Today we’d like to introduce you to Lauren Noriega.
Lauren, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I wanted to be a lawyer ever since I was a little girl. I argue with my mom even as a toddler. She would say, “If you want to argue, then be an attorney when you grow up.”
I went to undergrad at Cal State San Bernardino, where I studied nutrition. I was afraid of pursuing law because of the student debt and the amount of education required. I worked as a nutritionist for one year, and soon realized it was not challenging enough for me. I decided to take the entrance exam and start applying to law schools.
At that time, I was married to a guy who was in the army. He had struggled with substance abuse, but had gone to rehab and was doing well in the army. Since he was stationed in FL, I accepted an invitation to a law school there. I moved away from all of my friends and family to be with him and to pursue my dream of becoming an attorney.
After about two weeks in FL, I realized my husband was living a double life. He was still regularly using very heavy drugs. I immediately filed for divorce. However, I was stuck in FL until I completed my first year of law school. I finished in the top 10% of my 1st-year class, and Loyola Law School (Los Angeles) matched my FL scholarship.
I returned home and finished law school in LA. While at Loyola, I worked with project for the innocent — where I helped to exonerate a man who had lived in prison. He was factually innocent and had been wrongfully imprisoned for 20 years. It was then that I decided I wanted to do criminal defense.
Just six months after being admitted to the CA state bar, I started my own law firm. I focused heavily on Instagram marketing because I noticed that this was an untapped market. As a huge rap/hip hop fan, I decided to carve a place for myself as the “go-to” hip hop/criminal defense attorney. I now have a significant following, and my business is booming.
People are often surprised that I use only social media to further my business. It’s not typical for a lawyer. The fact that I am a young female also surprises people. I have an excellent track record in criminal defense, and I am just getting started. I have been in business for almost two years now.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
There were significant struggles. The biggest hurdle was getting through my first year of law school while going through a divorce without any friends and family.
The first six months that I was an attorney, I worked for another attorney, and we bumped heads a lot. I was also told by other attorneys and family members that the market is over-saturated, and I needed to have a back-up plan. Others scoffed at my idea of using Instagram to market myself as an attorney, there are still hurdles.
Not everyone accepts the fact that I am true to myself and not always politically correct. People have this idea of what an attorney should look and act like. I’m not going to pretend I’m something that I’m not.
The Noriega Law Firm – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I am a criminal defense attorney, and I own my own firm. I specialize in wrongful convictions. This means that I work on cases where people had lived in prison when they actually did not commit the crime.
I have a private investigator who works at my firm, and a couple of other attorneys who work on an independent contractor basis. I also do live criminal cases — anywhere from DUI to assault with a deadly weapon. I handle all criminal cases.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
I personally define success as something very subjective. We all have short and long-term goals. I think that success is a spectrum. There are small successes, large successes, and steps to success.
I think that success means that you are happy in your day to day and making a difference in the community. Success means that you can sleep at night knowing that you are giving whatever you are doing your all,
Contact Info:
- Website: www.noriegalawfirm.com
- Phone: (213) 290-2656
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @Nori_thenightmare
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