National Hispanic Heritage Month Attorney Spotlight: Angela Sayre

Angela Sayre joined the firm in 2017. Angela focuses her practice in Real Estate Litigation, Products Liability, Toxic/Mass Tort, Catastrophic Personal Injury, Commercial Litigation, and Legal Malpractice.

As a partner in the Litigation group of our Los Angeles office, share with us your journey into law and your inspiration for pursuing this career path.

The legal profession demands critical thinking and analysis. It calls for the ability to anticipate and solve new problems.  Growing up I saw what my Dad did working as a consultant for an environmental law firm and he came home with fascinating stories. His work demanded thinking in new ways. I never intentionally thought about the legal profession before I studied at UCLA, but I think the influence was always there. He was my inspiration. 

How has your practice changed throughout the pandemic and how have you personally pivoted to remain successful despite the global setbacks?

I would not call the last 2 year “a pivot”, I would call it an evolution. To be successful, we needed to arrive at solutions for clients who were facing existential crises. There was no playbook—we had to invent it and implement it. The key was saying yes and embracing the uncertainty. Despite my initial feeling that the pandemic would hurt my practice, the opposite has been true—my practice has been remade. 

As a Hispanic American in the legal profession, what advice would you give to other Hispanic American attorneys pursuing a similar path? Any memorable life lessons you have learned along the way?

My advice would be if you speak Spanish, or know a little, continue to practice! My ability to speak to Spanish (fairly well, not perfectly) never ceases to reward me. Hearing deposition testimony in Spanish and then translated into English means I can hear and understand much more nuance and meaning. This understanding leads to better questions.

How do you celebrate or keep your Hispanic roots alive in your daily life?

My mother is from Mexico and my dad from El Paso, Texas.  I was born here. I have at times felt odd because I have been looked at strangely when I say where my family is from, because of my skin color. There are those who don’t fully understand that Latinos and Latinx people come in all ranges of skin color. I, like much of my family in Sinaloa, Mexico, are a bit fairer. None of my aunts or uncles ever said to me I “don’t look Mexican”! They only say that to me in the United States! For a while it was hard because I felt neither fish nor fowl. I see it differently now because it is who I am, and people’s perceptions don’t change me. I don’t need to do a thing because my Mexican family is with me every day. My little sister Gabriela Fresquez is a champion of the Latinx community. She is the hostess of the Telemundo Radar 2021; a YouTube show about the Latinx community. I am so proud of her. Que emocion! https://www.youtube.com/c/radar