Mardirossian Akaragian Law Firm: 45 Years of Proven Success
“We’re a team of people that care about our clients. We’re a team of lawyers that are well-trained, well-educated and we have our heart in the right place. And we work hard.”
Firm Foundations
“I started out with $2,300. That was my capital. I had sold a small compact vehicle, a Lincoln Capri, and the cash I got from it was $2,300. And that’s how I started the firm.”
“I began to do work in various fields, everything from immigration law to criminal law, to family law, to bankruptcy. So I had a bit of a taste in each before gravitating towards personal injury, partly because of my background in automobiles. My dad was a diesel mechanic. He worked basically on large trucks, but here in LA he became a mechanic on automobiles and ran a gas station. I began to work in that gas station at the age of 13 and continued to work there through law school, and then from that gas station moved to a garage that the bodywork and the major automotive repair work.”
“The kinds of cases we’ve handled over the years now vary from products liability against some of the largest corporations in the world, automotive and otherwise, whether it be a water heater that exploded or a vehicle that rolled over that was poorly designed or manufactured, we take them on and we’ve been successful in taking them on.
Many of our cases get solved. If you go to trial, we’ve proven ourselves with our trial results. And that’s why we have a certain amount of success in getting large settlements.”
Garo Mardirossian‘s storied career has fortified him as one of the industry’s top professionals. His consistent victories have yielded him a number of accolades over the years.
In 2000, Garo was voted Trial Lawyer of the Year by the 3000-member Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles — the largest bar organization in the country. Garo was voted as President of the Association in 2010.
He was chosen by his peers as one of the Best Lawyers in America. Garo’s effective and groundbreaking work has received the recognition of California State Senate members and Honors from the United States House of Representatives.
With Garo’ expertise and leadership, the Mardirossian Akaragian law firm continues to realize positive change in society and bring justice to the streets of Los Angeles.
Shaping the Legal Landscape
“I didn’t think police went around beating people and arresting them for nothing, but I was wrong.”
“Back in 1988, I became involved in a case called Dole vs. LA County Sheriff’s Department. You know, police don’t go around beating people and arresting them for nothing, but I was wrong. And on this occasion, they did, and we were able to prove it partly because a neighbor videotaped a lot of what went on. So $24 million was paid in that case. We helped change the law, because from that point on every time officers went out to a large party or large disturbance call, noisy gathering — now they have to come out and videotape it.”
“We’ve handled quite a few other products cases, whether it be Duan vs. General Motors, where we were able to unseal a myriad of records, thousands of pages that were secret, nobody could use it against the defendants unless you had a case against them. On that matter, we were able to unseal those records and make law by having everybody in the United States be able to access those records and defeat what it is that insurance companies and auto manufacturers were using in those tests in their favor.”
“We’ve also been successful in many product liability cases, whether it be the Gozukara case where our client became a paraplegic when the vehicle they were operating, a Ford Explorer, rolled over due to what we alleged to be a bad design. We were successful in winning a jury verdict and a settlement against two different entities: one, the Ford Motor Company, and the other was Caltrans for the poor design of the highway.”
“We’ve had cases like Pannu vs. Land Rover where we had a substantial verdict against Land Rover that went on appeal, made law, and that’s being used now in law schools to demonstrate to students what can come in to evidence. And that’s the case that Armen and I tried, and very successfully I must add; we ended up getting an excess of $20 million.”
“We’ve also handled a myriad of other civil rights cases and received quite a few other civil rights verdicts that were record-setting. The Doe case involved Mr. Doe and a friend of his; they were walking eastbound on Santa Monica Boulevard on the sidewalk there. As they were walking eastbound, a patrol car that had been called to respond to a code three ended up clipping another vehicle, lost control and barreled into Mr. Doe and his friend. After a few years of litigation, we settled for $42.2 million, which was the largest settlement of a single plaintiff in LA County history.”
“We do have a very good reputation in this industry, not just with other lawyers, but with judges; when we do what we do, we do it with hard work. We don’t play games. We don’t lie. We don’t do anything that would in any way damage our reputation.”
— Garo Mardirossian
An Unshakable Team
The Mardirossian Akaragian law firm finds it’s success in a powerful and highly skilled team that includes Super Lawyer and Partner, Armen Akaragian. In 2011, the Armenian Bar Association recognized Armen for outstanding achievement in the field of law as one of its 20 Rising Stars under 40.
He was recognized for his professional leadership and dedicated service by the California State Senate. His outstanding work and invaluable service to the community received recognition from the United States House of Representatives in 2019.
Armen’s impressive victory in the van-to-motorcycle collision case, Lewis vs. Ukran, earned the plaintiff a $2.65 million judgment. Armen’s exemplary work on the case resulted in the California Court of Appeals publishing a decision which makes it harder for defendants to reduce a plaintiff’s future damages, a change that would help bring truth and justice to courtrooms all across the State of California. Armen’s continued success and strong leadership certifies the Mardirossian Akaragian firm as a powerhouse in and out of the courtroom.
The Mardirossian Akaragian Attorney Team
“If you prepare yourself well, you can anticipate most of what’s going to happen”
— Armen Akaragian
A Hands-On Approach to Justice
“What’s unique about us is that we’re hands on. I’m a visual person: you show me a blueprint, I say; show me a three dimensional model. You show me a picture: I say, show me a video, show me a 360 video. I think jurors benefit from that. Don’t talk to me about the object, show me the object. Talk to me about the object while it’s in your hand, while you’re demonstrating it. I think people like that, and I believe a lot of our success is because we spend the time to make sure that we create the right kind of evidence that’s going to get in front of a jury.”
A Firm That Fights For You
“We’re a team of people that care about our clients. We’re a team of lawyers that are well-trained, well-educated and we have our hearts in the right place. And we work hard.”
