Last month, I had the privilege to interview Attorney and ALU Alumnus, Farid Yaghoubtil, about his firm’s climbing success. Mr. Yaghoubtil graduated from ALU’s School of Law in 2011 and Immediately after passing the California Bar Exam he and his cousin started their very own firm, DTLA Law Group. As a founding partner at DTLA Law Group, Mr. Yaghoubtil specializes in personal injury cases where his experience as his father’s translator and business advocate at a very young age has served as the central inspiration for his firm’s mission.
Mr. Yaghoubtil and his family immigrated here in 1988 from Iran and since he and his brother were the only ones who knew English, he got a first-hand education in negotiating with vendors and reading and understanding important documents for his father’s garment business. When his father was sued about 20 years ago, Mr. Yaghoubtil had another experience that prompted him to learn more about business and the legal process.
“I remember we had to retain an attorney and the process was terrible. We had to wait in the lobby for over 1 hour. When we finally got a chance to meet the attorney, it was a very cold interaction, we didn’t feel comfortable or confident that he would defend us appropriately. I always want to make sure my clients have a good experience. I never want them to feel like they are being left behind or that we don’t care.”
While working towards his Juris Doctor degree at ALU, Mr. Yaghoubtil stayed on working full time as a traveling salesperson for his family’s business. He recalls, “ALU was ideal because it allowed me to study on my own time and I could do it remotely from anywhere. This was a major draw for me and was what I really enjoyed about the school.”
So how did Mr. Yaghoubtil end up specializing in personal injury?
He explains, “Our [he and his cousin’s] very first case was a personal injury case. I actually wanted to go into civil rights cases, but the very first case we had was a personal injury case involving an auto v. auto collision. After that, we sort of figured out how to really work on these cases and develop them.”
What’s next for DTLA Law Group?
Eventually, Mr. Yaghoubtil would like to expand his practice to different areas of the law and maybe even open another location, but for now, both partners are focusing on providing the best client experience possible and staying true to the original mission that inspired their careers in the first place.
