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Interview highlights from Columbia Falls — employment law, civil litigation, and a 27-year legal journey serving the Flathead Valley.
Attorney Chad W. Cannon leads employment law at Cannon Breck in Columbia Falls, Montana, serving Flathead Valley and northwest Montana in employment law, business law, real estate, and civil litigation. He is licensed in Montana and Texas and also leads Cannon Law Firm in Weatherford.
Attorney Chad W. Cannon is featured on America's Top Lawyers, produced by Inside Success TV. In this extended interview, Chad talks about growing up in Arlington, Texas, his path from sports-agent dreams to building Cannon Law Firm in Weatherford, expanding into Montana with Cannon Breck, and what integrity means in client relationships.
Chad was born in Riverside, California, and moved to Texas when he was six months old after his father took a job at Lion Country Safari in Grand Prairie. He grew up in Arlington when it still felt like a small town — a place, he says, where you felt safe and had everything you needed in childhood.
Even as a kid, Chad made lists and goals. He was athletic and told himself he wanted to play in the NFL one day. He was not big enough or fast enough to reach that goal, but the mindset stuck: in order to get where you need to go, you have to set goals for yourself. His father reinforced that early.
In ninth grade, Chad decided he wanted to be a sports agent. He majored in international business and entrepreneurship, knowing that regardless of law school or the agent dream, he wanted to work for himself. After a knee injury ended his playing career, he enrolled at Texas Wesleyan (now Texas A&M University School of Law) in Fort Worth, graduating in 1998 — right around the time Jerry Maguire sent a wave of competition into the agent business.
Out of law school, Chad sent letters and made calls across the country trying to break into sports representation. It did not come easily. He opened a practice with his high school quarterback, who later became a judge, then joined a small civil litigation firm in Dallas.
That Dallas experience was a grind — work he did not want to build a career on. He became disenchanted with the practice of law and nearly quit altogether. He took time off, got his insurance adjuster's license, and worked briefly in Florida before returning to Texas.
Through his father, Chad connected with Michael Burns in Mineral Wells, west of Fort Worth. Burns was preparing to become district attorney and took Chad under his wing. Chad learned from him, eventually took over the practice number, and still pursued the agent dream on the side — eventually representing NFL players and a Major League Baseball player. But it never became full-time. Roughly twelve or thirteen years ago, Chad decided to hang up the agent work and refocus on law — but not on side ventures that pulled his attention away from clients.
Chad describes his pivot as betting on himself instead of dabbling in other people's ventures. What separates him from lawyers who do not play by the rules, he says, is trying to do things the right way. Clients trust you with their life problems; you have to take that burden personally, internalize it, and seek justice without cutting corners.
One case that stands out involved a builder who took a client's life savings for an $800,000 home and delivered a defective product. After two and a half years of litigation — including bringing in the municipality that greenlit inspections — the case settled for $1.3 million. Chad says the satisfaction was not only the result for his client, but proving to himself he could handle a case at that level.
On personal injury work, Chad says these injuries are traumatic. Sometimes people have passed away and family members come in relying on counsel to make things right. It is not always about money — it is about delivering justice and holding someone accountable.
Chad is expanding the practice he built over a 27-year journey. He purchased a law firm in Montana and is applying what he learned in Texas to a new market — employment law and civil matters through Cannon Breck in the Flathead Valley.
What excites him, he says, is the challenge: you are never too young or too old to take the plunge. People in his circle ask why now; Chad answers that he wants more out of life — not just money, but the challenge of building something new.
Legacy, to Chad, is reputation — what precedes you in the legal community and what clients can testify about your ethics and character. He tells the story of turning away cases where a client would be wasting money, because honesty builds the practice that lasts.
Being recognized as one of America's top lawyers, he says, shows that hard work can pay off. More important than the recognition itself is sharing a story that gives someone hope to become a better person or a better lawyer.
General information only — not legal advice. Every case is different.
Watch the full episode above or see Chad's feature on our About Us page. For a confidential consultation about employment law, business matters, or civil litigation in Columbia Falls, Kalispell, Whitefish, or the Flathead Valley:
(406) 892-4446 — free consultation · Contact us online
Cannon Breck serves Columbia Falls, Kalispell, Whitefish, and the Flathead Valley in employment law, business law, real estate, and civil litigation.
Contact Cannon Breck — (406) 892-4446