Latest / The Lawtino™ / Building Trust, Breaking Barriers, and Leading With Purpose

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Building Trust, Breaking Barriers, and Leading With Purpose · The Lawtino™

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the Latino Podcast, where we amplify the voices of Latino professionals, entrepreneurs, and leaders coming together to educate, inspire, and connect across one of the most dynamic binational regions in the world: bicultural, premium, powerful.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_01: Hey, it's John Gomez.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome to another episode of The Latino, where we talk about uh the intersection of law and our Latino communities.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_01: We feature lawyers, judges, community leaders, uh stakeholders, um, change agents, you know, all to talk about, you know, how uh law comes together with our community.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_01: I'm joined um, as I often am by my co-host David Aregin, who um is a lawyer here at Gomez Trial Attorneys.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_01: He runs our California, Mexico uh border uh practice.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and it's always a treat to have him.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_01: As you may know, he was first a guest on the podcast, and and now we're happy to have him with us.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_01: This episode, as always, is brought to you by your sponsor, Gomez Trial Attorneys.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_01: Gomez Trial Attorneys is a national consumer rights law firm that offers the very highest level of legal representation, both in the English and Spanish languages, uh, to consumers that have suffered personal injury, uh, labor and employment harm, um, have been the uh victims of civil rights violations and have suffered harm through exposure to uh defective products and um dishonest consumer practices.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, we like to say that we are binacional or bi-national, bicultural, bicultural, and best in class.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_01: You know, we uh offer services and have um physical offices on both sides of the border.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_01: You know, we uh many of us uh grew up, you know, uh David grew up in Tijuana, Mexico, for example.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_01: Many many of our team members, you know, come from those communities, speak uh the language we try to offer um the services at a very high level.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_01: That's why we say best in class.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_01: So, David, today we have a very special guest um who really um does a lot of what we do in law, and that is, you know, as as far as I see it, you know, uh working for communities, building communities, building coalitions, and building collaborations.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and so why don't you introduce our guests and then we can get going?
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, of course.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_03: Thank you, John.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_03: Uh, I'm excited about our you know, our guest here, Tamra Lett.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_03: Uh, I met her at a South Bay Bar Association, one of the many organizations that she's a part of.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_03: Uh, and I think what she does well, and she'll talk more about this, is the fact, like you said, she brings communities together.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_03: So, Tamra, now it's on you.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_03: Please tell us about yourself, you know, a little bit of background.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_03: We want to hear from you.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, sure, absolutely.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so I am a senior associate at Stark and Ambrosio.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_02: We're a boutique law firm.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_02: We practice family law, and that is my department, 99% of my practice.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, we also have a general civil litigation practice that assists with um businesses and their legal issues, and things like ADA parking law compliance, um personal injury matters, all that kind of um stuff.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_02: So, beyond that, I am very involved with Lori Scottman, my second-year uh board member there, and our current co-chair for membership development with two other members.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_02: Um, beyond that, I am on the um DI division of the San Diego County Bar Association.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_02: My uh mandate is our outreach subgroup and our affinity bar program.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_02: So through that, uh we partner local attorneys, uh, county bar members uh with our other affinity bars in the San Diego community, and they are there to facilitate the relationship between the county bar and that organization to make sure that they have um representation, connections, resources that the county bar can offer.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, I also volunteer on the arbitration panel with the San Diego County Bar Association.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_02: So that is for fee arbitration, assisting um attorneys and clients to navigate their way through those fee disputes.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_02: Uh locally, uh where I live, I'm in St.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_02: in uh Imperial Beach, California.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_02: And we're a very small, quirky community and we're growing a lot.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_02: Uh we have a very active chamber of commerce.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_02: So that's actually where I was coming from this morning was our local monthly chamber meeting.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_01: Wow, cool.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_01: So um, Tamara, I look at you all the time.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_01: I'm like, when does this woman sleep?
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_01: You know, uh, she's so busy, she's everywhere.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and so you mentioned that you are on the board of Lawyers Club, and maybe uh some of our viewers don't know what that means.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_01: Like we all take it for granted that we know what it is.
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_01: You know, how about you start with the story of how it was founded and kind of you know what it does today?
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, absolutely.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_02: So Lawyer's Club has been around since the 70s.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, it was basically founded out of needing to create space for women in the legal community.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_02: And so um, both women and their male colleagues uh came together.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_02: Men are have been an important part of the founding of the organization.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and so it's just grown over time.
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_02: We have over a thousand members.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_02: Our mandate is the advancement of women and law and society.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, but beyond that, it's also to create equality and parity in the legal community.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_02: And so for us, that means um folks from all parts of the community to try and make sure that we're creating space for everyone.
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_02: And leadership is also a tremendously important aspect of our organization.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_02: So creating those paths to access to leadership opportunities for our members, um, as well as encouraging more partnerships with our other organizations that have similar mandates, like LaRaza, for instance.
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_02: I think that there's a whole lot of um crossover there.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_02: Uh beyond that, we have our fund for justice, and that is our charitable arm of the organization.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_02: And so through that, um, during the year, we fundraise with our events and grant applications to raise funds that are then distributed to other nonprofits in the community that are aligned with our mission and values.
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so beyond just supporting women in the community, that also means, for instance, some of our grantees have uh programs for providing um employment opportunities and necessary materials for unhoused folks, um, as well as those types of opportunities and resources for trafficking victims, victims of domestic and sexual violence.
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, that's a really critical part of what Laura's Club um does.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_02: So, as much as um our events are wonderful to attend, it's important to remember why we're we're going to those and where those uh membership fees are being uh directed to.
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_01: And so, you know, you said your when you say chair, membership is always said, like you're yeah, so we have our membership development committee.
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_02: Lawyers Club has a wide range of committees for pretty much any interest that you could possibly have.
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_02: But membership development is critical because that is the major source of our presence in the community to make sure our numbers are strong as well as to economically support the organization.
• 8:00
  SPEAKER_02: And so, for instance, um last week we were here at Gomez trial attorneys, you guys were so generous to host us uh for our meeting.
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_02: We get together there and strategize as to how we can build up our presence in the community, what are um our untapped uh folks that we need to be building relationships with?
• 8:19
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, I've been really prioritizing uh undergrad students, current law students, our uh paralegal population here in San Diego, um, making sure that it's it's not just uh attorney based.
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_02: And beyond that, too, we have a large part of our membership that are non-attorneys as well.
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_02: So I would say the overarching theme of what I try and focus on is community creating harmony, uh building those those connections um to create beautiful things for our finest city.
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_01: Love it.
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_01: And so that kind of answered my question.
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I thought maybe um some people listening would be like, well, Laura's club sounds cool.
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_01: Can I be a member?
• 9:01
  SPEAKER_01: And it appears that you've answered the question.
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_01: It appears membership is open to anyone who would like to be a member.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_01: I would, it sounds like.
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_02: Yes, definitely.
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_02: Um, you don't have to be an attorney.
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_02: Um, you don't have to be in legal practice.
• 9:15
  SPEAKER_02: We encourage as much diversity as possible amongst our membership.
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_02: I think that everyone um thrives and benefits from that.
• 9:22
  SPEAKER_02: Similarly, um, going back to the leadership component, um, having solid diverse representation on our board is very critical to us.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_02: So, whether that means uh folks of different age groups, uh backgrounds, all of that is very important.
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_02: So sometimes there's not always a lot of transparency about how does this board for this organization run and how does this one work.
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, so I try and spread the good word about what that process is.
• 9:51
  SPEAKER_02: And it's certainly encouraged for folks that um are in leadership in similarly oriented organizations to consider board service or co-chair uh opportunities within Lawyers Club as well, because that brings a whole new perspective uh to our board and different ideas about growth and how we can further our initiatives.
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, and I that includes um men as well.
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_02: So we have two men currently on our board, actually.
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, and I feel like Canberra is definitely a spokesperson for Lawyers Club.
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_03: She went on and on about how great Lawyers Club is at this December event.
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_03: And she actually got me to go to one of the events early January.
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_03: So just the fact that you're doing that and actually pushing people to like attend, I think that means a lot.
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_01: So you wanted to, was it a bourbon tasting?
• 10:37
  SPEAKER_03: It was a bourbon tasting that she Oh yeah, really had to twist your arm up.
• 10:40
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, which was so nice about it.
• 10:42
  SPEAKER_03: I was trying to do like dry jannery, then we have to uh no no, that's a hard one.
• 10:47
  SPEAKER_03: But just the fact that you have a you have a small group uh committee for membership and that you and now have a thousand members, I think that's that's a lot.
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_03: There's a lot of board to talk and they're having a hard time actually bringing members in.
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_02: It's all about relationships.
• 11:01
  SPEAKER_02: And so when I joined Lawyers Club, what kept me going to everything is that you don't just attend and then you leave.
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_02: Someone is gonna ask about you, about what you do, what you're interested in, and then give you something as a next step to further develop you professionally, personally, um, whatever you're you're into.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_02: And so I had never considered being on a board at the time that I ended up running, but I was um aggressively voluntole to pursue it.
• 11:33
  SPEAKER_02: And that's that's what makes the organization stand out, I think, is that it's as much as we want to have as many members, you're not just a member, people are going to follow up with you to say, okay, you've joined, you know, what what would you like to get into?
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and we make it very easy.
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_02: So, you know, with our committees, you just add it to your profile on there, and then you're receiving news about when the committees are having meetings.
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_02: You can drop in and attend, but it doesn't mean that you need to have a large time commitment or a bunch of duties, but you can participate even on a small uh scale.
• 12:09
  SPEAKER_02: So, you know, you go to an event, we have an opportunity to do a pre-event article, a post-event article, even a byline in our weekly that's distributed to our membership, which again is quite extensive.
• 12:21
  SPEAKER_02: Um, it's a great launching pad for any future league endeavor you might be looking for, as well as being so open to cold calling another member because you're interested in whatever type of law or having a professional development challenge.
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_02: Okay, what is my resource to try and navigate my way through that?
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, in terms of, you know, there are lawyers in in my observation that never leave their office.
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_01: You know, they come in, they're ah, you know, and because they, you know, that's for them, you know.
• 12:57
  SPEAKER_01: I I think some are wired that way.
• 13:00
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe they're not good multitaskers, I don't know.
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_01: You know, and then there are lawyers that kind of get out there and are active in the community, do this sort of um thing that we call called networking.
• 13:14
  SPEAKER_01: Um, in your experience, you appear to be a networker.
• 13:18
  SPEAKER_01: You know, um, how has that helped you in terms of your career and your satisfaction in law?
• 13:25
  SPEAKER_02: Right, right.
• 13:25
  SPEAKER_02: So I think what it comes down to is value alignment and choosing what you're participating in.
• 13:32
  SPEAKER_02: And then the word networking kind of falls off because it's not intended in that way.
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_02: You're just participating in something that you care about, and the relationships um kind of create themselves out of that.
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_02: So I think I started off doing an AmeriCorps fellowship and then worked at Legal Aid here in San Diego and then ended up in private practicing family law.
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_02: To me, I I've reflected on what's the consistency in that, and it's it's that personal impactful service uh that I can identify with.
• 14:08
  SPEAKER_01: So family law, how long you've been doing that?
• 14:11
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, it's been um seven years now.
• 14:15
  SPEAKER_01: And so what do you what do you like about that?
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_02: The level of of change and the responsibility and taking the hot air out of what's typically the worst part of someone's life experience that they could have, short of, you know, just a few other things, um, particularly when it comes to issues like like custody or circumstances involving concern over personal safety, financial security, helping people navigate that is really what my priority is.
• 14:46
  SPEAKER_02: It's I do litigate, but that the bread and butter for me is when someone comes to me and has no idea what they're um what they're entitled to, what their what their rights are, and also how to navigate the personalities involved, whether it's with their children um or with the person that they're they're separating from or trying to navigate a co-parenting relationship with, um, giving them that education is is so rewarding.
• 15:15
  SPEAKER_02: And that that was a big part that I enjoyed at legal aid too, was whenever I got to go to community centers um and give presentations to the parents of of kids maybe that had special needs, didn't know what their opportunities were for social security, that type of thing.
• 15:31
  SPEAKER_02: So education for sure.
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_03: So you feel, I mean, you seem to go to these community events.
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_03: Do you see a lack of access to justice or people not being educated about their legal rights?
• 15:43
  SPEAKER_03: Because, you know, we we represent a lot of the Latino population in town.
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_03: And a lot of times when they come to us, they're sometimes hesitant to fight for their legal rights.
• 15:53
  SPEAKER_03: And primarily it's based uh I don't want to say ignorance, but just the lack of information as to how to go about it.
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_03: Do you do you encounter that often?
• 16:03
  SPEAKER_02: Definitely.
• 16:04
  SPEAKER_02: I think that that's our our job as attorneys, which is another driving force as to why I don't stay in my office.
• 16:11
  SPEAKER_02: I think it's we a lot of us especially have come from a privileged circumstance or we're in a pretty privileged position at this point with the resources that are available to us.
• 16:22
  SPEAKER_02: So I think it's our moral prerogative to find out what where the needs are in the community who isn't um getting the opportunities that that they are entitled to have.
• 16:36
  SPEAKER_01: So this uh I want to ask about the you touched on a little bit, but the bar, the county bar association DEI division.
• 16:45
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and you talked about um, you know, kind of reaching out to these affinity bars, different groups.
• 16:51
  SPEAKER_01: Um can you just give us a feel for um the current makeup, if you know these numbers roughly, you know, San Diego lawyers, like how how diverse or non-diverse are we?
• 17:09
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 17:09
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, I think as a population in San Diego, we are in incredibly diverse.
• 17:14
  SPEAKER_02: I think that there's always a lot of improvements to be made when you're talking about representation in in the leadership of these organizations.
• 17:23
  SPEAKER_02: Um, I think that the county bar, though, is taking great strides to really prioritize that.
• 17:28
  SPEAKER_02: They give tremendous support to the DEI division.
• 17:32
  SPEAKER_02: It's an extremely organized uh program and division and extremely active.
• 17:38
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so within the division, we are subdivided into our events and programs subgroup and then the outreach subgroup.
• 17:47
  SPEAKER_02: And then from there on, there's other programs that are that are happening.
• 17:51
  SPEAKER_02: So we have our anti-racism group.
• 17:53
  SPEAKER_02: Um, yesterday we hosted a really well-attended uh blog um history trivia at Chula Vista Brewery, that is a uh Black-owned, veteran-owned brewery in Chula Vista.
• 18:05
  SPEAKER_01: Um that place, that place, weren't they like getting some hassle from the ABC or something for a while?
• 18:14
  SPEAKER_01: And then do you know anything about this?
• 18:15
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know.
• 18:16
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, okay.
• 18:17
  SPEAKER_03: Do you know anything about that?
• 18:18
  SPEAKER_03: I've heard about it, but I yeah, I'm not super knowledgeable about that.
• 18:22
  SPEAKER_03: That's a big thing.
• 18:22
  SPEAKER_03: That's a big brewery down there.
• 18:24
  SPEAKER_03: Kick Bontour's.
• 18:25
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I think Shane knows the guy, and it was like a big deal, like they're a big deal.
• 18:29
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I believe they have an East Lake uh two locations, I think.
• 18:34
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, cool.
• 18:34
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's cool.
• 18:35
  SPEAKER_01: You guys did that.
• 18:36
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, we'll have um another um, I believe it's a trivia and I coming up at Muhara's brewery as well.
• 18:44
  SPEAKER_02: We're here.
• 18:45
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so that'll be really great.
• 18:47
  SPEAKER_02: And then we also have um dialogue on diversity.
• 18:52
  SPEAKER_02: So we'll have some some speakers or panel uh addressing whatever um issue we we select, but um try and make it a CLE as well.
• 19:02
  SPEAKER_02: So talking about I always think implicit bias.
• 19:05
  SPEAKER_02: I'm so happy that that's a CLE because I learn something from it every time, right?
• 19:10
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, you can't be in you can't know about everybody's life experience and how they may perceive a way that you address them or describe them or you know, treat them.
• 19:22
  SPEAKER_02: And so I it's always uh really educational for me.
• 19:26
  SPEAKER_01: I want to go to I want to go to anything about implicit bias, because to me that's a very interesting, you know, topic.
• 19:33
  SPEAKER_01: And it um it it reflects upon some of the work we do here because we do um both civil rights work and we do um employment work.
• 19:43
  SPEAKER_01: And in the employment realm, you know, we might have a one of our clients who you know receives a certain treatment or lack of treatment by the so-called, you know, um boys' club, and and that group tends to be white male and the implicit biases of this group, you know, and and I think we all um sadly enough, you know, or just uh, you know, it's who we are, you tend to favor those that you know, you know, and that you you spend time with.
• 20:17
  SPEAKER_01: And if you've got and so the the programming and the education, the outreach that you're doing, and just bringing awareness to the issue, I think is super important because otherwise, you know, even if you're even if you're trying to be a fair, open-minded, good person, you're gonna, you know, if you're not very, very in tune with, you know, those biases, they're gonna come out.
• 20:41
  SPEAKER_01: And it can be gender, it can be race, it can be all these things.
• 20:45
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 20:46
  SPEAKER_02: And touching on on what you said about sometimes it's you get comfortable with the folks that that you know and and recognize, and that's your your regular circle.
• 20:54
  SPEAKER_02: I very actively make a point to try and spend as much time as possible getting to know new folks.
• 21:02
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and that's where I always find a lot of growth and bring can bring the most benefit to whatever role that I'm that I'm providing.
• 21:11
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so I think that folks need to make a more active effort.
• 21:14
  SPEAKER_02: It was interesting when I was pairing um ambassadors with between the county bar and the affinity bars.
• 21:21
  SPEAKER_02: And some folks would say, Oh, well, you know, I'm I'm a member of this one, so I'll be the ambassador for that one.
• 21:27
  SPEAKER_02: I said, Well, that kind of defeats the point.
• 21:30
  SPEAKER_02: Like I would rather have you pick one that you don't know of anybody in that organization or been to their event.
• 21:35
  SPEAKER_02: Um, that's that's what's gonna be the most enriching for you uh and and them.
• 21:42
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, I totally agree.
• 21:44
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so good work on doing that work.
• 21:46
  SPEAKER_01: I think it's super important.
• 21:47
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, similarly with the membership development committee.
• 21:51
  SPEAKER_02: So a lot of the committee meetings happen on on Zoom, which I understand you know is great for convenience, um, but I think it's Best if you can have it be in person and then even more so reach out to firms that maybe I have I don't know a lot of their um employees or members.
• 22:10
  SPEAKER_02: Um maybe they don't have a large lawyer's club presence and you know to say we we'd like to get to know you.
• 22:16
  SPEAKER_02: Can we come by and you know borrow your word table for an hour?
• 22:20
  SPEAKER_02: Maybe we can chit-chat after.
• 22:22
  SPEAKER_02: So that's that's really great.
• 22:24
  SPEAKER_01: Super cool.
• 22:25
  SPEAKER_01: Well, we're gonna, you know, with your permission, we'll invite you back, you know, to um we have um our all hands on the first, if you're around, first Monday of every month.
• 22:36
  SPEAKER_01: And so I think we're coming up on next Monday.
• 22:40
  SPEAKER_01: Next Monday would be all hands.
• 22:42
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know if you're around, but if you are, um, you know, you can either, you know, make a quick uh little presentation in our all hands and then um have lunch with us afterwards, and you can probably sign up like a bunch of people.
• 22:55
  SPEAKER_03: And I guess she was good at this, right?
• 22:57
  SPEAKER_03: She came in last week for her membership meeting.
• 23:00
  SPEAKER_03: She brought like flyers with the events plus a QR code to the registration link.
• 23:05
  SPEAKER_03: So I thought that was very, very smart.
• 23:07
  SPEAKER_03: But you touched on something that that I think was really important, just the fact that you know some people are not joining some of these organizations because they think they don't belong in that organization for lawyers club.
• 23:18
  SPEAKER_03: A lot of people think that it's only like a women uh thing, right?
• 23:21
  SPEAKER_03: No, it's in basic collaboration between male, female, um, and also, for example, I try to push people into San Diego La Raza lawyers, right?
• 23:30
  SPEAKER_03: Because people think that you gotta be Latino to be a member of La Rosa.
• 23:33
  SPEAKER_03: But like you said, you know, if you join these type of organizations, you'll learn something new.
• 23:38
  SPEAKER_03: You'll learn something from people that will share the same background as you do, which ultimately favors your practice, right?
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_03: You said it.
• 23:45
  SPEAKER_03: San Diego is very diverse.
• 23:46
  SPEAKER_03: We gotta make that practice very diverse as well.
• 23:49
  SPEAKER_02: Well, and and success doesn't happen in a silo.
• 23:52
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and if you think that you got somewhere just, you know, from your own two feet and and nobody helping you along the way, then you're not seeing the the connection of really, you know, humanity.
• 24:06
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so I think it's it's really important to to see your community partners and what you what you can give each other to enhance whatever you're trying to accomplish.
• 24:19
  SPEAKER_02: Um, especially, you know, I mean, Lori's Club, right?
• 24:22
  SPEAKER_02: Women got to a lot of spaces, obviously through uh hard work, but also because of our male allies that also supported and believed in in our in our initiatives and our in our purpose and our value.
• 24:37
  SPEAKER_02: So maintaining that um relationship and and creating that harmony, I think, is is critical.
• 24:45
  SPEAKER_01: So, what kind of stuff do you like to do for fun?
• 24:47
  SPEAKER_01: Like it's a weekend, you know, we're down in IB, like where we get where and we see Tamara around town.
• 24:56
  SPEAKER_01: What are you gonna be doing?
• 24:57
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, for sure.
• 24:58
  SPEAKER_02: I I mean, we have a beautiful strand that runs from you know Chula Vista all the way down to Coronado.
• 25:03
  SPEAKER_02: And so trying to get the bike out there as much as possible.
• 25:07
  SPEAKER_02: The kids have um scooters, so just dog walking.
• 25:11
  SPEAKER_02: Um, I have a trash picker that I actually really love.
• 25:14
  SPEAKER_02: And I bring my bag and my trash picker, and we walk the dog and pick up stuff on the way.
• 25:20
  SPEAKER_03: Um see, it's a simple thing, Josh.
• 25:22
  SPEAKER_03: Simple thing, shoe shining, and very therapeutic, yeah.
• 25:28
  SPEAKER_02: Um, you know, walking on the beach, obviously.
• 25:31
  SPEAKER_02: So yeah, we're we're very lucky down there, and and really too being able to run into the local shop owners.
• 25:37
  SPEAKER_02: That's another reason that I love our chamber.
• 25:40
  SPEAKER_02: And we've got Dev's Cookies, we've got a very cute gift shop, and like we just opened um our first um, it's really our first like local grocery store, and it's has a health food focus, which is really awesome for the community.
• 25:55
  SPEAKER_02: And that was primarily funded by the community itself as a co-op, people paying into like membership that then went towards um funding, um building and and processing the uh the store.
• 26:12
  SPEAKER_02: And so that's that's just really great.
• 26:14
  SPEAKER_02: It's just such a local feel.
• 26:16
  SPEAKER_01: So that's a cool down there.
• 26:18
  SPEAKER_03: I like the fact that you say, like, we, we, we like the fact that you take ownership over that.
• 26:24
  SPEAKER_03: That means that you're building that community within all these oars.
• 26:27
  SPEAKER_03: That's that's super important because that means that you really care about us.
• 26:31
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, and our our mayor comes to our chamber meetings and keeps us updated on everything that's that's developing and working vigorously to help with the water treatment.
• 26:42
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so it's it's great.
• 26:44
  SPEAKER_02: It really does feel like a team effort.
• 26:47
  SPEAKER_01: Shout out to Arashi Judo and Jiu Jitsu, where I used to train with uh Sensei Drew, uh right there on Palm Avenue.
• 26:57
  SPEAKER_01: They have a wonderful program for kids.
• 27:00
  SPEAKER_01: You know, you can bring, I'm just imagining that maybe some of your neighbors might listen.
• 27:05
  SPEAKER_01: And so, like, bring your kids down there, they can learn a little judo, a little jujitsu in a very family um based environment.
• 27:13
  SPEAKER_01: Drew's a retired um naval uh uh special, I guess, explosives operator.
• 27:21
  SPEAKER_01: So, like a lot of military, ex-military there, and they have a program all the way through uh adults.
• 27:27
  SPEAKER_01: You can also do some striking, you can learn to box and kickbox and do all those things.
• 27:32
  SPEAKER_01: So there's my shout out to Drew and Arashi, um, where I used to train before I got too old and beat up.
• 27:40
  SPEAKER_01: But I gotta, I'm gonna make my way back.
• 27:42
  SPEAKER_01: Uh starn it.
• 27:43
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 27:43
  SPEAKER_02: Well, and and as diverse as San Diego is, I think IB is a is a shining example of that.
• 27:49
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, both politically, um, demographically, it's it's incredible how how many different folks are living down there and we uh we all make our work together.
• 28:00
  SPEAKER_01: Love it.
• 28:01
  SPEAKER_01: So uh, you know, I don't know, you're out there, you're doing a lot of stuff, you're politically involved, you're socially involved, you're involved in issues that matter to you.
• 28:12
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and so a lot of times people come up to me, they'll be like, hey, John, you know, you should go into politics or you should be a judge.
• 28:18
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and you know, I'll reserve comment on either of those things for me.
• 28:23
  SPEAKER_01: But like for you, when people ask you those questions, you know, what does life look like for you in the long term?
• 28:30
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, for sure.
• 28:31
  SPEAKER_02: Um, it's I was always just so happy to pass the bar exam, get employed, stay employed.
• 28:38
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but of course, right, you you reach one level and then you're already looking towards towards the next one.
• 28:44
  SPEAKER_02: Uh San Diego makes it so easy and fun to get involved in um everything that's going on here.
• 28:52
  SPEAKER_02: And so uh the the door's not definitely not closed.
• 28:55
  SPEAKER_02: Um, we have a great city council in Imperial Beach.
• 28:59
  SPEAKER_02: So when a city comes up for that, that might be interesting.
• 29:02
  SPEAKER_02: Um never never say never.
• 29:04
  SPEAKER_01: So I think we'll be seeing you do a lot of cool stuff in the future.
• 29:09
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and so, you know, if you had advice to give to like a younger, you know, person that's listening to this, maybe they're, you know, uh in high school, maybe they're in college, maybe they're in law school, about you know, how you recommend they find happiness and fulfillment.
• 29:28
  SPEAKER_01: Like what would you tell them?
• 29:30
  SPEAKER_02: I think um getting in tune with yourself and realizing what makes you happy, what is important to you, what makes you feel good, what is bringing you in the presence of people that uh really make your life feel full because money never will.
• 29:47
  SPEAKER_02: It's it's nice to have security, but beyond that, you need to create your own happiness.
• 29:52
  SPEAKER_02: So um, there's always gonna be a thousand different things, right?
• 29:55
  SPEAKER_02: Like we all get asked to participate in this, that, and the other, but you're gonna bring a lot of chaos to your life if you don't know how to um create a vision of what is consistent and um make that work for you.
• 30:10
  SPEAKER_02: So that that brings me pieces that I've gotten certainly a lot better at not being as as random about how I'm allocating my time.
• 30:20
  SPEAKER_01: So, how did how did why'd you decide to be a lawyer?
• 30:23
  SPEAKER_01: You're you were loyal to an undergraduate and law school, and so um at what point in time did you decide to become a lawyer and why?
• 30:31
  SPEAKER_02: Oh man, it was like sixth grade.
• 30:33
  SPEAKER_02: Uh oh gosh, I was fine, right?
• 30:35
  SPEAKER_02: Like it was yeah, it was um initially a vet, and then in like sixth grade, I was like, no lawyer, and I think it was watching uh Jack McCoy on the original Law and Order and just all the time.
• 30:49
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 30:51
  SPEAKER_02: That one really stuck with me.
• 30:52
  SPEAKER_02: I was never like a an MTV person.
• 30:55
  SPEAKER_02: I was yeah, Law and Order on TNT.
• 30:58
  SPEAKER_02: And so I think what I enjoyed about that was the the deep, the deep thinking, the problem solving element of it.
• 31:07
  SPEAKER_02: And then as I got into college, we had an environmental group on campus that helped run the farmers market, and part of that is being um compliant with okay, people are going to be buying food there, and how do we make sure we have the permits to let that happen and uh the organizational value of it, and then uh just being really spurred by uh issues of social justice, um realizing that the people that are really doing the most in that space tended to be legal field, yeah, and we wanted to be there, be part of that.
• 31:42
  SPEAKER_03: Got and actually have that background to like help you orb your costs, right?
• 31:45
  SPEAKER_03: Right.
• 31:46
  SPEAKER_03: I do see you like getting very involved with uh with you know all these things in college, all these awards, and like you just said, like even permits, and you would find that very interesting.
• 31:54
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 31:55
  SPEAKER_03: Uh I think that's that's great that you were doing that.
• 31:57
  SPEAKER_02: Yes, it's fun.
• 31:58
  SPEAKER_02: I I certainly never had any idea I would um end up practicing baily law for a sustained period of time.
• 32:04
  SPEAKER_02: I had a very random path in in law once I started law school.
• 32:09
  SPEAKER_02: I was doing business internships and just absolutely nothing to do with where I'm at now, but I did do um a debt relief clinic that helped um people navigate debt that they had with the franchise tax board.
• 32:21
  SPEAKER_02: And I had like my my own low case files and everything.
• 32:25
  SPEAKER_02: And that was extremely fulfilling.
• 32:27
  SPEAKER_02: So I should have taken a hit then that um I was gonna be working with with individuals a lot, but I I got there eventually.
• 32:33
  SPEAKER_03: So yeah, that's great.
• 32:35
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, uh like for me, I've always been working for let's say the people, right?
• 32:40
  SPEAKER_03: And then working for the individual.
• 32:42
  SPEAKER_03: Um at one point even during law school, I thought I was gonna be business law or corporate in law.
• 32:46
  SPEAKER_03: Then I realized what I actually found most with Billy was talking to people, helping those people, and then ultimately ultimately again my recovery, right?
• 32:56
  SPEAKER_03: So, like here at the firm, I mean that's what we do, right?
• 32:58
  SPEAKER_03: We we we represent the people, the individual.
• 33:01
  SPEAKER_03: Uh bit hard.
• 33:03
  SPEAKER_03: So I know we we share that in you know, I think something in common.
• 33:07
  SPEAKER_01: So okay, here we go.
• 33:09
  SPEAKER_01: Hold on.
• 33:10
  SPEAKER_01: I was messing with this, I think I finally got it.
• 33:19
  SPEAKER_01: Law and order.
• 33:22
  SPEAKER_01: This is what she watched as a kid.
• 33:24
  SPEAKER_01: We remember this.
• 33:25
  SPEAKER_01: So, like, so now we're in a different era.
• 33:28
  SPEAKER_01: If you if there was a law program on or like a movie or a series today, what would you watch?
• 33:36
  SPEAKER_01: Is there anything you're watching now?
• 33:38
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, I I don't mind a lot of the legal procedurals, you know.
• 33:41
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, sits is always a fun one.
• 33:43
  SPEAKER_01: So Lincoln Lawyer, would you watch that?
• 33:46
  SPEAKER_02: Which one is that?
• 33:47
  SPEAKER_01: Lincoln Lawyer.
• 33:48
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, Lincoln.
• 33:48
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, yeah, I do watch that at one point.
• 33:50
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, all right.
• 33:50
  SPEAKER_01: I thought you were a Lincoln Lawyer person.
• 33:52
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I would say like what's different about the shows now is just that everything is so at some point it gets really kind of fantastical and like outrageous.
• 34:05
  SPEAKER_02: And I really liked the Law and Order because it felt very deliberate, right?
• 34:10
  SPEAKER_02: It was slower pace, and it was really about I I felt like at the time about the the law and like what what the case really was.
• 34:18
  SPEAKER_01: I agree.
• 34:19
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it was well done.
• 34:21
  SPEAKER_01: I remember um do you ever watch something called Boston Legal?
• 34:24
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, yeah, yeah.
• 34:25
  SPEAKER_01: Well, do you ever watch that one?
• 34:26
  SPEAKER_01: I have all the series actually out of all I gotta get uh I remember they would the thing that was always so surprising to me, they would the case would come to the office and then they would be in trial like an hour later.
• 34:38
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 34:38
  SPEAKER_02: It's hilarious.
• 34:39
  SPEAKER_02: So that's actually funny that you say that because last year I watched all of the practice because I never watched it when I was on, and then I was like, oh, this is like missing from my vocabulous shows.
• 34:51
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, and I was really impressed by by that one.
• 34:54
  SPEAKER_02: And for the most part, it ages pretty well.
• 34:57
  SPEAKER_02: And then I started with Boston Legal after that, realizing that that was sort of like the the sequel.
• 35:02
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but again, kind of ran into like the same thing as it was just so like loud and like early 2000s and Danny Crane.
• 35:11
  SPEAKER_03: Oh, yeah, that's right.
• 35:12
  SPEAKER_03: That's right.
• 35:13
  SPEAKER_03: I love that guy.
• 35:14
  SPEAKER_01: Who is who is the the main female uh character?
• 35:18
  SPEAKER_01: Um what was her name on Boston Legal?
• 35:20
  SPEAKER_03: Boston Legal.
• 35:21
  SPEAKER_01: I can't remember Danny Crane.
• 35:23
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, but Danny Crane, like he was fantastic.
• 35:26
  SPEAKER_03: And then he went, he was actually arguing before the uh the Supreme Court.
• 35:30
  SPEAKER_03: I really remember that episode, and he was saying, like, oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah.
• 35:34
  SPEAKER_03: I'm like, that's not what they say.
• 35:37
  SPEAKER_01: All right, so um, you know, like find purpose, find identity, find something that's going to fulfill you, you know, if you're looking for a career, probably in anything, not just law, um, but in life.
• 35:49
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and so um, in closing, you know, if if you were to be able to write in the sky, like with clouds or you know, um, for all the world to see, you know, some words, and they and you could leave it up there for a while, they could check it out.
• 36:07
  SPEAKER_01: What would your words be, Tamara?
• 36:09
  SPEAKER_02: Oh gosh.
• 36:11
  SPEAKER_01: Um you can take your time.
• 36:14
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, well, one would be, I guess, do the right thing.
• 36:19
  SPEAKER_02: Like that drives me a lot.
• 36:21
  SPEAKER_02: Um and that's what hard days always I feel the most resilient when I can reflect back on how I've been spending my time, um, whether that's in my family law work or with the nonprofit work.
• 36:38
  SPEAKER_02: And that that definitely helps uh carry through when I'm feeling like a little insecure, lacking confidence, anything like that.
• 36:45
  SPEAKER_02: I'm like, all right, I'm I'm doing the right thing though, so it's all gonna come together.
• 36:49
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I think that's good.
• 36:50
  SPEAKER_01: I like that.
• 36:51
  SPEAKER_01: That's our our first core value here is we always do the right thing.
• 36:56
  SPEAKER_01: And so we have 10 of them, and that's number one for a reason.
• 36:59
  SPEAKER_01: You know, if if you could live your life that way, you feel pretty good, right?
• 37:02
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 37:03
  SPEAKER_02: I certainly think that you've mastered the um identity uh bit as well.
• 37:08
  SPEAKER_02: So it's it's nice when you feel like you you know yourself, there's a consistency there.
• 37:12
  SPEAKER_02: Consistency builds trust too, right?
• 37:14
  SPEAKER_02: And that's what we need most in our profession.
• 37:17
  SPEAKER_01: So love it.
• 37:18
  SPEAKER_01: Well, thank you for spending time with us.
• 37:20
  SPEAKER_01: It was a treat.
• 37:22
  SPEAKER_01: Um, look forward to if you're around next Monday.
• 37:26
  SPEAKER_01: Um, perhaps you can come in.
• 37:28
  SPEAKER_01: We'll if not next Monday, we have gatherings every week.
• 37:32
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but um super um I will say impressed and and um inspired by you.
• 37:40
  SPEAKER_01: You you have a lot of good energy that you put into a lot of good, you know, issues and causes and people.
• 37:46
  SPEAKER_01: So um it's nice to have someone like you in our orbit.
• 37:50
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I think you we all lift each other up and and your presence is a very positive and good one.
• 37:57
  SPEAKER_01: And so we're looking for big things from you.
• 38:01
  SPEAKER_01: I have some theories, but you know, we'll wait and see.
• 38:04
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but I know it's gonna be super good.
• 38:08
  SPEAKER_01: So um thanks for being on the on the podcast.
• 38:11
  SPEAKER_01: Really appreciate you being here.
• 38:12
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you, Davi.
• 38:14
  SPEAKER_02: It's great buds here at the office.
• 38:16
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, good, awesome.
• 38:17
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we try to keep a positive, some positive, positive emo going.
• 38:21
  SPEAKER_03: That's how we start every Monday, right?
• 38:22
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 38:23
  SPEAKER_01: With good news.
• 38:24
  SPEAKER_01: That's the first thing we do.
• 38:26
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, on um Monday.
• 38:28
  SPEAKER_01: We do Monday Musters also at 8:30.
• 38:31
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, and we always start with good news.
• 38:33
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, I think there's something to be said for kind of positive energy creation, you know.
• 38:38
  SPEAKER_02: Don't want people wasting time on the Sunday scaries.
• 38:41
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 38:42
  SPEAKER_01: No Sunday scaries.
• 38:44
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know.
• 38:44
  SPEAKER_03: But I love the fact that we actually get together and basically we're we write down five things I were grateful for that morning for that week, and then also five things are we're gonna put into the universe, like good things, right?
• 38:55
  SPEAKER_03: Attitude.
• 38:56
  SPEAKER_02: Well, it's all about that neuroplasticity.
• 38:58
  SPEAKER_02: That's you you choose the framework for your mentality.
• 39:01
  SPEAKER_02: It's exactly all right.
• 39:02
  SPEAKER_01: We'll come back for a second podcast.
• 39:04
  SPEAKER_01: We'll talk about that.
• 39:05
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, but we all believe in that.
• 39:07
  SPEAKER_01: So uh thank you again.
• 39:08
  SPEAKER_01: Um, thank you again for listening.
• 39:10
  SPEAKER_01: If you like what you heard, you know, like us, follow us, share.
• 39:14
  SPEAKER_01: Um, we have a ton of great episode speakers.
• 39:17
  SPEAKER_01: We're building our community one episode at a time, you know, all people that uh believe in what's right, believe in justice, uh, and are important members, allies, and partners in our community.
• 39:29
  SPEAKER_01: So thank you so much.
• 39:31
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, this concludes this episode of the Latino podcast.