We recently connected with Isabella Fortich and have shared our conversation below.

Isabella, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s jump into the story of starting your own firm – what should we know?

When my partner, Laura Quintero, and I decided to start our own firm it was certainly not what we expected. We had everything ready to go in terms of space, website, social media, files, etc. However, we were definitely not expecting one of us to fall ill and be in a hospital for over a month. Approximately a week after we opened up, while at the office, Laura became extremely sick and I had to rush her to the hospital. We spent hours and hours until the doctors were finally able to identify her illness. Unfortunately, it did not end there. Laura went through several surgeries and was in excruciating pain for well over a month. During this time, I had to take on the entire firm and resolve issues by myself. I had to keep up with cases and do all of the administrative work that goes into starting your own practice. There were several times were I simply did not know what to do but thankfully I had an incredible support system to guide me through these dark times. By the time Laura finally recovered, the firm was up and running like nothing had ever happened. We were both scared of the uncertainty at the time but looking back I can definitely say it shaped us into better professionals. I am grateful for the challenge as this taught me things about myself that I was previously not aware of. My advice to any young considering starting their own firm is to find a mentor. I would love to help any young professionals considering starting their own firm. Ever since going through this, I have had several attorneys coincidentially reach out who are starting their own firms. I have been able to provide advice I wish I would’ve had at the time. I truly invite anyone reading this to reach out to me without hesitation. I am willing and love to help others succeed.

Isabella, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Isabella Fortich and I am an Immigration Attorney in the Central Florida area. My journey began with a passion for culture and languages. As an immigrant myself, I always dreamt of connecting with others on a deeper level by learning their language and understanding their background.I began studying abroad and learning languages when I was fourteen years old. I took part in a program in Switzerland where I quickly fell in love with French and made it my endeavor to become fluent. I have studied at Université de Genève, Sorbonne Université & Jönköping University. I further completed my undergraduate studies at the University of Central Florida where I majored in Economics and minored in French. As of today, I speak, read and write English, Spanish and French. My love for languages arose from an incredible need to give back by working in Immigration. During the Summer of 2019, I participated in an Immigration Law and Border Enforcement Program in San Diego, California. I visited the San Ysidro Port of Entry, met with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) and crossed over to Tijuana, Mexico where I visited the U.S. Consulate. Subsequently, I became a volunteer intern with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Office of the Principal Legal Advisor in Orlando, Florida (“ICE”). I further participated as a student representative at Barry University Dwayne O. Andreas School of Law Immigration Clinic where I represented non-citizens seeking immigration benefits and defending against removal proceedings. As of today, I am a founding partner at Quintero Fortich Legal where I handle multiple immigration matters and represent clients before several federal agencies. I can now openly say I have achieved one of my life long dreams and will continue to immerse myself in cultures and languages while practicing Immigration Law so that I can give back to a community that has already given me so much. I look forward to working alongside my clients and their loved ones so that they may achieve their own personal dreams in this wonderful country. Quintero Fortich Legal is a law firm founded by immigrant women who experienced the immigration journey themselves. We are dedicated to our clients and thrive to obtain legal status so they may achieve their dreams in this amazing country. Our team will help clients with all aspects of immigration including but not limited to family based petitions, deportation defense, employment based visas and business visas. We have served the community and we are committed to educating and informing our clients of ever changing immigration laws while providing exceptional customer service. We are most proud of being able to offer one-on-one customer service all while answering in less than 24 hours.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

Word of mouth. We have tried everything from flyers, advertising, social media, etc. However, there is simply no better source than word of mouth. We strive to give 100% customer satisfacion and our greatest return has been just that. We have even had clients who do not hire but because of the great experience they had they continue to refer others. My best advice is to be kind. You will be surprised how many clients can come from this. Kindness will truly go a long way.

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

My greatest advice is to work as hard as your employees do and be an example for them. Employees want to do bigger and greater things when they see that the owner of the company is as invested as they are. In other words, be what you would like your employees to be for you and for your clients.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.qflegal.com
• Instagram: @immigrationorlando @qflegal @abogadaquintero @camylalaw
• Linkedin: Isabella Fortich
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCngAaZpvJw-ipiRTDY7WNMg