On November 7, 2023, I spoke for the first time at the Indiana Trial Lawyers Association (“ITLA”) conference in Indianapolis. My presentation was entitled, “Mentor as Magician: Turning Lawyers into People.” This fifteen-minute talk was about three things: (1) my journey after a severe traumatic brain injury; (2) who the injury led me to; and (3) the need to prioritize the person both in law and in life. The unspoken message was that life is primarily a relational journey.[1] The following paragraphs are a deeper take.
On September 18, 2015, I was hit by a car as a pedestrian. My head shattered the windshield of the Lexus and dented the roof of the vehicle in two separate places. Both the driver and passenger were adorned with tufts of hair and bloody glass shards. My body landed in the front yard of a neighbor’s house, while a stream of blood seeped from the right side of my skull.
My neighbors thought I’d been shot, given the sound of the collision, and emergency medical services got to me quickly. I was transported by helicopter from my hometown of Columbus, Indiana, to IU Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis, where I was diagnosed with a third degree diffuse axonal brain injury down to my brain stem. I remained in a non-induced coma for approximately two and a half weeks.
I had to re-learn just about everything when I woke up. This included how to walk, talk, and even recall the name of my fiancé who I proposed to a month prior. Nevertheless, the greatest setback from my brain injury was the felt loss of my personhood. I was not able to do the things I used to be able to do; I did not feel the way I used to feel; and people kept comparing me to who I was before the accident. I had to find myself again.
I found myself when I was found by someone else. I wanted to go into ministry before the accident. I led Bible studies at my public high school, spoke on the radio with local pastors once a month, and blogged frequently on a faith-based website. I sensed a call to serve others in this life as Jesus Christ served me in the next. I was on track to graduate high school early and did so in December of 2015 notwithstanding the accident. Chelsea, my fiancé at the time, stood by my side through everything, and we got married on March 26, 2016. We moved into an apartment on campus at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY.
My wife wanted me to get a lawyer for my personal injury case. This is how I met Matthew Schad (“Matt”) and the Schad Law team (f/k/a “Schad & Schad Trial Lawyers”). They resolved my case efficiently and amicably, as they have been doing for several decades now. The law firm is warm, the culture is welcoming, and the hook is their reputation. I was impressed with how personal the experience was. For example, Matt took us out for dinner after the initial consultation about my personal injury case. He kept saying, “You guys are so interesting.” And Matt continued to say this so early on. But little did he, let alone we, know how much more interesting things were about to get.
Chelsea and I went to the Bahamas for our first anniversary. I remember sitting in the bed of the hotel room when an idea came to me. Similar to how I was struck with a desire to go into ministry before the accident, I remember being struck with a desire to go to law school. I’ve always trusted Chelsea, so I knew if she agreed with the idea of me going to law school, then that was what I should do. “It will be very difficult, but I think that is a great idea,” she said to me.
I told Matt about my plans to go to law school. “I wouldn’t wish law school on a dog I didn’t like,” he replied. I’ve heard other lawyers say something similar. But I wanted to go to law school for two primary reasons: (1) to help other injured people, and (2) to recover from my TBI. The doctors told me higher level thinking and executive function would be a lot more difficult because of the nature of my brain injury. I remember my reasoning: “If I could do the law school admission test (LSAT), I could do anything else.”
I spent about six (6) months studying for the LSAT while in school at the seminary. Studying for the LSAT was incredibly difficult, but it helped my recovery tremendously. I achieved a high enough score to get into one of the nation’s top law schools, Indiana University Maurer School of Law in Bloomington, IN. While the LSAT was a grueling time and difficult task, it did not compare to what was up next.
At the end of my first year of law school, my wife gave birth to my first child. My daughter Scarlett was born on May 1, 2019, which happened to be the date of my Constitutional Law exam. At the end of my second year of law school, my wife gave birth to triplets – my daughters, Charlee and Frankii, and my son, Albert. My wife is amazing for sticking with me despite the brain injury, and she is amazing for carrying triplets to thirty-six (36) weeks!
Notwithstanding the challenges faced, I managed to graduate law school with four children under the age of three, passed the bar exam, and became licensed to practice law in two states, Indiana and Kentucky. I also joined the Schad Law team, working with the same attorney who worked my case seven years ago.
Life is primarily a relational journey. It is not about what you do or where you have been; it’s about who leads you through. I met Matt less than a year after my brain injury. I had just received a high school diploma, gotten married, and incurred a severe head injury. My speech slurred, mind raced, and temperament displaced. There was nothing objectively impressive about me: I did not have a resume, CV, or any credentials to wow him over. But Matt was subjectively drawn to me. He believed in me.
Matt offered me a legal internship in the summer of 2017 before I started law school. Schad Law paid me to perform legal research and document review while I was in law school. I had a feeling that I would work for Matt when I started law school, but there was nothing in writing, of course. At the end of my 1L year,[2] Matt and his wife, Kelly, drove up to our home outside of Bloomington, IN, to visit our newborn. They took us out for a fancy dinner. At the dinner table, Matt asked me about my plans for work after law school. I responded, “Do you think I could work for you?” Without hesitation, Matt extended his arm across the table and said, “You can certainly work for me.” And that’s how I got the job: through a good old-fashioned handshake.
So much of school, work, and civic life emphasizes an objective view. Everything is about everything, and no one has concern for anyone. There are bills to pay, tasks to finish, and goals to reach. Anxiety, depression, suicide, and addiction are problems throughout all of society, but they are even more pronounced in the legal profession. I think a large blame for the problem belongs to the objective focus, where there is no belief in the person, no view of the person, and no hope in the person.
Matt’s treatment of me and other clients is not just impressive, it is largely unparalleled. For example, Matt drafted a letter of recommendation after my first internship, emphasizing a subjective focus, a value of eulogy over resumé virtues. Here is some of what he wrote in his letter dated August 1, 2017:
Without question, Cameron is the best intern I have ever worked with – including some very bright law school students who ultimately graduated near the top of their class. Cameron’s ethics and moral fiber were above reproach. He always told the truth. He never made excuses. I implicitly trust him. And, in an era when many young prospective attorneys feel that they must be combative to be adversarial, Cameron was civil, polite, and respectful to everyone he worked with.
Finally, a word about Cameron’s unlimited future prospects. He possesses the rare and elusive quality to inspire those around him. He leads naturally by example, almost as if he has an aura. I have no doubt that in the years to come he will accomplish great things both in the law and in life.
The full letter can be found at the bottom of this page.
I remember approaching Matt about the letter. “You didn’t really mean all of that,” I said rhetorically. His reply: “I meant every word.” Over six years later, giving me work during law school, promising a place at his firm after law school, and helping me through some dramatic life changes, Matt has proven to me and my family that he, indeed, meant what he wrote.
The focus of my story is not on what I have done but on who has led me to it, who has led me through it, and who has equipped me for it. Faith led me to Jesus and Chelsea before the accident; the accident led me to Matt Schad and law school; and the practice of law led me to others, including the person reading this. The focus of my presentation at ITLA was not on a what but a who, and the emphasis my mentor and employer Matt Schad placed on me rather than my things.
Matt’s subjective outlook translates into his overall practice. One of the slides in my ITLA presentation read, “Thank you, Matt, for helping me become a lawyer without losing my person,” with an oversized photo of Matt’s face, which he chuckled at. Matt allows me to be my full person at work. This is why my office has photos of my beautiful wife, four toddlers, and newspaper articles about the post-TBI journey. Clients that come to me for legal services get more than just a lawyer – they get a person, they get Cameron Fathauer. Clients appreciate this and open up about their own lives. And this is where I think the lawyer truly earns the title of “counselor” – in listening to, bearing with, and supporting others through personal struggle.
Link to my book below
Here is the direct link to purchase my new book, “Saving the Subject: How I Found You When I Almost Lost Me,” where I recount my post-TBI journey and explore deeper questions of identity, faith, and purpose.
[1] Thank you, Chase Wilson, Sarah Goldblatt, Jen Kerney-Seiler, and Amanda Hazelwood, among other ITLA leadership, for giving me the opportunity to share my story and who it has brought me to, which includes all of you!
[2] “1L” is a first year law student.
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