I found Law 22 here on Yelp on a day when I had literally exhausted all other options of not having to bring a lawyer into the picture with the (preface: noncriminal) scenario I had been dealing with. I was (as my roommate will tell you because she could hear me through the walls) sobbing in my room, down on my hands and knees. Frustrated, angry, hurt, grinding my teeth, out of options and feeling helpless (a perfect storm for an ambulance chaser to take advantage of, mind you). It sounds dramatic now, but looking back, I’m not even sure how I was able to summon the energy to lift my fingers, reach for my laptop and search keywords like “lawyer”.
Anyhow, Law 22 popped up among the first. Normally I’d search further, take at least 5 search results in, and then make a decision. Maybe these people and their five-star glowing reviews had easier, less complex and messy issues than mine. Maybe they were hired to write the reviews. I was burned and trusting no one but against my better judgment, my devil’s advocate made me pick up the phone.
Enter: the most gentle, reassuring (and intelligent) voice you could possibly hear when calling for help: “Hello, Law Twent—-“, followed by me trying to accurately encapsulate, using my best version of Law & Order legal lingo, a year’s plus worth of, “They said this. Then I did this. And then this happened, and then!!!!…and I was like WHAT?!”
Magically, the stranger on the other end listened, and even made the “ohh…oh wow…I’m so sorry” sound effects. And while I was pretty sure he wasn’t the lawyer (and if he was, what kind of a “lawyer answers his own phone” operation was this exactly?!), I needed to be heard, and I was so grateful he gave me that space to get it all out there. After I was done with my blubbering rant, we moved to the logistics. They could see me that day for a consultation.
Upon finally arriving (LATE Friday afternoon, shortly before closing, mind you), I was greeted warmly in the reception area by two professional women (it was a pleasant surprise to see it wasn’t an all-male biz) and offered water and a clipboard to fill out some preliminary info and to pay my $22 consultation fee (really, that’s the deal, no schtik-iness involved I’m pleased to report). We chit-chatted a bit. Turns out one of the women was the wife of the lawyer I’d be meeting with. She was doing an internship with the firm while she went to USC to complete her MBA. Fancy! Right off the bat, I felt at ease knowing I was working with smarty pants who were even married to other smarty pants.
I finally meet with Fadi, who reminds me of my favorite pediatrician from childhood – I knew seeing him usually meant a scary vaccination or throat swab, but I always looked forward to being in his warm, reassuring presence. Fadi is a no-nonsense, sharp, but jovial big-picture thinker. In just a few words from me, he was able to appreciate the complexity of my issue and arrive at a plan to resolve the multiple painpoints there were to tackle. What’s even better is that exactly as he had predicted his plan would work – it did, even though I was slightly skeptical of the strategy he had proposed during our consultation. Lets just say, I went in hoping to solve one problem, and left feeling clarity on literally ever issue I had faced and ever would.
After our initial consultation, the rest of the work we did together was by phone or over email. The entire time, Fadi was very cautious and transparent with the time he spent on my case, while being communicative in a timely way and realistic about the scenario. He was careful not to promise me the moon and under-deliver with florescent lighting, so to speak. I am now at the end of this ordeal, and I can say with 100% conviction that I couldn’t have gotten this far without his expertise. I wouldn’t even call him a lawyer, he is a legal ninja with a sixth sense I’m pretty sure they don’t teach you in law school, even at Harvard, where he graduated.
Law 22 is where it’s at. Their mission is to provide quality legal services at below-market average rates, and after my experience with them, I can say, in earnest, that I wish more establishments of their kind existed nationwide, if not worldwide. Warning: If you sign on with them after your initial consultation, don’t go into it thinking you can just rest on your laurels and watch them wave a magic wand to fix things for you. There are no gimmicks to their services, and because they are working at below market rate, you are not getting ALL the bells and whistles of a lawyer you’d pay full price having spoon feed you through your problem. That said, so long as you are willing to cooperate with their advice, and do a little bit of leg work yourself, you are golden.
Bottom line, visit them. And if after $22 of research investment, you’re not convinced, then you have done your due diligence and can be on merry way to other legal advice – but I wholeheartedly doubt you will need to look further.