Out of the Frying Pan and Into the Law Firm

2018 is in the history books along with my first semester of law school! Exams were killer but with comprehensive outlines, group study sessions, practice exams, professors’ office hours, and a lot of late nights, I am really happy with how we all did. Before exams were even done though, I was already looking forward to the winter break, not for a rest, but for my first opportunity to put what I have learned into practice.

I knew from the start of classes that I wanted to work over the break. Much to my wife, Clau’s, dismay, a month is just too much time off. Luckily Loyola keeps us all quite well-informed about work opportunities. In the last week of finals, I received an email about an interesting winter break position with The Tenants Law Firm, a Beverly Hills firm that, as the name suggests, specializes in landlord-tenant law. I am interested in real estate and, with the recent fires in southern California, I knew this was where I wanted to be. I submitted my resume and interviewed with the firm’s Strategic Initiatives Manager, Dahn Kim, and the founding attorney, Daniel Lavi, just two days after my last final. I rested for a week then went back to work bright and early the morning after Christmas.

I did have an opportunity to connect to the firm Wi-Fi and email networks and then it was off to the races! Right from the start, I was able to sink my teeth into quite a few cases. I started off drafting demand letters and complaints, and prepping exhibits for depositions. My second day, I sat on one potential client intake for a habitability matter before I took my first intake on my own. By my second week, I was regularly emailing and on the phone with opposing counsel to discuss settlements. What most surprised me was how incredibly useful and important civil procedure was! It’s not considered the “sexiest” class amongst 1Ls, but it’s just so important to spot improper service and technical holes in the opposing party’s filings.

Throughout the whole experience, I had fantastic guidance from Mr. Lavi and wonderful support from the rest of The Tenants Law Firm team. The firm is relatively new but they run smoothly, by placing a premium on communication. Everyone was in constant communication with one another in and out of the office and everyone generally knew what everyone else was working on. It was so effortless to jump in and get to work quickly. Overall, this was a tremendous experience and I am so grateful for the opportunity to work with a such a fast-growing, talented firm.