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Rami Haddad entered law school with a completely different perspective than most of his peers. Born in Lebanon, Haddad moved with his family to the United States during the Lebanese Civil War (1975–1990). In effect, his family arrived in the US with nothing and got to work.
“We started one small business, which led to another and then another,” Haddad remembers. “Throughout my entire childhood and up through law school, I was raised in small business.”
Haddad doesn’t like to call it hustling, but from a young age, he learned to multitask by working in family-owned small businesses. He and his family members had to handle everything, including driving revenue, advertising, marketing, and customer engagement.
In the predigital age, success depended on word of mouth and getting the message out. As a child, Haddad was the one putting flyers under windshield wipers of prospective clients. Because of his upbringing, he had a strong foundation to understand how business worked, and he knew he could blend that knowledge with a legal education.
“A lot of people who go into corporate law have to learn as they go,” Haddad explains. “To me, it was innate because I grew up in it.”
Even in law school, Haddad knew his future was in-house. But his journey to the global financial services company PRA Group, where he currently serves as deputy general counsel of litigation, regulatory compliance, and data privacy, took some twists and turns.
While the business world was a natural fit, a deeper desire drove Haddad’s legal ambitions.
“What pushed me to go to law school was wanting to help people,” Haddad explains. “Right out of law school, I thought I should be advocating for justice, wearing that white hat, and fighting for victims of violence.”
Haddad interned at the Department of Homeland Security and spent a year and a half at the Riverside County district attorney’s office in California before entering private practice. He says becoming a prosecutor or public defender gives young lawyers invaluable courtroom experience in a short amount of time.
“You sell your time. Whatever time you have left should be spent with the people you love, who make your life whole.”
Rami Haddad
Haddad went in-house as a litigation attorney at PRA Group in 2012, thereafter quickly transitioning to a compliance attorney. After about ten years, he left the organization for a short time to diversify his skill set. The experience he accumulated included an eighteen-month stint as senior privacy counsel for another publicly traded organization. In 2023, he returned to PRA Group as deputy general counsel, still holding on to his desire to learn and grow.
“At some point, I realized that data privacy and cybersecurity were areas where businesses would increasingly lean on their in-house counsel, and I knew I needed to learn it,” Haddad says. “I wanted to add that to my tool kit along with nearly a decade of compliance and litigation. I’ve got three strong pillars that may not be inherently complementary, but I’m glad I have them.”
Adding to that are the recent emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, which has become a somewhat ubiquitous part of every organization. The lack of comprehensive legislation in the US and the rapid evolution of AI makes it a fascinating but sensitive area of growth for businesses across the world. The patchwork of state laws across various sectors of industry creates compliance challenges for any organization, but that hasn’t turned down the volume on the conversation around emerging technologies. If anything, it’s only made the discussion louder.
“A lot of people who go into corporate law have to learn as they go. To me, it was innate because I grew up in it.”
Rami Haddad
Although Haddad spent his early years dealing with the fast-paced demands of business, he has learned to slow his mind down and appreciate the world around him. In private practice, Haddad saw that every extra hour came at the expense of time with family, loved ones, or hobbies.
“You sell your time,” Haddad says. “Whatever time you have left should be spent with the people you love, who make your life whole. It’s important for me to decompress after work so I don’t bring the work home with me. The more time you allow your family and yourself, the better employee you become and the more value you bring to your organization.”
The alternative, he says, could result in a cycle of unending work hours, built-up resentment, and ultimately, an unproductive member of the organization. Haddad says that in a post-Covid and remote-centric workforce, working from home may only serve to increase this pressure for employees. That’s why Haddad is proud to be at PRA Group, which understands and values the importance of family and work-life balance.
That balance keeps Haddad’s curious mind always learning something new, while allowing him to stay connected to his family and find new ways to be of service in the community.
About PRA Group
As a global leader in acquiring and collecting nonperforming loans, PRA Group, Inc. returns capital to banks and other creditors to help expand financial services for consumers in the Americas, Europe and Australia. With thousands of employees worldwide, PRA Group companies collaborate with customers to help them resolve their debt. For more information, please visit www.pragroup.com.
