Community Highlights: Meet Anna Jerden of Relate Law, APC

Today we’d like to introduce you to Anna Jerden.

Hi Anna, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was a communications professional for more than 15 years, focusing on public relations, corporate and crisis communications, and reputation management for the healthcare, entertainment, aviation, and consumer technology industries. After so many years of working so closely with some of the world’s most known brands across all sectors of business, I began wondering what it would be like to pivot onto something new and pursue a totally different career path. So, I decided to go back to school and study law. It was brutal but so well worth it. After passing the California Bar Exam, I really wanted to practice in a way where I could marry the two worlds of my past and the present. During this time, I was getting really excited about creating a nontraditional type of law practice where I could truly relate to my clients and sort of be standing shoulder to shoulder with them, giving legal support in a way that people are not used to seeing, without the formalities and old world standards often associated with lawyers. I knew that so many people could really be turned off by lawyers based on that preconceived stereotype we all have that legal professionals are too buttoned up, snobby, stuffy and unreachable. I wanted to be able to make people feel at ease and that they could absolutely stop avoiding turning to lawyers for legal help when they needed it. In business, I had seen far too often poorly drafted contracts or do it yourself solutions really put people in a serious legal disadvantage. My thinking was, what if I could provide a friendly, easily accessible, personal experience without the intimidation, would people want that? So, Relate Law, APC was born and provides customized trust and estate planning and small business counsel and entity formation. The name was truly a marriage of my previous work creating ways to connect people with products and services and the law, but done my way.

But then, a wrinkle came. The same month I took the Attorney’s Oath, I was also diagnosed with breast cancer. Having worked in healthcare communications for many years, I had done plenty of projects supporting various breast cancer organizations, hospitals, researchers and medical providers. I had met so many survivors and some who sadly did not survive, highlighting their stories, giving voice to their experiences, and trying to connect others in conversation in hopes to promote early detection, advance research and education, and ultimately save lives. And, yet there I was, suddenly stunned to be a bonafide member of the club.

During that first year, while I was working toward recovery, I built the Relate Law systems and processes that served as the foundation of where we are today with our wonderful client population of entrepreneurs, business owners, families, and individuals spanning every generation and business market sector. Many of our clients partner with us both for their family and personal trust matters as well as their business needs. We serve all of California but concentrate primarily on the Southern California counties. Our clients come from all the local economies, including medical and mental healthcare, film/TV, media and music, professional services, real estate, insurance and more. The dream of having a law practice that serves clients through life, death, and all the business that we do in between is such a precious gift that I wake up feeling grateful every single day. For me, the most rewarding thing of all is to know that I’m helping people solve problems that keep them up at night. That in times when you feel like you just need some help, that you can get it. That there are professionals out there that you can turn to, you can trust, and who are available to make your life just a little bit easier.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Nothing is ever smooth, and certainly not the road that I was on. After having a full career in an entirely different profession, starting over seemed impossible at times. In my sphere of acquaintances, I had never known anyone else to go back to school so many years after getting a university degree and starting a professional life, let alone pursuing something so demanding like getting a Juris Doctor and trying to successfully conquer maybe the country’s most infamously difficult bar exam. But I was determined to try it even if I failed miserably. And, thankfully it paid off.

By the time cancer came around, I was already well versed in doing impossible things. After the initial devastation of the diagnosis wore off, I got busy carrying on with my plan to succeed or maybe die trying. Someone incredibly wise once told me that in trying, the thing I’d learn the most about is me, what I’m truly capable of, and I was sold. I still wear that mantra every day.

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Relate Law, APC offers custom trust and estate planning for people of all ages and asset mixes. That means we create trusts, wills and do incapacity planning in preparation for life’s unknowns and to avoid probate court. We help people reduce estate taxes, while preserving financial and personal legacies for their family’s future. As an attorney, my job is to listen to clients, learn their concerns and then provide a legal strategy and implementation plan to reach their goals whether it’s estate planning or business counsel. Clients learn that the outcome of the work we do together often saves them tremendous amounts of money, sets them up legally to pursue career objectives, and generally prevents unfavorable consequences.

Brand-wise, my approach is just that – to be approachable and accessible – and clients have appreciated how relatable we are in helping them to achieve their legal objectives. Common feedback we receive often includes admissions that they wished they had acted sooner to do their estate planning given how pleasant we made it, or that we are so friendly and easy to work with unlike some other attorneys, which is my personal favorite compliment. We often help people avoid disastrous consequences within the context of our practice areas, and I think that’s the most valuable takeaway for them, which is that we’re not just helping them optimize outcomes to ultimately protect them, but that we’ve become known for doing it in an attainable and down-to-earth way.

One thing that I’m very passionate about is helping reluctant legal consumers to reach out and get the help they need. To get it right the first time by working with someone truly knowledgeable rather than foregoing legal advice or trying to do their own legal work, which far too many people do, in my opinion, to their detriment. I wouldn’t ever dream of doing my own taxes, or dental work, you know, things that require real skill and training. Therefore, they shouldn’t do their own legal work, either.

I always tell prospective clients not to let the potential costs of doing things right drive them to complete inaction because the cost of inaction or their assumption that investing in professional help isn’t affordable at all, is always exponentially more expensive. We try as often as possible to work with a client’s budget or offer some flexibility because I don’t ever want cost to be a complete dealbreaker in getting what they need. Of course, legal services sometimes won’t be affordable for everyone so whenever we can, we’ll at least help people start the conversation so they can work toward that goal.

What do you like and dislike about the city?
You can find pretty much anything in Los Angeles. Our city boasts some of the most interesting people on the planet in my opinion. There are lots of pockets of different neighborhoods nestled within the city with lots to do, whether that’s dining, entertainment, sports, events, gardens, shopping, outdoor activities and more. The thing I love most about L.A. is the cultural mix and of course how resilient Angelenos are.

Maybe the least likable thing about L.A. is it’s almost too big and sometimes can feel a bit impersonal. Although if you’re an Angeleno, there’s an amazing vibe that other Angelenos share. You can really tell when you frequent the same restaurants or coffee shops year after year and the same people greet you. There’s a warmth and familiarity to being able to greet people again and again, that it makes you feel like you’re all friends.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.relatelaw.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/annajerdenesq/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RelateLaw/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anna-jerden-esq-935b62208?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/relate-law-los-angeles-3
• Other: https://www.avvo.com/attorneys/91367-ca-anna-jerden-5092959.html