The legal field, like politics, and a lot of, it's an old man's game.
When you've been doing it for a lot of time, you, you garner the respect of your peers and judges and things like that.
The young guy is never the one that gets that respect.
Sure, it's earned. It's very much earned and, like I said, I like to win. So whatever time, energy, I have to put into making myself better.
“So I compete with those old, older people or more seasoned people and that's what I did.”
That's exactly what I did. Kendall Kayali is a resilient, strategic, and justice-driven attorney, and the managing partner of Ali and Blackner. Drawing from his journey as a former state prosecutor, he helps individuals navigate complex legal challenges and fiercely protects their fundamental rights, creating a lasting legacy of steadfast advocacy, equitable justice, and empowered representation.
I've always argued with my parents, argued with my teacher. I'd always had that little chip on my shoulder,
and because of that, everyone's always told me you should be a lawyer, you should be a lawyer, and at some point in time it just said it, and I decided, "That's what I'm going to be."
“I mean, that's what everyone says I should do, and I think I'd be pretty good at it.”
Living your legacy podcast, for those who live, to leave a legacy. Welcome back to another episode of the Living Your Legacy podcast. For Insights Access, I am Regretiers. We're moments away from filming Kendall Ali's legacy makers episode. Kendall, you've got an amazing suit, and folks that have an amazing suit are other two things, burglars or lawyers. I just made that up. I'm a senior at a burglar. Leave the
stripes to me. Absolutely. I'm a lawyer. Right on. Yeah. You know, I do criminal defense work, you know, personal injury. We fight for the rights of, you know, the common man. That's being a lawyer, in Orlando. How are things in Orlando? It's interesting. Florida is Florida, and when it comes to certain things, Florida tends to lead the country, and I like to call it being the Florida man. So I get to deal with a lot of that. A lot of problems. A lot of people get
arrested for all kinds of different things. Yeah, the kind of stories I've seen. It's interesting. God, for it is going to get mad at me for saying this, go, I'd love to work with you, because I'd love to figure out a way to grab all your stories and use it as a way to market what you do and get folks to go, what's this story? Who got him out of that? No, it's holy molyata work with this guy. That was a crazy story, especially because of Florida. Yeah, you know, we once had a case
where, you know, it's kind of, it's really sad. We're, you know, kid kills his mother. Young kid, you know, 15 years old. Wow. But I didn't represent him. Yeah, he had some mental problems. I represented the friend that he called to help him cover it up. Oh, wow. You know, that that was, you know, just some interesting things going on with that, but we were able to help that kid out because he didn't really know what was going on. He just had a young friend trying to help
“out a friend. Yeah, it wasn't going to come up with. Who was it now? That's, that's what do you think”
a lot of these strange ideas come from? Is it just really mental health or how do I want to talk about like specifics? But like, you hear a lot of crazy stories and it goes beyond what's in the Florida water. It's a lot of what's happening on your phones, what you're being exposed to across all ages. Absolutely. I feel as though we've gotten as a culture where, you know, everybody's stuck to these phones and they're just being, you know, downloading whatever they're downloaded into
their brains. And there's, uh, I've found that a lot of people don't stop and think for themselves. Yeah. Uh, and, and, you know, when you're being told what's it think by whatever fast that you're getting it from, uh, that becomes a problem. Yeah. And that I deal with a lot of that and everyone's got their opinions but they're not really their opinions. Sure. Someone else's opinions. You're absolutely right. They're really just got an exemplification of that. So I got to ask Ken, how does, how does
one become a lawyer? Like, where did your journey begin? Did you, like, start crawling and walking
and then become a lawyer? Like, when did your journey start? You know, I've, I've always argued.
I, I'm absolutely, yeah. You know, from a young age, I've always, uh, you know, argued with my parents,
Argued with my teacher.
everyone's always told me you should be a lawyer. You should be a lawyer. And at some point in
“time, I just said it and I decided, that's what I'm going to be. I mean, that's what everyone says. I”
should do and I think I'd be pretty good at it. And yeah, you know, I went to college and went to law school, lots of studying. Uh, I'm very competitive. So I like to be number one. I like to, you know, get where I'm going and, and, and when. Yeah. Uh, so that's why I ended up doing the type of law that I do, which is criminal, so that I can actually have those fights in a courtroom battle and, you know, come on on top. That's amazing. How much of what we see on television is really happening.
Well, like, how much of it is really objection and then the whole model on breaks out. You, you know, I've, I've been told by several judges, uh, when I first started, I thought I was Perry Mason.
I thought I was, you know, the guys from Boston, legal. Uh, and, you know, I've never really lost that,
obviously in in practice in real life. It's not really like that. There, it's a little bit more
“droning on and, and it's very bland. But, uh, there are times where we get to bring out that theatrical”
personality and, you know, jury trials, things like that, opening and closing arguments. That's where we get to do it. I once had a jury, uh, tell me, uh, that this was so boring. This entire thing, and this was after a trial. And then when you got up there and started talking, we were like, "Oh, yeah, finally some action." And that's also good for you to be the pit of you like, what I see on television. Oh, man. Um, what is it like for folks that are like, you know,
that are criminal lawyers, not criminal lawyers? Good. Um, well, how much of it is natural guff and how much of it is trained facing yourself in the mirror, noting, noticing your cadence, seeing your voice, that's humbling on words. I can't tell how much of it is theater. You know, that, that's an interesting, everybody's got their strengths and weaknesses. There is a lot of preparation that goes into what we're saying and how you say and how you say that's, that's either
going to be natural for some people and, uh, for a lot of people that's practiced. And yeah, I like to think of myself as being natural, but at the same time, I also spend a lot of time
practicing. Oh, yeah, I can tell. However, good you are, you can always be better.
It's funny because I always bragged them, I'm mediatorating, which what does that really mean? It just really means like to be on camera, how to face how to articulate how to speak, but you take it beyond it for level. I got to admit, I'm sure there was a party phase of or some craze phase in your life where you kind of controlled it, found a frequency that you speak at and you understand yourself and folks listen to you, understand more. How does one
controller inner voice, for folks like me? Oh, Lord, that came with experience. Oh, you know, and you know, forget the profession. It's a little bit of age. It adds a lot to that, because I remember being younger. I thought I could say whatever I wanted and do this and do that. Now, you know, you get older, you get wiser and you start controlling yourself a little bit more and how you present yourself and how you want to be perceived. Oh, and you know,
I younger candle was not always that. Yeah, yeah. How much did you stumble in your early years as a criminal lawyer? I'm sure it wasn't easy. No, not easy at all. It's like, you know, the legal field, like politics and a lot of, it's an old man's game. You know, when you've been doing it for a lot of time, you've garnered the respect of your peers and judges and things like that. You know, the young, the young guy is never the one that gets that respect. Sure. It's earned. It's very
much earned. And like I said, I like to win. So whatever time, energy, I have to put into making
“myself better. So I can compete with those older people or or season people and that's what I did.”
That's exactly what I did. Awesome. Gosh, I got a half. What's your data date like and how often are you sitting in jail sales or like, I don't know in interrogation rooms or, you know, by a pool, like, what is life for you? Like, you know, there are lawyers out there that, you know, they, they work almost part time. They don't, they don't treat it like a full-time job, because unless you're in court in trial or something like that, your schedule is your own schedule.
You can make it as, as you want. I have a normal thought. Eighth, whenever. Because given what I do, I will work all night if I need to and so forth, but I put in the time and energy because that's, that's what my clients want. For sure. You know, my clients deserve that. They deserve the best, that, and that's what I intend on giving everyone. Right on, dude. Oh, gosh. I feel like we go on
Here for hours.
on the legacy maker show. We've casted you and here you are. What are we, what will we learn about
you in your episode? And what does being a legacy maker mean to you? My legacy that I want to leave is that I will fight. I'm a fighter. In any way you look at it. I'm a fighter. I want to win and I want it fight for my clients. I want to fight for the people that I represent. And that's not just something that I want to do for myself, but I want my business doing that. And, you know, I train my attorneys, everyone that works in my office. I don't care what the scenario is. We're going to find
a way to win this. We are going to fight for our clients until there is nothing left to fight for.
“And that's, that's what I've always done and that's what I'll always do and that is what I want to”
leave behind. You know, even my kids, I tell my kids like, I want you doing everything within your power to get the best result or whatever you do. You know, and that's what I'm part of my employees, my staff and my family. Gosh, I'm here slurred. What's your company culture like? How big is your staff, your employees, your tribe? You know, right now we've got three offices. Wow, we're growing. We've got five lawyers that kind of cover the central Florida area. And we're about to move
down into the west coast of Florida. We've got about 12 support staff around there right now. And our company culture is very client-centric. Of course. We care about the people that come in to have us represent them. So from our intake person all the way up to the lawyers,
it's what does our client want? What will make our client happy? That's our first step. Like,
we need to know what they actually want in order for us to attain it. And then it goes into, what can we do to make this happen? Right. And that's something I don't like when people go into lawyers and the lawyer knows best. You know, now you don't need this. You don't need that. Now people come in with a very specific problem and every solution is different. Every problem is different. So we've got to think outside of the box and really truly get us and get them to a place
where they're happy and we're doing everything within our power to fight for them. A lot of these people, they're back into a corner. And everyone thinks that my commercials are a little cheesy. Oh gosh, I want to see this. They're a little cheesy word. You know, I'm wearing the box and gloves
“and you need to lean your corner. But it's true. You know, we live in a world where, you know,”
either the government's going to beat you down, law enforcement's coming at you and, you know, not everybody is out there trying to do wrong. Not everyone intends to do what they're doing. And a lot of people make mistakes or there's a level of ignorance. And those are the people that they can be trampled. They can be trampled over by the man. And that's what we're here for. We fight for those people. I'm going to blow your mind, sir. We actually have a giant glove
made out of money with all the on it in the other room. We're going to take photos of you next to it. Oh, wow. Oh, yes. Right. You've come to the right place. And there's actually an old video of Rudy with punching gloves doing a boxing promo. Oh, yeah. You definitely got to see. One of the old, one of the old Rudy clips. When he was actually in Tampa, his headquarters
“was in Tampa. Now he's out here, Miami. Wherever you are, Rudy, Rudy, Rudy. But how can folks,”
actually before I forget, because I've been wanting to ask a lawyer this. And it's actually, I legit am a question because I'm an artist. And I don't know how to value my work in my time. And a lot of artists do this or transitioning to being an entrepreneur. I admire lawyer so expensive. That's obviously the funny question. Yeah. But the real answer is, how do you value and structure your time and equated to a value? Because you are fully experienced. You did your time.
Got that certificates. That equals $1 a mile. But how do you land on $1 a mile? Absolutely. One comes with experience in our training. I mean, that that right off the bat, kind of puts us at a higher threshold for money. But the other thing is how hard we were.
You know, I always tell my staff like, you know, these people, they may be giving us their
last dollar. But we need to make that count because they're putting their faith in trust in the nose. So I do care about the money. Obviously, anyone that owns a business cares about the money. But I care more about my reputation. And I've told every single one of my clients that when you hire me, when you're hiring my firm, it's not just about us making a profit.
It's about us living up to our reputation.
getting business. And the reason for that is I fight so hard for my clients that most of my business
“comes in from them telling someone else about me. Yeah. And you know, whatever advertising we do at”
least 70% of our business is still from other people telling other people about us. Yeah. That's
amazing. It takes quite the motley crew to pull off a motley crew. Absolutely. Absolutely.
Very cool. How can people find you? How can people learn more about you? Well, our website,
“Ali and Blankner. I'm all over social media, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn,”
you know, Google, Kendall, Ali and I'm there. You know, that's that's an easy way to
find this. Obviously, we've got our phone numbers and some people like this one. It's 855 OMG Popo. I love it. We're literally on a billboard right now. Yeah. You know, the guys at the
“Sheriff's Office in Orange County, our billboard, which says exactly the heads at 855 OMG Popo,”
they love it. Oh, they love it. Because it's right across the street from the jail. So they drive five every day. Oh, man. It's great. We actually, we share a parking structure where the Miami Beach police. Yeah. They're all mean. It's funny. The officers all think it's a hilarious one they see that. Oh, sure. Gosh, I wish we could spend another 20 30 minutes just talking about that culture and the government and just just to lock a room talk with judges and all sorts of fun stuff.
But for that, I'm sure there's a TV show for that. So. Oh, yeah. Cool man. Well, thanks again for your energy, my friend. Mr. Ali himself. We're going to party right here. Kendall, appreciate your time and energy. I'm looking forward to actually walking in, walking down this creepy building and filming your episode to studio one. Absolutely. Right on, brother. For that, that concludes another episode of Living Your Legacy podcast for Inside Success. I am Regusiers.
