Hidden Gems: Meet Cheryl Deptowicz-Diaz of Diaz Law Firm

On February 2nd, 2024 in

Reprinted from VoyageLA.com – April 12, 2021

Today we’d like to introduce you to Cheryl Deptowicz-Diaz.

Cheryl, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I am a principal attorney and founder of Diaz Law Firm. We handle family law, immigration, and bankruptcy. I am a mixed-race Filipina American, immigrating to the US at the age of eight and settling into what is now called Historic Filipinotown in Los Angeles. I am proud to have roots in Virgil Junior High and Belmont High School. I left LA and discovered a bigger world when I attended college at U.C. Santa Barbara. While in college, I participated in a study abroad program to Argentina and Chile. As a classic middle child, I always found ways to entertain and engage my brain. This translated into always working, always finding ways to be active. My first official job was at the Mann’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood. I loved that job. I only left it because I left for college. All throughout my studies, I worked full time and enjoyed every single job I ever held. I have been a recreation director, secretary, accounting clerk, administrative assistant, law clerk, cashier, etc. Through these jobs, I have done a lot of different interesting tasks: built forest trails, greeted Hollywood stars at movie premiers, taught water aerobics, created crafts with kids, served coffee to jerks and nonjerks alike, entered data, and book travel for executives, etc.

In 1994, I returned to my home country for the very first and actually only time since we left in 1982. I saw first hand the great disparity between the rich and the poor. While some relatives were captains of industry, other relatives were living in modified cardboard boxes. This lit a fire in my heart. I returned to the US and changed my major to Asian American Studies. I helped found an organization for Asian women activists and also began writing poetry. Some of my poems have been published, and one is included in a CD album, In Our Blood featuring LA-based Filipinx American poets. I worked with L.A. Enkanto Kollective to produce that album. In 2001, we actually performed at the Getty Museum. My humble beginnings, intimate knowledge of poverty, own experiences with racism and sexism, and multiple run ins with different personal traumas pushed me to apply to law school. I was angry and wanted change. I turned to the law to make my mark and create a vehicle for me to create change and make a real difference. I attended the evening program at Southwestern University School of Law. It was hard as heck for me because I kept wanting to dig deeper into the law, and I was wasting too much energy doing that, rather than just spitting out what need spitting to pass the exam and calling it a day.

My cohorts would get commercial outlines and use those to study for exams. I was wasting too much time recreating the wheel by doing my own outlines. LOL. I laugh now because what I was doing was fighting Impostor Syndrome and conditioning as women of color who go out of our way, above and beyond, to make sure that everything is perfect before we can take action. We worry so much to not bring shame or negativity to our gender, to our race, to our communities that we pine over all the details. I felt I did not have the luxury to mess up. To mess up was a privilege for those that already claimed their space in the world. That need to be perfect almost caused me my law career because I almost got kicked out of law school. But, after you grow some and fight that inner hater in your brain, find a way to stand in your own power and claim your truth that you are good enough, you learn to let the blood flow, ease up and be confident. I’m sure all my law school professors were surprised to learn that I passed the 3-day, 16-subjects bar exam on my first attempt, and more surprised when they learned that my first trial resulted in a unanimous special jury verdict of $74M for my client. (I did not get rich out of that but my client did.) I established Diaz Law Firm in 2008. I thought that I only take on immigration and criminal defense cases, but as a solo practitioner without an advertising budget, I took on cases as they came. I have extensive experience in different areas of the law and been successful in many areas.

But, several years into my practice, I have narrowed the areas down to family law, immigration, and bankruptcy, I tell people I meet at parties, I am the attorney you never want to need, but if you do have the need the one you definitely want to have. I say this because these areas are high-trauma areas. Family law includes divorce, child custody disputes, domestic violence restraining orders, etc., Immigration includes deportation/removal proceeding and separation from family and loved ones. And, bankruptcy includes financial stress and overwhelming debt. These areas are all high-stress and emotional whirlwinds. As it turns out, as I entered the law with lots of anger, I actually am now very peaceful. My lawyering looks for the opportunities to find, nurture, create, and increase peace. I help individuals and families create peace in their lives. I take pride not wasting my clients’ emotional and financial resources.

Alright, 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?
Overall, I think that my law career has been a “smooth road,” not necessarily easy, but smooth enough. I always knew my capabilities and capacities. I never took on more cases than I could handle. I never asked for more than I could handle. If I wanted more for my law office, I took my time to get there. Some of my colleagues came in blazing, only to later close up shop. I spent all this time studying, improving my craft, talking to my inner haters make sure they got along with my inner cheerleaders. After 13 years of first earning my law license, I still believe that lawyering is a noble profession that has the power to transform our societies. I do this, one case at a time. Moving forward, I am now at the point in my career where I am ready to expand and lead a team of associate attorneys to have more lawyers leading from the heart.

How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
Those facing legal challenges: Anyone needing help troubleshooting and tracking a legal problem, just contact us. We will dissect everything to come up with a plan of action. Those wanting to work for DLF: If you believe in our core values, I encourage you to call (626) 498-0755 for step-by-step instructions on how to apply and join our growing team. Those who are inspired to cheerlead us because of our core values: please spread the word about us. The information on our website, www.diazlawfirm.net, will give you a good idea of what we are all about. You can also find our short video.