Ilya Lerma
Sponsored by RebuttalPR
What inspired you to specialize in plaintiff personal injury law?
It was never my plan to be a trial lawyer. My father was one of the last great general practitioners and kept saying, “Don’t practice law! It is a lot of stress.” Of course, I was contrarian and stubborn and didn’t listen. I thought I would try medicine because I had a brother with intractable seizures. I was interested in neuroscience but ended up falling in love with philosophy as an undergrad and went to law school. I was still interested in medicine and took a few courses that melded both, thinking I would practice medical malpractice defense. Very quickly, I learned that I didn't like insurance companies and the way they treated people and didn’t take full responsibility for harming people, so I stayed working for civil Plaintiffs.
Can you share a case that had a significant impact on you?
There are so many. My clients are amazing, resilient people but the case we just got a $10 million verdict in Maricopa County was special. We had to go up to the Court of Appeals multiple times; more than half the claims were sent to arbitration, there were at least five different judges, and more than ten motions for mistrial when we finally got before the jury. This case was an absolute labor of love. Just because of the sheer complexity and volume of work– most lawyers would have walked away. It was going to take a lot of money. It was going to take a lot of time. I was able to get some financial support via case funding to help my client survive and help advance the case. We yielded this amazing result in a case where, for years, the insurance company dug their heels in and said, "No, we're not going to accept any responsibility." They blamed my client. They raided her entire medical background and surveilled her. They accused us [the “greedy” lawyers] of manufacturing the entire case---- anything and everything you can think of to get off the hook and out of being held responsible for causing this horrible, life-altering brain injury they caused in a skilled nursing center. That made this case so personally gratifying – to have had a jury in Arizona, which is notoriously conservative, come out with a unanimous verdict against this defendant was just beyond words… Amazing. I was so grateful to the jurors who did a remarkable job of handling the medical complexities of that case.
What lessons did you learn from that case that you would share with other folks who maybe are approaching a similar case that seems daunting to them?
There’s a few:
Getting the right experts and going expert heavy is important. The lawyer needs the right experts and team but also needs to dedicate time to spend with them so they can be educated on the key striking points.
Second, the right trial team is essential. In the case just described, I had co-counsel. Not only do I always collect new techniques but we get to play off our skills and keep the jury engaged through a long trial. At one time, before trial start and because of conflicts my trial partner had, I thought I would have to do the whole trial by myself, but more than one lawyer is necessary to really absorb all the different things happening in trial. It's just so mentally and emotionally taxing with no down time. You can’t be at a 5-star performance without someone to bolster the load. I was preparing to bring on a female colleague, but fortunately, my original counsel was able to make it. We also had support for the motion practice and had document and evidence trial techs for the sheer volume of information to get through and streamline and unify and just have lots of eyes to help shape the approach on a daily basis.
The third lesson is that as much as we want to be friends with our clients, we have a duty to to be their lawyer first. We have to make a lot of tough choices and we aren’t there to be therapist, friend, mentor to our clients. We have to make a lot of calls that are in the best interest of the case that sometimes make us unpopular with the client.
The last lesson would be to continually work on cultivating trial skills. I started taking depositions in this case back in 2016 and can see how far I've come. I've worked with great trial lawyers. I've taught national trial skills courses with stalwarts in the field and tried cases as part of incredible teams. Now, I can look back on the landscape and realize how much growth there is by not staying in the same rut of familiarity. So, make everything an opportunity to talk to people, connect, persuade and evolve. Practice communication. Take classes. Bring on new lawyers to litigate cases alongside you. It is amazing how ready you feel for a trial when there is a firm foundation of the basics.
What advice would you give to other lawyers practicing in a conservative state like Arizona?
I would say being thoughtful about case selection, especially for trial, is hugely important. A lot of times, we get blinded because we fall in love with our clients. But we could be better at seeing what jurors see. So, be very selective about the cases you take to trial because, ultimately, your results affect everyone. If the defense wins case after case, they get very arrogant. Taking a case to trial should come with a big sense of responsibility. Settle your difficult cases and try your good cases. Additionally, work on your jury selection skills. I'm in a state where we don't have peremptory challenge, so engaging with the jury early and getting them on the same page about your case and the damages sought right away will matter.
How do you approach building trust with your clients?
My office policy is that we return all client calls within 24 hours. Everyone else can wait. Little things like that are instrumental. A lot of times, it's just a few touches. Clients want to learn what's going on and they want assurance that you're paying attention to their case. They don’t need every detail, but don’t want to be on a back-burner of a paralegal’s desk. I right-size my firm/client load and staff. Plus, every client has my cell phone number. And I've told them, “If you respect it and my time, you can keep it and use it as long as you need, and that way, if you cannot reach someone in my office or want a quick update, please feel free to text me.” That goes a long way. It really, really does. It seems like such a simple thing, but it humanizes the process at a time when most lawyers have staff do all client management. Clients just want to know that you've thought about them and taken their thoughts and interests into consideration. They'll stay with you for the long haul. And, of course, they'll bring back their family members and friends to get treatment for the verdict they deserve.
What challenges have you faced as a female attorney in this field and how did you overcome them?
There were only a few women trial lawyers in my area so most of my mentors were male. I just started saying, “yes” to opportunities to co-counsel cases. Like many women, it was very easy to fall into the second-chair role, so I forced myself to try several cases on my own. Along the way, I struggled with perfectionism and self-limiting beliefs. I just started to say to myself, "Why not me?" I started to get out of my own way. I stepped out of the box and asked good lawyers to try cases with me. I learned a lot more medicine, especially in brain injury so I could make myself an asset in other lawyer’s cases and co-counsel with them. I also started getting engaged at our trial lawyer organization. People encouraged me to hold an office and be a board member. Reluctant at first, I felt intimidated. There were trial lawyer stalwarts who'd been around forever, and they'd had millions of dollars in verdicts. Then, a colleague told me, "You owe it to the women who come after you." That really put things into perspective. So, I said accepted leadership opportunities and got more involved. It’s been incredibly rewarding for me and I’m proud to help more women know that we have dimensions still yet to offer our male colleagues.
How do you balance work with personal life, especially in a field as demanding as personal injury law?
I'm not a big believer that this career is something you can work-life balance. It’s more of---- shifting priorities. When my kids are home, they are my time. They are my priority. But everything else takes a backseat when it's time for a trial. That's how I manage things. Once I finish the trial, it's like, “Okay, now I'll take the girls and my fiancée, and we'll take a trip or go hiking and I'll make dinner and have family time. My fiancée runs my firm and the consulting work I do for other lawyers so that helps. I have found prioritizing this way works better because trying to have “balance” is impossible. Are there nights when I'm working till midnight? Yes, but there's also the middle of the day when I can run off with my daughter and have a two-hour lunch or a quick work-out together. So, that's how I have made it work for me.
Who have been some of your mentors?
There's a list too numerous to name. Some are personal friends, but some are people big-thinkers like Bruce Lee, or Dr. Joe Dispenza or Kiddu Krishnamurti. I'm a big believer in self-work. A lot of my success as a professional has been because I keep putting myself under a microscope---but not in a critical way. I’ve learned to extend myself some grace when I make mistakes. I know the path to self-mastery never ends, and “failure” doesn’t exist unless I give up---- and I don’t give up.
When I was hiring a partner in a firm years ago, I would get the men’s cover letters that were arrogant puffery many times. Then, I would get letters from women who were far more impressive – but they had a lot of very soft, modest language. They were “pulling back” regarding their accomplishments, being humble or modest and not wanting to come across as too arrogant. It struck me that I, like many women, pass on opportunities because we grow up acculturated in that “nice” girl mode. Seeing men in trial----I thought, “I can do that. They’re not any better than me.” Eventually, I got good enough that I didn't have to compare myself to any man or woman anymore. It wasn't about them. Now, it’s all about being a better version of myself.
What other advice would you give women attorneys just starting out in this area of the law?
My advice to young women lawyers would be to abandon perfectionism and become aware where you are self-limiting. I constantly compared myself to older, more established male attorneys. Then I started to realize I didn't want to be them. I want to be as good as them, but in my own way. That’s when you finally start doing that and feeling comfortable – it's such a gift because that's when you hit a stride. Also, form alliances with other women. Refer them cases you have conflicts on, bring them on as co-counsel, configure business relationships conducive to raising kids or taking care of parents. Beyond professional exchanges: Be real with them. Take the time to share your struggles. Be honest that you’re not ticking boxes of “perfect mom” or “ideal wife” this year. The more open we are about those times, the more we can drop the incessant pressure of being perfect and help one another grow and thrive in a really challenging time.
Why are organizations like the Society of Women Trial Lawyers important to you? How has involvement in women-led organizations impacted you and your work?
For me, there were few organizations like this. Having visibility on a national scale, professional camaraderie is important. One of the cool shifts I’ve seen, when I started practicing law, professors and other women lawyers would talk about the “crab-in-the-barrel” effect where some women only rose to the top by pushing others down. In the last 15-20 years, I’ve started to see more women banding together supporting each other in non-traditional ways. Doing things like sharing cases and having communities of professionals are hugely important to our future as trial lawyers. We are social creatures, and the research shows that we need these kinds of outlets for our longevity in the profession. Besides, it is an awesome feeling when you appear in court, and everyone is a woman, from the court reporter to the judge. What an incredible time for us? And, let's face it, it's exhausting dealing with men sometimes because for too many of them, there is an ego that is in the way. Not that women are without an ego, but we are forced to practice checking ours far more than our male colleagues and my observation is that we can do it for the best interest of the case or client pretty readily where it’s not the same for our male colleagues. What the Society is generating and fostering in terms of community and what we can learn from each other – it's exactly what professional women need right now.
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