fortune 500.