Shervin and Shawn Lalezary, founders of Law Brothers
Shervin and Shawn Lalezary are the founders of Law Brothers – Injury Attorneys, which is a top personal injury law firm with offices in multiple states. Led by Shawn and Shervin Lalezary, the Law Brothers represent California’s injured. With offices throughout the state, the Law Brothers, employ a team of skilled personal injury professionals, and work with a large network of California’s trusted legal support staff,
I had the opportunity to interview the Law Brothers recently. Here are some of the highlights of that interview:
Jill Griffin: Would you mind sharing some insights with my readers on why technology is more prevalent in today's world as it relates to your industry?
Law Brothers: Up until recently, the personal injury industry has been bogged down by outdated practices from decades ago. We differentiate ourselves by utilizing the latest in legal software and team collaboration apps, which allow us to stay flexible and better serve our clients. In addition, we are always able to communicate with our clients through the manner that they prefer. While we are always available for in person meetings, we understand that many of our clients juggle multiple day-to-day activities including going to work and caring for their families. We make sure we are always available to communicate with our clients via video chat, text, phone and email - whatever is most suitable for them.
Griffin: So I know you do all kinds of cases. Describe a regular day in your life.
The Law Brothers: Every day tends to be very different. We spend a lot of our time talking to our clients. One approach that we both take is that we give our clients our personal cell phone numbers and we invite them to call or text us any time. So we spend a lot of time speaking to our clients during the day – checking on them to see how they're doing and seeing what we can do to go above and beyond for them. Because we litigate aggressively, we are also either preparing for or in hearings quite a bit. Other than that, we are on calls and meetings with defense attorneys, insurance decisionmakers, and we are preparing for trial.
Griffin: What are some of your favorite parts of your job? You mentioned that you're really close with your clients and communicate with them a lot. What else is there about the job that you enjoy and feeds your passion?
The Law Brothers: We love to see the difference we've been able to make in the lives of our clients. It makes our work tangible and real. We often hear that we took a lot of stresses off of our clients’ shoulders while they focused on healing from an injury. Often, towards the end of the case, we talk to our clients about how their recovery is going, and frequently they tell us that they’re very grateful for the many things that we've done for them. That's probably the highlight for us. You know, we got into this line of work to be in a position where we can help people. And to be able to get a direct response like that from clients is very fulfilling.
Griffin: Did you always know that you wanted to study law?
Shawn Lalezary: I always knew I wanted to help people. I’ve also always had a problem with the concept of bullying. As I went through college and law school, that sentiment evolved into a career as a lawyer, which helped me fulfill both of those notions. I could help people by advocating for their rights and, at the same time, I could stand up to big insurance companies who often bully my clients around.
Griffin: When it comes to a career, you two were able to hit your sweet spot right away. Sometimes people aren't that lucky, and some struggle to know where they need to be. What would be your advice for my readers who are in that kind of situation?
Shervin Lalezary: Number one, take your time. I think the most important thing is to find one's passion. I remember when I was younger, I tried a whole slew of jobs to see where I'd fall into and what I was passionate about. And that's one of the things that helped me find this road. But I often feel like I see people in their early college years; they really try to nail down what exactly they want to do. And it's tough to do that at such a young age. So I always recommend exposing yourself to as many different experiences as possible.
I also recommend traveling. You know, these are all things that help one discover what their passion is. Often you meet people with completely different backgrounds while traveling. And they tell you a story that turns you on to something that you otherwise wouldn't have thought of on your own. And that can help put you on the road to doing what you love. So I tell people to put themselves out there as much as possible and just experience life.
Griffin: What are a few other tips that you would have for my readers as they are starting to think about their careers? Or perhaps they're in a job they don't care for and want to step into something else?
Shervin Lalezary: I stayed in college an extra year because I just wanted to take more classes to expose myself to more things. I studied abroad in Spain to explore again and expose myself to different experiences. And in doing so, not only did I meet great people, I had tremendous experiences that I'll never forget. It also helped solidify speaking Spanish fluently. And now, years later, I work with my Spanish clients in their language. I get to talk to all my Spanish-speaking clients and get to speak to them about their feelings, pains, tribulations, what they're going through - in their language. And that really helps them open up to me. So this is one of those things where I say, put yourself out there, do what you love, and then it rewards itself to you later on in ways that you don't know at the time that you're going through it. So I think studying abroad was an invaluable experience for me, both at the time and now years later.
Griffin: As we close here, do you have some tips to share with my readers on the experiences you have acquired running your own practice?
Shawn Lalezary: Yes, absolutely! We have been blessed to surround ourselves with a great team of individuals that are as passionate about helping people as we are. We have learned that having a great team is paramount to excelling as a law firm. As for tips, I often see new lawyers who view both competitors and opposing counsel as their enemy. Rather than trying to cultivate a strong working relationship, they almost go out of their way to destroy it. We firmly believe that having strong relationships with colleagues and opposing counsel ultimately gets you better results for your clients and ultimately a more successful practice.
