Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Tina Odjaghian. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Tina , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Please tell us about starting your own firm and if you’d do anything different knowing what you know now.

I started my career as a defense attorney, and early on I realized that what mattered most to me was representing people, especially those who were downtrodden and overlooked. The people who needed advocacy the most were often those who were severely injured and had no real voice in the system. That’s what ultimately pushed me into private practice. I grew the firm organically, with a clear purpose: rebuilding people’s lives. In California, many of our clients were undocumented and being exploited, and they were often afraid to seek legal help at all. Creating a place where they felt seen, protected, and truly represented became a core part of who we are as a firm. Knowing what I know now, I would trust my gut more. I wouldn’t second-guess myself or my instincts. I would have more faith in my own ability and remind myself that I already have everything it takes to get things over the finish line. I’d let go of the self-doubt, ignore the noise, and move forward with full confidence.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

First and foremost, I’m a mother of two boys which gives purpose to everything I do. I’m a catastrophic injury attorney, specializing in brain injury litigation. I take pride in fighting on behalf of the most severely injured plaintiffs, and helping them put their lives back together. My firm has secured some of the largest settlements and awards on behalf of catastrophically injured workers in California. We have also published case law, which has helped injured people industry wide. When I’m not fighting for my clients or spending time with my boys, I’m a fashion and lifestyle influencer and tastemaker who chronicles my journey through life in fashion on my social media platform in hopes to motivate add uplift others in their journey.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

As a kid growing up without my dad around and with a mom who worked 80 hour work weeks, I had a lot of abandonment issues and a longing to fit in. I learned that striving and excelling in life‘s endeavors would gain me respect and praise which would temporarily fill a void. Also, culturally we are trained to assess our self-worth based on where we stand in society and how much success we’ve achieved. In my 40s, I really had to rewire my brain and barometer for success to reflect my physical and mental health and inner peace as well as connectedness to my boys. Everything else is great, but it really doesn’t matter. Family is what matters. Learning that was a key to freedom.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Early on as a first generation immigrant and a female, and what was that a male dominated profession I knew I had to work twice as hard to prove myself and succeed to make my parents sacrifices worth it. They sacrificed everything to move to this country and give us a shot at the American dream. When we first moved out here, we moved with one suitcase and lived in my aunt‘s basement and worked 18 hour days in order to help the family make ends meet. I didn’t have much of a childhood and assimilating into American culture as the only brown kid in school was brutal to say the least. I’m going through that hardship of moving here at the age of 10 with nothing and starting from scratch was a humbling in character building experience to which I attribute my hard work ethic and resilience.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://odjaghianlaw.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tinaodjaghian/

Image Credits

Courtesy of Tina Odjaghian