Today we’d like to introduce you to Leslie Reyes.
Leslie, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I have always wanted to be an attorney. Since I was a kid, it was always a career that I was fascinated with, but knew it was going to be hard to achieve with my background. I am first generation American with Mexican-American parents. I was the first in my family to go to college and then to law school. While in law school, I worked in an immigration clinic that inspired me to pursue my career in immigration law. My first couple of years, I worked at an immigration law firm to gain experience. I then decided to start my own office with my partner, who is also my wonderful husband. Since the opening of our law firm, I have primarily focused on immigration and I give back to the community through free legal clinics, workshops, and speaking engagements. We have expanded to include criminal, family law, and intellectual property so that we can service the immigrant community in the most common areas they deal with. I strive to provide honest and quality representation because I know how much the immigration community has been defrauded.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Going on your own is never a smooth road. Most of the attorneys I know who are solo practitioners came from wealthy families. I am the first attorney in my family, so everything about the legal field was new to me. It was a struggle to get started, especially not knowing anything about how to run a business, something which I am continuously learning. Thankfully, I have my husband and father who have been a guide to running my business. Once I got a handle on things, I grew and networked to build my brand. My recent struggles have been managing being a mom to an infant and toddler, all while running my business. Working for myself and having maternity leave was not easy, as I had to cut my maternity leave shorter than most new mothers with my first daughter because cases were moving forward with their trials. Now with my second daughter, I have been blessed in a way, due to this pandemic, to work more from home and be with my infant daughter. I am grateful that I have had my father to always guide me in building a business and I could not have achieved all that I am as a businesswoman and mother without the constant help and support from my partner, husband.
Please tell us about Reyes & Schroeder Assoc., P.C.
I run a law firm. I practice Immigration, criminal and family law. My partner handles intellectual property, such as trademarks, and corporate formations. The bulk of my practice is immigration. I chose to include criminal and family law because most of my immigration clients have also had issues related to criminal or family law. So I wanted to be able to provide a service that my clients needed the most.
I am known for practicing immigration law and my community service to the immigrant community. Prior to the pandemic, I volunteered my time at nonprofits, providing free legal consultations and doing legal clinics for various cities in Los Angeles County.
I am most proud that we can give back to the community. It is important to me to be able to provide knowledge to the community because as we all know, knowledge is power. When people know their rights, they can better protect themselves from law enforcement.
I believe what sets us apart from other law firms is our honesty and work ethic. I have heard countless times from clients that they appreciate our honest assessment of their case and know that we are not out to rob them. The immigrant community is skeptical one because of how often they are robbed from “notarios” or other scam artists.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
Some memories I look fondly back on is performing on stage. I love to dance. Since I was 3, I was dancing and performing. But my favorite performing memories were from high school, doing musical theater. Some of my teachers in high school always thought I would take my path somewhere with dance.
Contact Info:
- Address: 1300 W Beverly Blvd., Montebello, CA 90640
- Website: reyesschroederlaw.com
- Phone: 323-553-1541
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reyesschroederlaw/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/reyesschroederlaw/
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