Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Adrianos did not initially plan to become a lawyer, but after finishing law school, he decided to start his own practice rather than work for someone else. He met a mentor who took him under his wing and encouraged him to take on a car accident case, which ended up being a turning point where Adrianos gained trial experience and won an $80,000 verdict. This experience convinced Adrianos that he could succeed as a personal injury attorney.
Adrianos decided to focus his practice on serving the Brazilian and Portuguese community in Los Angeles, as he saw a need that was not being met. His own family’s experience immigrating to the US and facing challenges like language barriers and lack of support networks inspired him to help this underserved population. Adrianos works to build trust, provide education, and offer extra support services to his clients from this community.
Visit Law Offices of Adrianos Facchetti here: https://facchettilaw.com/.
See all episodes or subscribe to the Personal Injury Marketing Minute here: https://optimizemyfirm.com/podcasts/.
Transcript:
Lindsey:
Welcome to the personal injury marketing minute, where we quickly cover the hot topics in the legal marketing world.
I’m your host, Lindsey Busfield. Some of my favorite episodes are when we dive into the stories of professionals making a real impact in their communities.
Today’s guest is doing just that, and in a way that is both personal and powerful. Adrianos Facchetti: is not your average personal injury attorney.
Based in Los Angeles, he’s built a thriving practice by serving a very specific community, Brazilian and Portuguese immigrants. And the reason?
It’s deeply rooted in his own story, which gives him a rare and authentic cultural connection to the people he now advocates for in court.
From overcoming language barriers to navigating the complex U.S. legal system. problem… Here He’s made it his mission to protect and empower those who often feel overlooked or misunderstood.
Thank you so much for joining us today, Adrianos.
Adrianos Facchetti:
Glad to be here.
Lindsey:
Well, tell us a little bit about your origin story and how you got into law.
Adrianos Facchetti:
So it wasn’t like I was always planning on being a lawyer. In fact, when I had gone to law school, was probably the, I met like one lawyer until that point.
But it was sort of a default position. I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to do, and I wanted to sort of keep my options open.
Then when I finished law school, just because of my background, my dad had started his own businesses. My brother started his own businesses.
I think we were all just too stubborn to work for somebody else that would have made a horrible employee.
And so I knew I wanted to start my own thing. And so when I started out, I had no connections, nothing.
My parents had come from Brazil and Argentina. And so it wasn’t like I had, you know, a silver spoon.
My mouth or any kind of connections. And then I figured out that I needed to get business, right? And so I had met a mentor about two years in, and I had no idea what I was doing.
And he said to me, look, I’m going to sort of take you under my wing. I’m going to teach you what to do.
I said, great. And we started doing kind of litigation. So real estate litigation, business litigation, whatever you can think of.
And then one day, he says to me, we’re going to do a car accident case. And I said, I’m not sure I want to do that, George.
And he says, we are going to do it. So I said, okay, fine. So long story short, we’re working on this case, and we were like the fourth attorneys in the case, so it’s not a good case.
And he says the policy limits are $25,000 and the offer is $7,500. And I’m calculating that that’s about 200 bucks in my pocket, which was like a million dollars for me.
I needed the money badly. said, yeah. He says, no, we’re going to go to trial. So I said, as long as you do the entire trial, I’m totally fine with it.
He said, don’t worry. He was like in his mid-70s. So we get to trial and all of a sudden, you know, it’s not going well.
He’s a little too old, a little too long in the tooth. And he turns to me and says, you know, I think trial is a young man’s game, Adrianos.
I want you to start doing stuff in the trial. I said, George, I can’t do it. He says, if you don’t do it, I never want to see your face again.
And so I got thrown into the deep end. And so I did it. Same thing with the closing argument.
He has me do the closing argument. I do it as best as I can. And then after the closing argument, we’re sitting in the hallway and the defense attorney turns to me and says, know, Adrianos, that was the best closing argument I’ve ever seen.
And I looked at him because I thought he was hitting on me or something. I could not believe that this was a real compliment.
And I said, okay. And then whatever. So we go in front of the jury and the jury reads the verdict.
And we got an $80,000 verdict. So my thought was, you know, maybe I can actually do this. And that’s how I started.
And just little by little, just grinding, trying to get more business and trying to get a reputation in the personal injury community.
Lindsey:
Well, and that’s fantastic. mean, and so many attorneys start out because their family is full of lawyers, and they’ve had this experience growing up, and like, it’s just expected of them to go through this path.
So it’s always refreshing to hear from somebody who didn’t grow up dreaming of being an attorney or who didn’t have those built in mentors in life.
And you don’t necessarily need to know everything or be inundated with it, you know, when you’re a kid, so long as you know who to ask.
And so having that mentor relationship was clearly, you know, fundamental in your success and to where you are now.
And so you’re in Los Angeles, and which, as everybody knows, is a fiercely competitive market. But talk to us about how you have niched down your practice and a little bit about your cultural background and how that influences the cases that are naturally drawn to you now.
Adrianos Facchetti:
So growing up as a kid, I saw how difficult it was for my parents to sort of, you know, get used to the culture here, to make a living.
Obviously, they were from different countries, didn’t speak the language initially, but they did a lot to sort of educate themselves and to sort of build this amazing life, which I’m really proud of them for doing that.
And, you know, a few years ago, unfortunately, three or four years ago, my mom had Alzheimer’s and passed away.
And so I decided, how do I stay connected to the culture? Like, how do I – there’s not a ton of Brazilians in California.
And so I thought, you know, maybe I can help the community. So I went around to all the different Brazilian lawyers and I said, who’s the guy or gal who does personal injuries?
Right. They all looked at me and said, it’s going to be you. And I said, that can’t be true.
Either there’s no market or there’s just nobody doing it. So I started asking other attorneys and they kept on saying the same thing.
And so I said, you know what, maybe I should get into this market, see if I can help this community.
And I started doing that. And so once I got into the community, I realized how much of a need there was for somebody who actually spoke Portuguese.
I’m a dual citizen Brazilian. I was raised in L.A. But I started really focusing on that segment of the population.
And it’s really paid dividends for me.
Lindsey:
That’s fantastic. So how does this inform your marketing efforts?
Adrianos Facchetti:
So how do you get connected in the community? So a couple of different ways that I get connected with the community is, like I said, I’ve met other pillars of the Portuguese community, Brazilian community.
I’ve met with other attorneys, gotten to… Create wonderful relationships with them. And honestly, I would do it for free, just because it keeps me connected to the culture.
But it’s sort of impacted how I do marketing in general, because I try to do marketing that’s something that’s fun for me.
I’ve learned that it’s not fun, you’re not going to do it. And even if you do do it, it’s not going to work, people are going to see right through it.
So if I’m having a meeting like this one, my thought is, what’s one interesting thing I can learn about the other person?
That’s kind of how I look at things. And so getting back to the marketing. So what I do is, I get involved in Facebook communities, where people are asking questions, they have problems.
Every once in a while, I’ll, you know, make comments on certain posts. It’s not, I’m not selling anything. I’m just trying to be helpful.
And I’m also getting a pulse on what’s important to them. Right? How do I get to sort of the mind of the person who I want to help?
And then eventually, like, you know, Every once in a while, once a week or so, I might do something that’s more educational with a call to action at the end of the post.
And so a couple of those things, not a lot of work, maybe like half an hour a week in these Facebook groups.
It’s just about identifying those groups and building relationships with the owners of those groups so that they’re comfortable that you’re a legitimate business owner that can actually help.
Because the real problem, Lindsey, is that there’s a lot of, unfortunately, non-attorneys who give or try to give advice to these vulnerable populations.
And I’ve seen it so many times, especially for immigration law, where they will take advantage of people. And the sad part is, and I’ve talked to so many people, they’ve gotten in an auto accident, Brazilians, and they get a serious injury, like a back injury where they needed a surgery.
And they just didn’t even know they had any legal rights. Number one, because they’re deathly afraid that if they make a claim…
And they just are not aware that this actually exists as a legal right because it doesn’t exist in their country.
So it’s about educating them. It’s about being involved in the community. And it’s about just doing something where I’m going to feel good at the end of the day.
Lindsey:
And I love that use of social media, getting involved in these groups. And so we talked to so many attorneys who are like, I want to start a social media campaign and put out these ads and do this and that.
And a lot of times, the intent is good, but it’s kind of missing the mark and not going to be generating any leads and really not going be making a connection with anybody because nobody goes to Facebook to see top 10 things not to do after a car accident.
But if somebody is going to one of these forums, and I see this a lot with the Apex Carry Moms group here.
Interest and specific questions. can keep a beat on what is important within a specific community, but also just be able to provide some helpful information and yeah, maybe, you know, get your name out there as a trusted resource.
So I think that that’s a really great way to use social media and you’re going about that in the way that I would absolutely recommend.
So you talked a little bit about this educational component where these people, these communities might not understand that they have protected rights, even if they’re not citizens and they’re coming from backgrounds where this isn’t something that they’re super familiar with.
What are some of the other unique challenges that Brazilian Portuguese immigrants face when dealing with personal injury cases here in the United States?
Adrianos Facchetti:
So a lot of them, like I said, I think the key… One is that they don’t have an understanding of how the legal process works at all.
In their country, what they would say is that the legal process is broken and doesn’t work at all. And so for them, it’s usually like, do you know a guy who can handle this or do something?
And it’s not always maybe the most appropriate way to do things. And so there’s not a lot of trust.
So one of the challenges that I have is sort of gaining that trust so that they can trust me to be able to actually help them and not mistreat them.
The other thing, too, that is a challenge culturally is they believe that there’s always going to be some sort of hidden charge, like someone’s going to charge them for something.
And believe it or not, sometimes people, there’s sort of that adage that if it’s, you know, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
And so when I say, you know, there’s no upfront charge, it’s a contingency fee, you would think that it would lower their sense of risk, but sometimes they see that as being suspicious.
And so for me, it’s just. So generally, a lot of education. Also, the big challenge, too, is that they don’t have a lot of personal networks here.
So let’s say, for example, you were to have a surgery or get an issue or some sort of injury.
You probably have family or friends here in your community who can actually help you for a couple of days while you’re in bed recovering from a procedure.
But they don’t have personal networks. And so what do you do if you’re driving Uber all day to make money and you’ve got to drive?
And if you don’t drive, you don’t make money. So that’s one of the big issues that I see is, number one, education.
And number two, the lack of these personal networks that can help them get the adequate medical care that they need.
And so we do certain things in our office to give them that opportunity. We’ll even send someone to go help them out sometimes on high-value cases.
They can go and get a nurse for a day or two, only in the highest-value cases, but we can do that in some cases.
And we’ll We’re always looking for ways to give this unreasonable client service, which is one thing that I think distinguishes our firm from others.
Lindsey:
And that’s amazing that you are able to offer that support, especially for those who are severely injured and really need the most help getting back on their feet or getting the medical care that you need.
And do you find any issues during the legal process itself with insurance companies or any language barrier issues when it comes to helping this community?
Adrianos Facchetti:
Yeah, there’s definitely, since there’s probably only about 200,000 or 300,000 Brazilians in California, believe it or not, sometimes we have just sort of practical issues in terms of translation.
So if I’ve got to get a, you know, person to translate for a deposition, that can be a little bit challenging.
If I need a recorded statement, which we do occasionally, that can be a challenge to find that. And a person who actually speaks Portuguese and the dialect and version of Portuguese, I would do it myself, but I’m not certified and it’s probably not a good idea to do it.
But that is a challenge. I mean, it is like, I think the eighth most popular language in the world.
And so it shouldn’t be that hard. But there are certain challenges with it. Of course, if you go to trial, that’s a whole nother interesting set of issues.
But it’s not a big deal. I mean, California, it’s a very diverse state. And so we have a lot of huge Hispanic population.
I also help that population as well. So Spanish and Portuguese. We have ways to address all these issues. You know, I think the biggest challenge is we don’t have enough medical providers that can speak the language.
But the interesting thing is with technology and AI, some of my providers have iPads. And so they’ll bring the iPad into the room.
And I only work with providers that can actually do this. And they’ll have the iPad in there and it’s simultaneous translation.
So if it’s necessary, we can do that to use technology. We try to use everything at our disposal to create like a really good experience for our clients.
Lindsey:
That’s fantastic. And having that technology now, especially within the last three to five years, has been an absolute game changer for attorneys as well as for the clients, medical providers, and just helping to streamline that process.
So I’m so glad that that’s in place and being used. So let’s talk about cases involving undocumented clients. What should they know about their rights in terms of a personal injury situation?
I know you brought up the fact that there’s a lot of nervousness about filing a claim if somebody isn’t a U.S.
citizen, especially, or if they’re undocumented or any of these issues.
Adrianos Facchetti:
What, let’s look at Let’s dive into that a little bit. So 100%, one of the biggest concerns for people who are immigrants, especially those who don’t have papers or undocumented, is they’re worried that either they’re going to get caught or something if they make their – assert their legal claims in a personal injury case.
And it absolutely is not the case. It will not happen. In fact, there was a law that changed in California where if you made a – typically, the rule was if you made a loss of earnings claim, the defense counsel would force you to get information about their sort of status.
And now there’s a new evidence code which says it’s irrelevant and lasts, I think, a few years. So there have been additional protections in California, but I get it.
The sort of national environment, whatever your politics, there is more of a sense of fear that there will be some sort of retribution.
And I can tell and assure clients every single day that it will not affect your ongoing immigration status whatsoever.
And the federal government’s not going to pop out of the bushes. If you are making a claim, it’s just not going to happen.
The only thing you’re doing by not making a claim is lining the pockets of the insurance companies.
Lindsey:
Yes, and we definitely don’t need to see that happening any more than it already is. Exactly. So let’s just give me a few more seconds and talk to me about what advice you would give to other lawyers who are considering a culturally focused niche practice.
Adrianos Facchetti:
So number one, has to be authentic to you, has to be real. And I think number two, has to be something you really love and enjoy.
At the end of the day, it is work. And for me, look, I’m the type of guy that says TGIM, not TGIF.
And then my team, it’s a hard eye roll, but I’m excited on Sunday night to get into work. And I know not everybody’s like that, but if you’re trying to get into a new niche, I think whether that’s a new practice.
Area of law, or it’s helping a specific group. could be people who like to play pickleball, whatever. I would start with that first.
What do you love doing? What do you do that doesn’t feel like work? Maybe you’re a gamer. So get into a Facebook group.
So one, do what you love doing anyway and would do for free. And then get into groups there because it won’t feel like marketing.
It’ll feel like play, like fun. And so I think that’s the biggest piece of advice. Don’t think first, how do I make money?
Think about how can I get involved in a group that I already like being involved in and doing? Could be a church, whatever it is.
And then how can I max out and just go a thousand percent in that and spend most of my time doing that?
And then the money will come. It’ll take a while, but it’ll absolutely work. And then hopefully you’ll be a TGIM person like me.
Lindsey:
And if you’re going to be spending eight, 10, 12. 12 plus hours a day working, you may as well enjoy it.
Clearly, as attorneys and in this profession, we sacrifice a lot of our time and that we need to make sure that we are benefiting both financially, but also just in terms of life enjoyment out of the time that we’re putting in.
So I think that’s a great piece of advice is find a niche that you’re passionate about, that’s authentic to you, that you enjoy, that you don’t mind putting a thousand percent in.
Adrianos Facchetti:
Right? And it’s common sense, right? But for most people, we forget. We’re so busy. We’re worried about helping our teammates out, helping our family members out, our kids.
And then we think, okay, how do make more money this year? And I think if you focus on what’s going to make you happy or at least what you – at a minimum, what you can tolerate, that’s going be much better than saying, you know what?
I’ve got to go to the local bar association and meet Sam and hand out five business cards and try to get a few more cases from him.
That’s the absolute Wrong way. that’s how I started. But I had to learn everything the hard way because just that’s the way it is.
Lindsey:
And well, we appreciate the lessons that you have shared with us so that we are not wasting time learning things the hard way.
Adrianos Facchetti:
So thank you so much, Adrianos. I really appreciate you coming on the show and talking to us today. Yeah.
Thanks so much.
