By M. Jonathan Hayes
I met with Amanda Moghaddam on a pleasant afternoon recently at her office at Lawyers’ Mutual Insurance Company, near the Burbank Airport. She showed me around the spacious three-story facility including the huge lunchroom, the yoga studio, the rest and relaxation room, an impressive conference room, and of course Amanda’s office, complete with her children’s artwork pinned to the wall. Gradually it felt like the world wasn’t so complicated.
Amanda came to Southern California from Georgia in 2007. It seems her husband Mike, a cinematographer, wanted to give Hollywood a try and this is where the action is; they never looked back.
Inspired by a college professor who once told her she “writes like a lawyer,” Amanda decided to pursue a legal career. She attended Southwestern Law School where she met Professors Catherine Carpenter and Caleb Mason whom she credits as instrumental mentors. “Professor Carpenter taught me how to think like a lawyer,” Amanda said, “and Professor Mason’s appellate practicum opened my eyes to the real practice of law.”
After graduating in 2011, Amanda joined the downtown firm of Bonne Bridges, Mueller, O’Keefe & Nichols, a firm which specialized in the representation of doctors and health care institutions involved in malpractice suits. “I got a lot of great experience in law and motion and the related court hearings, and attended a lot of depositions,” she reflected. In 2013, after welcoming her first child, she decided to move to the Encino firm of Nemecek & Cole, APC; a little closer to home, for one thing. “I had tired a little of medical malpractice by then and was ready for a change.”
At Nemecek & Cole, a firm well known in the legal malpractice defense world, Amanda honed her litigation skills and gained specialized knowledge in the defense of lawyers. She especially enjoyed her handful of clients who hired her for daily ethics advice, such as preparing conflict waivers and retainer agreements. For seven years she did a lot of consulting, giving how-to-stay-out-of-trouble advice, along with an active litigation practice, focused solely on the defense of attorneys.
And, lucky for us, Nemecek & Cole’s office was just down the street from the SFVBA offices. Amanda joined and quickly got involved. “In 2015, I met Alan Kassan, the President at the time, at a SFVBA event and he suggested that I run for the SFVBA Board of Trustees.” She lost. But, President Kassan, seeing something in Amanda, appointed her for a year of service on the Board of Trustees and encouraged her to run the following year. And after the Board had the opportunity to work with her, she won the second time around. Amanda later became the Treasurer in 2020, which began her move up to being our current President.
Also in 2019, Amanda was approached by Lawyers’ Mutual Insurance Company which, aware of her specialized knowledge and work ethic, offered her a position in-house which she accepted. “I wanted a pacing change, a quality-of-life change,” she explained. “With the arrival of our second child, I wanted the 9-to-5 predictability in my life. I wanted to be able to turn the computer off.”
Is she happy with the decision, I inquired? Amanda beamed. “Lawyers’ Mutual is the California leader in insuring against legal malpractice. And we’re very good at what we do. I’m proud to be a part of it.” It was easy to tell that Amanda loves the job. She feels the company is very supportive of the insureds. She is part of the seven-person claims department and deals with the day-to-day processing of claims.
Part of her duties consist of daily engagement with insureds on the company’s attorney-to-attorney ethics hotline. “That’s a big part of my job, and I think I enjoy it the most. It’s a chance to help lawyers navigate difficult questions and avoid problems before they start.” You will also see her frequently at events attended or sponsored by her company, including Bar Association events, but also for professional attorney organizations such as Association of Southern California Defense Counsel, CAALA, and the California Lawyers Association.
Part of her job is oversight of defense counsel and attending mediations. “I attend a lot of mediations with defense counsel. We have a great panel of very good, highly skilled and intelligent attorneys to represent our insureds.”
Amanda is enthusiastic about the work being done at the San Fernando Valley Bar Association. “Our Executive Director, Seth Chavez, is amazing. He has transformed the organization, taken us to new levels with his ideas and modernization efforts.” She explained that Seth has implemented a CRM, the Customer Relationship Management software, which they use to manage membership, our website, events and the referral program. “We are all automated now, membership is up 200%.”
The SFVBA Board of Trustees meets once a month, and the Executive Committee meets once a week. They strategize and plan, review reports, and approve, adjust, or deny many types of operational issues and opportunities. She also tries to attend as many association events as possible, be the face of the organization, help wherever she can. “Linda Temkin is an amazing event planner, nothing ever falls through the cracks.”
I asked Amanda something I have asked every attorney I have ever written about. Would you do it all again? Would you be an attorney now that you know the reality of the job? She did not hesitate with a positive answer. “Yes. I’m a problem-solver and my position here at Lawyers’ Mutual is exactly tailored to my skill-set.”
Would she recommend pursuing law to her friends or even her children? She admitted that that might require a little more thought. “It’s a tough job. I have talked to many attorneys struggling with something which can be heartbreaking. But I think law is a great profession. The world needs us now. We can help come up with a systematic resolution to some of the world’s ills. We need more good lawyers, not less.”
As for advice to practitioners, “Never stop learning, broaden your view even when you don’t need to, make yourself a better lawyer every day.” What about advice on how to avoid malpractice? She was emphatic, “Don’t let the client get too far behind on the bill. Fees drive malpractice cases so much of the time. Often the client’s problem is not really the attorney’s conduct, they just don’t want to pay the fees, the fees got too high. You have to retain control of the relationship and substitute out of the case when the fees start dominating the conversation.”
In May 2025, Amanda was honored to give the Commencement Address to the graduating class at the University of West Los Angeles School of Law. I was there and can attest that her enthusiastic comments to the graduates were inspiring.
“Dear graduates, we welcome you not just with applause but with appreciation; we are glad you’re here. We need your minds, your hearts, and your hunger for what is right and what is true.” Amanda is now an adjunct professor at UWLA, in addition to her other activities. The San Fernando Valley Bar Association is blessed to have Amanda leading the way.
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M. Jonathan Hayes is Senior Counsel at RHM Law LLP in Encino, California. He has practiced bankruptcy and appellate law for 44 years in the San Fernando Valley. He recently completed a two-year sabbatical as a law clerk to two bankruptcy judges who sit on the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel. He currently focuses on bankruptcy, both debtor and creditor, and appeals. He can be reached at jhayes@RHMFirm.com.
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