I sat with Atty. Hoballah in the high-rise Century City office she’s called home for the last 15 years, acutely aware that here was a woman whose good works are so documented on the internet there should be a “Wafa Hoballah Search Engine” just for her. You name the Foundation or Committee trying to make our World a little better and I wouldn’t be surprised to find Atty. Hoballah’s name on the list of Board Members. Or Google the latest Charity Event dealing with Human Rights and you’re bound to see a photo of Atty. Hoballah’s warm, radiant smile lighting up a table, surrounded by kindred spirits.

With poise and an intrinsic elegance, Atty. Hoballah explained her 20 years – and still counting – journey through Law, and why becoming an Attorney was the best thing she could have ever done for herself, because it allowed her to do the one thing she cares about most: helping people.

ATTORNEY WAFA HOBALLAH: “What’s life if you don’t help others? Money? Money’s in the bank, you’re not going to take it with you when you die.”

HW: “What first attracted you to the law?”

ATTY. HOBALLAH: “The law was always intriguing to me, its dryness, but I recognized that law was really a way to reach out to people, and by being an Attorney I would have an opportunity to bring something different to the law.”

HW: And what did you bring?”

ATTY. HOBALLAH: “I brought my own sensibilities. I mean, the legal system, whether here in the U.S., in Europe, the Middle East or Africa brings a certain equation to society. To be effective as an Attorney, you have to be creative with that equation.”

HW: “So, what field of law did you begin in?”

ATTY.HOBALLAH: “I began working in the criminal system, and I was on a quest to help all the kids. I just wanted to see justice. Then I did Business Law and Immigration and more of a combination of private and public law?”

HW: Now, you’ve been an Attorney for over 20 years; how have things changed?”

ATTY. HOBALLAH: “Well, certainly the practice of law today is not what I saw 20 years ago.”

HW: “Are things better or worse now?”

ATTY. HOBALLAH: “It’s not about things being better or worse, life is what you make of it. When I first started I had a different idea of what I wanted to do, and now, by default, I do two different things. I came to the U.S. to specialize in International Business Law, and now, in addition to that, I do Immigration Law and also comparative U.S./Lebanese Law, focusing on issues of Islamic Law, dealing with child abductions and kidnapping.”

HW: “That sounds complex.”

ATTY. HOBALLAH: “It definitely wasn’t something I ever anticipated I would be doing, but I filled in a gap of something that was needed.”

HW: “One of those wonderful cases of serendipity. How did it all come about?”

ATTY. HOBALLAH: “Well, I studied law in Lebanon, and part of the Civil Law system I studied was Islamic Law. So, in the late 90’s, there was a case in New York where a child had been abducted and taken to Lebanon. The court needed someone who understood the differences between U.S./New York laws and Lebanese laws, so I was brought in as a Special Advisor.”

HW: “What drives you as a lawyer?”

ATTY. HOBALLAH: “I’m very passionate about making people’s lives better. I take all my cases to heart. And with Immigration, I know what it’s like to have someone ruin your case. When I graduated my first job was working in Washington D.C., so I was changing my status from an F1 Visa to a H1B. My Attorney at the time didn’t do a very good job for me, so I not only received a denial letter from the Government, but a deportation notice, as well.”

HW: “So, you know first hand what that feels like.”

ATTY. HOBALLAH: “Yes, I do, and my clients will never feel that.”

HW: “What makes you successful as a litigator?”

ATTY. HOBALLAH: “I’m always prepared. I never go to court unprepared. I prepare my client, I prepare my witnesses. I take my cases very seriously.”

HW: “I read on-line that you also do Political Asylum cases.”

ATTY. HOBALLAH: “We do. Some of our clients from the African continent opened up a whole new world for me, particularly those clients who were victims of torture. It’s very emotional. People from places like Uganda, Burundi and Sierra Leone who come here, fighting for asylum, have told us stories that are truly heartbreaking. So, we’re very passionate about these cases.”

HW: “Do you share that passion with your International Business Transaction cases?”

ATTY. HOBALLAH: “Of course, because that’s a big part of who I am. I enjoy putting things together, taking other things and changing them so they come out as something different.”

HW: It’s clear that you love what you do. You obviously made the right career choice – we should all be so lucky.”

ATTY. HOBALLAH: “How you make your money is very important. We make money, it doesn’t make us.”

310-277-6953    Law Offices Of Wafa J. Hoballah, LL.M. California, Washington, D.C.